Jhudson wrote:
My husband and I just finished "uncovering" our beautiful hardwood
floors that lived in secret under ugly carpet for the past 30 years
before we moved into our house. I can't believe people would prefer an
ugly shag to that gorgeous oak. We just had to strip it and refinish it
(a bit of an ordeal), but I'm sure it will add thousands to the value of
the house if we re-sell. Besides having to sweep up little dust bunnies
that accumulate, we are so pleased with our remodel, as it totally
changed the look of our house. If anyone is thinking about the decision
to refurbish old hardwood, we highly recommend taking advantage of the
craftsmanship and quality that most old homes were built with.

We found the same thing when we removed the worn carpet in our home,
built in the 20's, but there was a square hole in the living room that
had been filled with plywood. I had a cast iron grill made to replace
the plywood; now I just have to find a way to get some ducting in to
turn it into a cold air return; I suspect its a fire hazard without the
ducting.

Our main floor moldings all turned out to be lovely hardwood (maple, I
think) but had 5 coats of differently covered enamels over the original
varnish. Cleaning that up was a lot of work, but was well worth it.
One coat was what they called milk based paint, and it was almost
impervious to any paint removers I tried. Even the pine moldings on the
second floor were nice looking after being redone; perhaps the age had
improved the wood.