BetaB4 wrote:
I am near the end of having a 2 BR apartment remodeled in a building
that I own. The 2 bedrooms had old wall-to-wall carpet in them and I
took that up. The living room had a Pergo laminate floor in very good
condition, but I had to take that up because the remodeling changes
resulted in the Pergo no longer covering the full size of the room.

What I am now left with is 2 bedrooms and a living room with old red
oak hardwood floors in mediocre shape -- there are paint splatters and
oversprays on the floor, some pieces would have to be replaced or
filled in with hardwood (where closet walls were, etc), and there are
some gaps between some of the existing hardwood boards.

So, I am thinking my choices a

1) wall-to-wall carpeting throughout;
2) new laminate/Pergo-style flooring throughout;
3) replace the missing pieces and fix the existing hardwood floor,
then sand and refinish it;
4) add all new unfinished red oak (or similar) hardwood flooring
throughout, on top of the existing hardwood flooring, then sand and
apply finish coats of polyurethane, etc.;
5) add all new pre-finished red oak (or similar) hardwood flooring
throughout, on top of the existing hardwood flooring, and then maybe
add a coat of polyurethane to seal the cracks between the pieces.

The 2 bedrooms, living room, closets, and small hallway area add up
to about 440 square feet. If I do add a whole new hardwood floor on
top of the existing one, that added 3/4-inch plus underlayment in
floor height will not present a problem. I have a person who can do
the work regardless of which option I end up choosing. I have been
reading, researching, watching YouTube videos, etc. to learn as much
as I can before going ahead.
Any thoughts, suggestions, recommendations, etc. would be appreciated.

If I do decide to go with installing new unfinished hardwood (instead
of pre-finished hardwood), I assume that some quick sanding will need
to be done -- but not a lot -- before adding a polyurethane finish. Is
that correct?

I'd vote for the laminate. Perfectly adequate laminate from Lumber
Liquidators can be had for 75¢/sq ft, about the same price as medium carpet.
But when the tenants move out, you probably won't have to replace it.

If you do decide on laminate, check back here for installation tips.