hardwood floor ?

[Fire&Ice]

We are renting a house that has hardwood floors in the entryway, living room and hallways. I really don't like the hw flooring (I must be the only one). Anyway, the floor is very dingy looking and really needs to be refinished but since it isn't my house I am not going to invest the money and the owner doesn't really care what it looks like (he was going to put carpet in LR but decided against it for whatever reason). Is there something inexpensive that can be done to get the floor looking better? I have a huge area rug in the living room to cover most of it.

Thanks for any ideas.

F&I

[Charles Spitzer]

floor wax applied with a buffer.

[Sexytom976]

Humm.... since the guy doesnt care about it too much...

Time to learn the art of sanding floors using a floor sander. (make sure to rent one with the vac attached for dust)

Take the rented sander and experiement.

Easy job. When dont with sanding slop on the cheapest polyurathane you can find. Should last a year or two.

Tom

Fire&Ice wrote:

refinished

inexpensive

[Dave]

I would never think of tackling a project like this as a renter. Good luck. - David

[Phisherman]

[Duane Bozarth]

Charles Spitzer wrote: ...

cleaning first, though...

[Colbyt]

Speaking from experience and as a landlord, I would be livid if you followed Tom's advice and sanded my floors.

The paste wax suggestion is an excellent one but it takes a lot of work. An easier approach that works almost as well with 1/10th the work is to find a Janitor supply store in your area and buy a commercial grade liquid wax for wood flooring. $10-15 a gallon and a gallon goes a long way.

The finished result will look as good as you are at getting the floor clean before you apply it. The shine should last 3-6 months before you need to recoat.

Colbyt

[Fire&Ice]

I would never think of sanding the floors in a house I don't own. That is just me and I do have respect for other people's property.

Ding * ding * ding...I think we have a winner here. That sounds like something I can handle. I think my husband will be moving all the furniture out of the living room this weekend when he gets home, but he doesn't know it yet. Thanks so much for your advice.

F&I

-- ~Never knock on Death's door: Ring the doorbell and run (he hates that)~

[3rd eye]

A throw rug.

I'll second that.

Leave it alone..

[HerHusband]

Colby,

I wouldn't dream of making any modifications to a rental without consulting the landlord. That could lead to many unwanted problems!

However, back when we rented, I often asked our landlord if we could make improvements. I can't remember a single time he was against it. In many cases, he would even buy the materials, and we were essentially free labor. :) We landscaped the front and side yards, repaired damage from previous owners and repainted the walls, fixed plumbing problems, repaired the appliances, etc. We got a better place to live, and he got an improved rental without having to pay someone to fix things. When the time came to move, he practically begged us to stay... :)

I'm sure it depends on the landlord and how long you plan to live there, but it couldn't hurt to ask the landlord if you want to make improvements. You might be surprised...

Anthony