Hardwood Floors Help

They may be able to be refinished.

It depends on how many times they have been sanded before.

And it may depend on whether they have wax on them. If all of the wax is not removed it can cause probs with any polyurethane finish that you apply now.

I had a 75yo house whose floors were trashed. I had not taken care of them during a 15y renovation. My current H refinished them (it's his line of work) and they looked absolutely beautiful.

So there is hope.

And it generally costs less to refinish them than most people supposed so you might want to get some estimates.

repair. My first challenge is the hardwood floors. They are totally dried out and have been murdered by nails and staples.

of their original luster?

You might want to consider the order in which you do your repairs: people often do the floors last, after the earlier repairs have splattered paint, plaster, solder, etc. all over them.

Most hardwood floors can be refinished to look pretty darn good, even if they do have rows of staple holes, etc. -- it won't look like a new floor, but it will look like a nice quality wood floor with some character.

Join the club. In a 45 year-old house I got the floors refinished at US$ 2.15/sq. ft approx. Best thing I've done for the house so far...I got compliments even from delivery drivers. Cost included three coats of oil-based poly. Took a while to get the job done, but it is great! Only the deepest, most stubborn pet-urine stains from the previous owner did not come off completely, all the rest looks like new.

-- Himanshu

My floors looked horrible, but I had them refinished and they look great! Wasn't too expensive either.