Restoring Hardwood Floors

My house was built in 1924. Recently I had my kitchen counters and cabinets replaced. When they ripped out the old base cabinets you could see where the original flooring had not been covered. Seeing the original floors in the kitchen made me want to restore the floors.

On top of the hardwood flooring is a fake brown parkay(?) flooring glued directly on the wood, which on top of that is another "subfloor" and then another fake tile job.

I'm debating scraping up the fake brown parkay that's glued directly onto the hardwood floors. It's a pain in the ass getting the fake tile pulled up because in most places the glue is still quite strong. But the damage (so far) to the orignal flooring seems minimal. I have a few questions..

1) is there anyway to expedite the process? or perhaps loosen the glue? (would a heating gun do it?)

2) the floors will no doubt have to be sanded, but it will be several weeks before we're finished the entire kitchen and are ready for that

-- is there anything I should do to "protect" the exposed hardwood flooring in the meantime?

3) would it be possible to use a sander to remove the fake tile that's glued down?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks! Addy

When you say fake, do you mean something like a vinyl tile?

If yes, then you could use a heat gun or torch to soften the tile and glue. While you're at it, scrape up as mujch glue as possible as the glue will gum up the sandpaper very quickly.

The original floor should have been finished just as all the other floors were finished and should be protected from liquid spills to some extent ie:clean it up.

The fake tile could contain asbestos and shouldn't be sanded.Also, the sandpaper would clog

Make sure the original flooring will take another sanding, especially if the floors are actually yellow pine and hardwood. Remember that the floor under the cabinets was never sanded. It is very possible that the floor has already been sanded as much as is possible. Examine it carefully in several places, preferably in high traffic areas that would have worn the most. Considering all the labor involved, it may be cheaper and more practical to install laminate or pre-finished, though it's not quite the same.