kbpaulie Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 We have a hard wood (oak) floor that I runined by cleaning it w/ soap & water :(. (My question isn't about cleaning hardwood floors, but if you want to chime in w/ that advice please do. Seems one place says use Murphy's Oil, another says don't one says X another says Y) Well, we're thinking about moving and even if we don't move we're curently still pretty hard on the floors w/ kids and pets. So, any low cost / low mess/ low time committment self-help I can provide to the floor? Some spots are showing bare wood. Can I go in there w/ a stained polyurethane or would I have to strip the whole floor? Any advice? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed3x Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Our hardwoods had bare spots and we chose not to do anything but clean them and move. That did not work well. After a few months and comments that 'the floors need to be refinished' we went ahead and hired someone to do them. It cost us $1k, but was worth it. I would get some estimates and ask for recommendations if you are considering having them done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 There's not much you can do for spots but throw a rug over it. We hired our first floor done and did our 2nd floor ourselves. We did just as good a job, and added more coats of poly than the hired guys. The estimate will depend on the sq. footage. We did ours with no furniture on that level (800 sq. ft). A friend did her first floor by going a room at a time and moving stuff. She had pine and could do it with a hand sander. We have oak (or fir, not sure which, either way, ours is hard wood, hers is soft). We rented a heavy floor sander and a smaller, heavy hand sander- dh did the big one and my older kids and I did the smaller one on the edges and stairs. It's hard work but what a difference.Wanna see? Here and here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 If you are moving, you could also stain and wax the areas that need work, selling the house "as is." BTDT. The buyers loved that the floor was 3/4" solid oak, but they wanted it stained to suit their tastes which turned out to be very dark. Okay.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 If you are moving, you could also stain and wax the areas that need work, selling the house "as is." BTDT. The buyers loved that the floor was 3/4" solid oak, but they wanted it stained to suit their tastes which turned out to be very dark. Okay.... I've seen the dark stain and it's gorgeous but that's crazy the buyers were so picky- 3/4" wood is hard to find anymore (we have it too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 If you are moving, you could also stain and wax the areas that need work, selling the house "as is." BTDT. The buyers loved that the floor was 3/4" solid oak, but they wanted it stained to suit their tastes which turned out to be very dark. Okay.... Ours need to be refinished and I'd love to go with a very dark stain. I think it's pretty "in" right now, judging from what I see on HGTV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbpaulie Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Lisa, looks gorgeous! Ugh, this is not really something we want to do. We've done SO many projects, but this one is so much dust! B/c it's only a dining room and hall it's $$/ft sq. b/c there is a minimum charge. And so once you've done the floors how do you keep them looking nice???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I sweep regularly and spot mop as needed. that's it. We are still doing so many huge projects (this month, painting the outside of the house!) that I'm not much of a cleaner - maybe there is a better way? Kb- you DID it! Can't wait to see pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I love it, EL! We need to re-do ours. It is soft pine and the gaps between boards, furniture (even with protectors!), dog, and kids have made them horrid. I can't understand why anyone would want soft pine after my experience. Could sanding and staining work for touchups, do you think? Our floors were redone right before we moved in, but the owner (who paid for it!) couldn't even remember if it was waxed or poly or anything. They definitely are poly after inspecting them, but it needs some work done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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