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Old hardwood floors or new "wood" replacement floors?
I have a living room that is about 20'x14' with old hardwood flooring. The hardwood needs to be refinished. The urethane is worn off in many places and one spot has darkened due to previous water damage (a long time ago before I owned the house). The trim and windows in the room match the hardwood floor. Should I attempt to refinish the floor or buy that new flooring that you can install that looks like hardwood (not sure what it's called)?
Public Comments
- Old hardwood floors are rare..if it were me, I would rent a floor sander for a day, clean them well, & refinish with poly! I've done this in a hundred year old farm house & it glowed!
- Refinish the floor! If you have a real wood floor why would you want to put down a fake one. The dark area may sand out if not it will give the floor more caricature. Refinishing will be less expensive than laying a new floor. Just my opinion.
You can rent a sander or hire a pro to refinish it for you.
Good Luck
- I think you are talking about laminate wood flooring. I would just resurface the old hard wood floors. One, they are more valuable and two, they are already installed. All you have to do is have somebody come and resurface the floors for you. It may cost you some money, but think about it...you won't have to rip those floors up, purchase new floors, or install them. It's a done deal once you resurface them.
- Keep what you have, it will keep the "charm" of the house, plus original hardwood floors are in high demand if you decide to sell down the line. I would use a dark color to cover any stains, or if it is an out of the way spot that you could cover with a rug, I would match what you have in the trim.
- I agree with all the above! Wood laminate floors don't look half as good as the real thing, old nicks, marks and other discrepancies are much easier to over look on hard wood floors then laminates. It also depends on what you have done to the rest of the house. If you are modernising everything then laminate could be ok but if you are keeping the character of the house then go with what you have.
- Please consider having your floors sanded and refinished! Your have floors with character, warmth, and personality, and add to the history of your home, that cannot be found in today's construction. Sanding will help lighten the water damaged area, and if not too bad could remove it. If after sanding and you're still not happy with that spot...would a planter look good right there?
I think you're referring to laminate when you say the floors that look like wood. They are just a PICTURE of wood, with a layer of melamine(plastic) on top. They do not come close to looking like the real thing.
There are prefinished woods on the market that are real wood - but why replace your floors with them, when you already have the real deal.
A good sand and finish will run between $2.50 - $3.00 a square foot, depending on the type of finish you want. An oil based finish is less expensive, takes longer to dry, but will hold up for many years. A water based finish, costs more, is a tougher finish...we use it commercially....but is quite smelly.
People would LOVE to have your floors, and once refinished...they will only add to the resale value of your home.
- why cover a good thing sand and poly you will love the fact you did it your self
- I moved into an old 1929's house the wood floor was in the same condition. My real estate agent suggested I refinish, I took her advise she is the professional. I also refinished the entry and had inexpensive carpet put in the rest of my house (living area sq. ft. 890) for somebody else to do the job the whole project only cost $1500. The dark spot can be sanded out to some degree, but you want to make sure the floor gets sanded evenly. I say if everything matches and your budget can handle the project go for it.
