Does anyone know about hardwood flooring?

[Jumpem]

The house I am buying has hardwood floors over two-thirds of the first floor, and a little of the second. There are small scratches all over the floors. i am guessing that they are from the small dogs she has.

Can't you have the floors repolisjed or sealed? I'm not sure what the proper term is. Has anyone had this done? How much did it cost you?

 

[captains]

u can have the floors sanded and polished

 

[Heisenberg]

You can have the floors sanded down and refinished, yes. I love hardwood floors - when I buy a house it's definitely something I'll look for.

 

[sohcrates]

many people with pets have their hardwoods sanded and re-stained or what not every few years i believe. We did that in our old house, but i can't remember what we paid unfortuntely.

 

[jaedaliu]

call around, the more you do the cheaper it is(per square foot).

If you get enough top-coats, you don't have to re-sand and stain ever again unless something scratches through all the urethane layers. Just every year or 2 put down a new layer of urethane. Oh, and get runners and rugs for high traffic areas, of course.

 

[Patt]

You can do it yourself if you wish ... when we bought our house we removed carpets, sanded down the original hardwood and went to town. I think the total renovation of our hardwood floors (around 1200 sq. feet) cost us about $800 in materials/rentals, and loads of labour. You sound like it just needs a new layer of urethane though, and it is easy to apply.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Patt
You can do it yourself if you wish ... when we bought our house we removed carpets, sanded down the original hardwood and went to town. I think the total renovation of our hardwood floors (around 1200 sq. feet) cost us about $800 in materials/rentals, and loads of labour. You sound like it just needs a new layer of urethane though, and it is easy to apply.

The first floor is roughly 720sq.ft. and the second 360sq.ft., so I would estimate I need to refinish about 400-500sq.ft.

I would like to do it quickly the day or day after we close on the house. I figure it would be easier to do now before everything gets moved in. How long did it take you to do it, and what was the process like? I'm debating having professionals do it, so I can spend my time packing and such.

 

[bleeb]

Originally posted by: captains
u can have the floors sanded and polished

 

[iamwiz82]

You are sure its real wood and not laminate?

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You are sure its real wood and not laminate?

I believe the former. How do I tell the difference? I thought laminate flooring didn't scratch up.

 

[captains]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You are sure its real wood and not laminate?

I believe the former. How do I tell the difference? I thought laminate flooring didn't scratch up.

laminate scratches just as ez

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You are sure its real wood and not laminate?

I believe the former. How do I tell the difference? I thought laminate flooring didn't scratch up.

How old are the floors?

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: captains
laminate scratches just as ez

Ok, well how do I tell? The house listing didn't say either way. It just says "natural woodwork".

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: captains

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You are sure its real wood and not laminate?

I believe the former. How do I tell the difference? I thought laminate flooring didn't scratch up.

laminate scratches just as ez

just as easy? i find that hard to believe. laminate doesn't scratch as easily in general as hardwood does. however, laminate can get some bad cracks in it, the way to check is, check to see if there are any deep scratches. if there is a pretty deep scratch, it's probably hardwood.

 

[Chunkee]

i am thinking about getting hardwood floors, any suggestions?

jC

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
How old are the floors?

The house was built in 2000.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: Chunkee
i am thinking about getting hardwood floors, any suggestions?

jC

How many times do I have to say this? GET BAMBOO!

 

[Jumpem]

Bump for more knowledge.

Is there an easy way to tell whether a floor is laminate or hardwood?

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: Chunkee
i am thinking about getting hardwood floors, any suggestions?

jC

How many times do I have to say this? GET BAMBOO!

Bamboo is pretty nice. a client of mine put it in his new house. the bamboo looks good overall and is good for the enviroment vs cutting down old growth hardwood forrests.

but yes, bamboo is nice.