Hardwood floor refnishing

[EL TATE]

These are the best photos I can muster at the moment of my living room floors. They are at least from the 50's if not from the original structure which is 1923 vintage. not sure what the floor is, but as you can see there's a lot of tongue and groove cedar here. Dave, what do you think I'm working with?

[EL TATE]

Planks are pretty narrow, like under 2". based on western Washington build at the time, Ash, Maple, Oak were all readily available. does it matter too much what type of wood I've got for refinishing purposes?

[Nate]

what are you wanting to do exactly?

[EL TATE]

strip and re-finish. they are old and look it.

[Nate]

strip with machine or chemical?

[Nate]

https://www.homedepot.com/c/floor_care_and_refinishing_equipment_rental

something like this?

[EL TATE]

I like the old weathered look, but I want to strip off old oils, what's left of whatever sealant might still be there and then re-finish with some cool high spots like Dave and I were talking about, maybe even a torch top but sealed to protect it from beach and dog feet.

[Bigdave_185]

The rest of that room looks amazing!! Does it still smell like wood?

Haven’t heard back from my phone call


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[EL TATE]

Like wood and salt my man. This is the shot I was looking for and what the living room looks like now. I think it's really a darker wood, and not a stain or sealant, or it's just years of traffic, but could it be walnut?

[stlaser]

Tate, the sunlight from that window over the years has probably darkened that wood naturally

[TexasRedNeck]

There are two basic machines.  Drum sanders and orbital sanders.  You’ll need an edge sander to get the spots that either of those won’t reach.

You can make some bad mistakes with drum sanders if you aren’t steady and consistent. I would recommend an orbital to the novice. (Like me).

All of this can be rented at Sunbelt, Champion or other equipment rental places.

Even if you get one with a dust collection system, which you should, it’s going to be a dusty mess so plastic off or empty the contents.

You can test various stains in an inconspicuous area and then resand to remove when you make the final decision.

Depending on the wood porosity and the amount of time you leave it on the darkness will vary. Also varnish or urethane will darken it even more and make it more golden.

I rented an orbital and with 36 grit pads it get it done quickly then you can move down to finer finish. It’s a bit like a floor buffer. It’s some work to keep it where you want it to go.

Either way that is some beautiful wood and it will look amazing (it already does)


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[rpar86]

Looks like red or white oak to me.


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[longball]

I sent one of those pictures to a guy who used to build cabinets for a livin.  He’s looked at a lot of grain in his day. Other than that I am of no use on this topic.


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[Flyin6]

Like wood and salt my man. This is the shot I was looking for and what the living room looks like now. I think it's really a darker wood, and not a stain or sealant, or it's just years of traffic, but could it be walnut?

Tate, that really looks like Oak. Possibly Ash as it is similar, but the grain really gives it away. My money says its Oak. Do you have red Oak or White Oak up there. The red Oak has a grain pattern like that and is the hardest, but it tends to be a bit reddish of a tint unless stained a color which is called "Special Walnut." That stain color was used on everything from the 20's through the 50's. Even into the 70's by some shops, like my uncles. I even used it on my walnut floors I have in my house.

[EL TATE]

Thank you guys, all great information. I think it is red oak as well after some more research. We are starting to get more bids on the remodel at this point as our equity has gone up substantially this last year and now is the time to refi, so trying to plan far ahead to budget all things involved. I really want to keep it as original as possible color wise, just want to clean it up and protect it from further abuse.