We just removed the carpet & pad from our stairs and upstairs hallway and were pleasantly surprised to find that the hardwood floors underneath are in better shape than we expected. I had been planning to replace the carpet, but the estimate came in at over $5,000 (combination of a lot of waste due to odd-shaped hallway plus I did pick expensive carpet). So, now I'm trying to figure out if I could just leave the hardwood floors rather than start shopping for less expensive carpet. The main reason I was planning to get new carpet was to cover any damage from the old carpet.

The floors are red oak & they match the floors in the rest of the house. I don't think I can re-finish them without creating an abrupt transition between the hallway and every other room (& I have zero appetite to remove all the furniture to refinish the rest of the floors, which are in good condition).

We removed all the staples and the holes are not that noticeable (certainly something I could live with to save thousands). BUT, there are strips of wood all along the edges of the hallway with nails sticking up that held down the carpet. These strips are about 1" wide (the size of a yardstick) and appear to be both glued and nailed down (I couldn't pry them up with a screwdriver). I'm afraid that once these are pulled up there will be glue residue and large nail holes. There is already a 4" high moulding along the bottom of the walls, but no quarter round moulding in the front. I don't think a single row of quarter round moulding would be deep enough to cover the damage -- could I somehow build up the moulding with a double row of quarter-round (or something similar) so that it covers any damage underneath these nail strips?

Also, there are a few places with old paint drips (probably from 2 or 3 owners ago). Is there any way to get these up?

I've heard of people "screening" floors rather than sanding & refinishing them. Would that be a way to cover the nail holes but still keep the finish similiar to the adjacent rooms? (I believe the current finish is oil-based and it has yellowed with age).

thanks in advance for any suggestions!