First project complete: refinished floors

14 years ago

We *finally* moved into our new house labor day weekend. The house needs a lot of updating, but first on the list was ripping out the carpet and refinishing the floors. We also had matching HW put in on the stairs and the upstairs master bedroom.

Before. Mismatched,cat urine scented,stained carpet. (PO's furnishings. )

photobucket.com/albums/h363/lsaeva/?action=view&current=cdb947f24fc08a5138e67abb81b6f633.jpg"; target="_blank">

Carpet up, 1951 red oak floors buried under carpet for 60 years.

Uh-oh. Cat urine.

The cat pee was heavily concentrated in one room,and the HW guy wasn't sure he would be able to sand it out.

After lots of sanding, this is how it looked.

We had to go slightly darker in color than I preferred, but this was still better than ripping it out and replacing.

>

If you look hard in the above photo, you can still see some of the outlines of the stains. But we have our table there now, and I'm happy with ow it turned out.

I love the floors! It's amazing what a difference this made.

I'm almost done painting DD's bedroom, and then we will begin our gut kitchen remodel. We still have a long way to go, but I think this may be my favorite house that we have lived in (it's our 7th place!). It's the oldest, aside from a Georgian row home in London that was not ours and frankly was not very nice. I love how cozy it is and it just feels so much more solid and homey than our past, new construction homes.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (23)

graywings123
14 years ago
The darker stain looks great!
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
14 years ago
There is nothing better than old hardwood floors! Your refinisher did a wonderful job! Can't wait to see more as the remodel progresses.
Related Professionals
Sarasota Interior Designers & Decorators · Meridian Interior Designers & Decorators · Concord Interior Designers & Decorators · Albert Lea Interior Designers & Decorators · Lancaster Interior Designers & Decorators · Bozeman Interior Designers & Decorators · Brainerd Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · South Sioux City Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Manchester Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Ontario Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Alexandria Furniture & Accessories · Sugar Land Furniture & Accessories · Lake Havasu City Furniture & Accessories · Bozeman Furniture & Accessories · La Grande Furniture & Accessories
ILoveRed
14 years ago
Gorgeous.
DLM2000-GW
14 years ago
Absolutely beautiful! That's a great vintage of house - they were built like tanks then. Looking forward to seeing more.
springroz
14 years ago
Didn't those come out great!! Glad you could save them!

Nancy
chispa
14 years ago
Drybean, weren't you moving to the LA area? Where did you end up? You can give just general direction from downtown ...
sochi
14 years ago
Looks great drybean, it is wonderful that you didn't have to replace them entirely, even in the "cat" room.
janetraz
14 years ago
What a wonderful find under the carpet! The floors are gorgeous!
User
14 years ago
Your floors look great! I don't think anyone would notice the discolorations. How did you get the smell out of the wood? I much prefer the darker stains on floors and yours look to be in good shape. Lucky you!
awm03
14 years ago
Fantastic floors, drybean. I love the color. Looks like a nice house too.
User
14 years ago
Lovely! The wood has character, and it came out great.

I feel sorry for the PO's cat who must have had some urinary tract issues going on to soil the carpet so much :(
amykath
14 years ago
Wow! What a difference a gorgeous wood floor makes. You did a wonderful job. Looks so rich and warm!
monicakm_gw
14 years ago
Looks beautiful! I love the richness of a darker wood and with a Mint automatic floor dry sweeper/wet mop (not a vacuum), they'll stay clean with no effort on your part :) Couldn't live without mine :)
blfenton
14 years ago
What a hidden treasure you found under those carpets and they look gorgeous.
drybean
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for all the kind words! We were thrilled to discover the HW floors in a closet and learn they were throughout all the original parts of the house.

The dark stain does indeed look good-I'm just a slave to the dog hair that accumulates with lightening speed.

Chispa-yes! We ended up in La Crescenta. Terrific schools and a short commute for my husband to Glendale. Win-win. :) I wish we could live on the west side, but my husband would be unable to remain sane making that daily commute.
chispa
14 years ago
Drybean, I sent you an email through your (my page) link.
juddgirl2
14 years ago
Beautiful! You were so lucky to have hardwood floors underneath that nasty carpet! I have dark-stained floors and I agree with you about the upkeep, but still love the way they look, especially against white trim.
caminnc
14 years ago
WOW, looks wonderful!
gsciencechick
14 years ago
Wow, everything looks fantastic! Our floors are similar color in our 60's home, and we would love to get them refinished. Yours is a great inspiration pic. The time to do it is now before you move in because now it would be just a huge mess for us.
Jess TKA
14 years ago
Those floors are beautiful! I can't believe the transformation after seeing all those cat stains in the "before" pics. Wow.
mpmg46
14 years ago
Gorgeous! I would have freaked out at all of the cat stains, but you kept going and it turned out great! I love the darker stain. Great choice. Can't wait to see new pics of the house!
texanjana
14 years ago
They look fantastic.
Pipdog
14 years ago
The floors look awesome! Can't wait to see the other updates to the house. It reminds me a little of how our house looked when we moved in.