Our wood upstairs is narrow, but there are no visible nails showing. The problem with the original install is basically when they ran into a difficult fit, they didn't seem too skilled at it. Around the edges sometimes and where the banister meets the floor.

I'm surprised the sun faded your wood, I don't think I've ever had that happen to me. I haven't started looking into finish yet. The last time we refinished our floors I went with a water based finish that required about 5 coats. Growing up we always had oil based finishes and oil base definitely lasts a lot longer. I was not thinking of purchasing 'pre-finished' I'll have to look into what the difference is. Having a finish that is non toxic is important to me.

So, for a 10x 16 ft room, that would be about $1400. That doesn't seem bad to me. Is the flooring you are installing pre-finished? Do you know what kind of product they apply?

What part of the country are you in?

I'm in NJ. Someone said it could be my finish that discolored, not the actual stain. but I think it's the actual wood. It's really obvious when I move the area rugs. My new wood is by Appalachian flooring. It has an aluminum oxide finish. We decided to extend the wood to some small adjoining areas, that's how we are justifying getting new, so it all matches.

I would want the oil,finish if I had it done, and it would take too long, so not worth it.

Thanks Cindy, sounds like you made the right decision for you. Good luck with it. I'm still considering my options. I have some time to decide.

Can you post some photos of your current floor so we can see what you don't like about it? There was a thread not too long ago (Old House Forum?) where someone didn't like their 2" planks until someone else told them that was high end in the past, as it took more labor. Then they loved them. :-)

Weedy, here's my thread. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2887621/floor-refinishing-questionhow-long-does-it-really-take?n=3Problem is that it looks great in some spots, but mainly looks good where it has been covered. Note the faded spot where the dig is snifffing

Start over.

The old flooring could be sold online for sure. There is a market for this. You might even sell it to a flooring company.

We do a lot of reno work here in Vancouver and the replacement narrow boards cost the same if not more than the new boards.