More photos of the floors

It appears that you are also missing some fillers, you will also need to replace that.

I don’t have anything to add on top of what was already said, but I do want to say this:

1. Those are BEAUTIFUL floors!!
2. Pine is probably the most underrated flooring material there is. I’m not sure why no one uses it anymore.

@cat_ky: Would you recommend filling the gaps with rope or wood filler?

Pine is a closed grain wood. It hard to get filler to stick, especially if the floor moves a bit due to looseness or seasonal changes.

Thank you everyone! We had to remove layers of tile to find these floors! I did an experiment about a year ago where I mixed acrylic paint and latex caulk and filled the gaps with that in tiny sections. Occasionally I didn’t wipe the excess off in time and it left a haze. But it did stabilize the floor and keep it from creaking and being drafty. I used a steam mop on hazy areas (I know, big no no- but I did it) and it removed some of the caulking. But the areas I did not caulk are holding up amazing! I’ve heard that the floor refinishers put the sawdust in the cracks. It does pop out after a few months. I did see a tutorial on rope filler but I vaguely remember a warning that it could cause some issues. I can’t remember.

@SJ_McCarthy I have only used a damp microfiber cloth to clean the floors with a touch of dawn. And once a shark steam cleaner (which removed the caulk residue I mentioned in my previous post). At one point in the pandemic and not being able to keep up with work and a 2 & 4 yr old I bought a braava mopping machine (which is basically a swiffer wet). I mostly sweep the floors and then vacuum (daily) and weekly get on my hands and knees with water, a touch of dawn, and microfiber.

@SJ_McCarthy my contractor has vanished and left me wondering what he used for many things. He told me one thing but my “fixers” have told me that what he said was not honest and true. All I know is that we bleached the floors (took 3 days) and then stained them and applied a satin finish of some sort (oil based I believe based on the fumes). My current contractor says it’s polyurethane and needs to be completely redone with furniture removed and is removed for a few days. (Not an option at the moment). I did experiment on the 3rd floor by lightly sanding the floor and then Applying old masters gel stain and it looks so much better! Here are some pics of the before and after of the 3rd floor. I only tried this out because it’s what my contractor did on small fixes in my girls rooms. I thought I might as well try it it out on the 3rd floor and I’m wondering if I can do the same process myself in the kitchen? Or refrain?

The stain gel is like concealer.. But for floors instead of make up. If you want a quick pick me up (that you later pay MORE to remove later...It gums up screening paper) feel free to keep going.

Your floors are in rough shape. They need an old fashioned wood doctor. Someone who can handle these old gals.

Thank you! Here are some before pics during renovation. We’ve greatly improved the floors but they do still need some TLC. Any advice as to what to do right now before I can scoop the kids up and leave the house for a few days? (As well as moving out the furniture). My previous house was a shotgun from the 1880s and it had gorgeous wide pine floors that I had refinished twice while I lived there. I’m wondering if I should have even tried to salvage this old house.

Part of me thinks the stain is part of the issue. If they had been allowed to 'live' as they are supposed to (naked but for polyurethane) things would have worked out better.

I'm sorry you have lost your contractor. Have you started a process against him/her?

@SJ_McCarthy thank you! I’m looking forward to getting these floors fixed one day. And yes we finished the process against the contractor almost two years ago. He’s no longer in business. 😬 I have a new contractor who is wonderful. He’s made a lot of necessary fixes to the property. My new contractor is fixing the major structural issues the previous contractor patched over and said he fixed. I’m working on cosmetic issues that I can improve myself but it’s sounding like the floors don’t have a 5 year bandaid solution that I could do myself for now.

Are the floors splintering? Are they splitting? Are they causing a 'sliver' hazard?

If you answer 'No', then just leave them. They are fully functional and will offer 5 years of work. You can spend hundreds and hundreds on the gel stain (and dozens of hours doing this) only to have a mess on your hands later. That's no improvement over what you have right now. None.

So long as they are not a hazard for slivers or bare/stocking feet then leave them. You have bigger fish to fry...like the rest of the upgrades. Leave the floors. They can wait.