Hello,

I'm in the process of refinishing the hardwood floors in our living room. We moved into this house when I was a kid in 1968 and the living room had carpet in it as long as I can remember. I removed the carpet recently and was happy to see the oak flooring was still in pretty good condition.

I had to patch an old furnace vent, and there are some nail holes around the perimeter from the carpet tack strips, but otherwise it's in pretty good shape. It also looks like it was refinished around the perimeter at some time, possibly with shellac, so I've been removing that with a paint scraper.

Since the floors are in pretty good shape, I think a drum sander would probably be overkill. So I think the next step will be to rent an orbital floor sander. The hardwood strips are only 3/8" thick too. So I want to be careful not to remove too much wood when sanding.

I would really appreciate any suggestions regarding finishes. I've read a bit about oil vs varnish, and I'm leaning toward oil. But cost is also an issue.

Here's a few pics.

Thanks,

Andrew

Hi,

I think it would be a good idea to check our Blog and articles on Restoring and Finishing interior floors along with tips on sanding on our website.

I believe that these aritcles will be very helpful for your project.

Should you have further questions, please get back to us.

Kind Regards,

Thanks for your quick response. I had seen that Restoring and Finishing article before, but couldn't find it today. I will check out both of those articles.

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