Hardwood flooring

[Tanyal]

My Dh and I salvaged some hardwood flooring from a house that was being demolished. This house was in great shape and the all of the flooring is hardwood. The owners are tearing down and building new. So, we spent all weekend pulling up the floor and taking out nails. Now, that we have it home my Dh wants to put the pieces through a power planer before we lay it. The problem is I can't find a place that rents them. Is this the best thing to do or should we just lay it and then sand it and finish it?

Tanya in MI

[Ramblin Wreck]

If it is hardwood and in good shape, you can probably avoid the need for a planer, unless you want to get down to "raw wood" so that you can apply your own finish to it. If it is longleaf pine, it might have a few more dints/dings than oak would have, but I bet it would still look great just with a sanding/refinishing. Best wishes in whatever you choose to do.

[Mutti]

We got all the maple flooring from my hubby's high school gym when they tore it out for $50...sure wish I could find another bargin like that!...alot of cleaning but well worth the effort...it was beautiful....so of course, new owners to that house put in carpet! No accounting for taste. We just layed,sanded and put three coats low gloss poly on it. Think those old floors are thicker to begin with. DEE

[Tanyal]

These floors are probably only about 3 years old. I personally think they look fine and that we can just lay them and mop them and see if they even need refinishing. The house is the owners beach house and they aren't there fulltime as it is their second home. So I don't think it even had a lot of traffic. But, I am all about simplicity and my dh is probably trying to do it the right way LOL.

Thanks,
Tanya in MI

[patnewmex]

Install the flooring, then sand...etc.

pat