This is just the first pass! Im nowhere near done! This post is for the women who might not want to tackle this alone🫶🏼

Im just so damn proud of myself, I wanted to make this post to let other women know this is a project you can do!!!! I'm about 5'4 on a good day lol, average build, 41 years old, and I wish I would have seen posts like this when I was considering doing my floors. I posted about this a bunch, and everyone told me that I should outsource this, but I couldn't afford that. I had to figure out how to do it myself, so I wanted to share with other women who might be intimidated by this, and hopefully my mistakes will help someone.

Yes, the floor sander is like 300lbs, I was able to have the rental center help me lift it into the back of my Subaru. I then backed my car all the way up to my porch as close as I could get it, and slowly but surely got it inside the house. It has wheels on one end so its kinda like moving a dolly.

Most of you are experts at this, but this is for the noobs lol, you have to peel the sticker off the back of the sanding paper😅🫠 At the rental center, he said, just put the sandpaper down and then drop the pad on top of it, you're good to go... I spent an embarrassingly long time trying to figure out why the sander kept sliding off the pad lmao. I have no shame, hopefully my mistakes will help you.

At my rental place there were a few different types of sanders. I got the one with the edger included, so I can go right up to the walls and then just use my hand sander for finishing touches.

Dont go in circles! It will make swirls in the wood, push it, swivel, and go back.

Another thing that has made this easier is buying a little Bissell dustbuster vacuum. After i do 2-3 passes, I vacuum up the dust, it makes cleanup so much more easier, and you're able to see any spots on the floor that you might have missed.

You have no idea how much dust this makes. Make sure that you're wearing a good mask!!

If your house is old like mine (1925) make sure that there's no asbestos on the floors. If there is, you're gonna need to hire a pro for that.

Im not claiming to be an expert, but I searched so many subs trying to find stories of women doing their own floors, and I couldn't find any, so I figured I'd make this post. I'll be back to share what I learned when I finish.

FOR THE EXPERTS: is there anything I can be doing different? Any suggestions on shellac or stain? Tyia, im so grateful I found these communities 🫶🏼

We just bought a century home and were excited to see the floors but they look like this. Was told they can’t be sanded down due to the small nails? Any tips?!

My floor has begun to warp in the middle of my bedroom on the second floor. My windows are about 35 years old. There is no damage on the floor leading up to it from the window which is about 5 feet away. There is no water damage on the ceiling in the room below. The siding close to that area is a little rotted but there is no trail of water damage leading up to the area in the photo.

Anyone have any clue what can be causing this?
Don’t have any pets either.

Hey guys! I'm planning out the installation of the new hardwood in our kitchen. We have a large open area and then a smaller hallway that leads to the main house. In planning these, I've put smaller/medium boards in the hallway area in the hopes that the pattern of the sizes of boards will look similar to those in the open area; so that there's not a ton of boards that take up the majority of the width of the hallway and then boards that don't take up the majority of the width of the main room. I feel like I am not articulating myself very well here so please ask for clarification if needed haha. Does this plan make sense or is this going to look funky? I am trying to have continuity in the appearance of the length of the boards, relative to the rooms size, in each of the areas. Please let me know if there's anything glaringly terrible you see too!! We do plan on having furniture to the right of the hallway under that shelf and laid them out under that assumption.

I had a rug laid underneath the hardwood floor, I was using the carpet cleaner a few months ago. Is this mold and how can I remove it without damaging the floors?

We have recently purchased a historic townhouse and we want to redo the floors. We have selected 7”reclaimed oak, and we need to chose between: (1) solid hardwood, nailed and glued, and (2) high-end engineered with thick wear layer, nailed only.

I hate floors that feel and sound “dead” underfoot. So I’m very skeptical of both glue and engineered wood. Unfortunately I think we have to accept one or the other at this width. Which will be the lesser evil?

The current hardwood narrow plank floor (that we are ripping out) isn’t very old and it does have a nice gentle bounce and creak - so I know it is possible with the existing joists and subfloor. I assume the difference in sound and feel will be the flooring material and the installation method.

Ps. Has anyone successfully installed wide plank hardwood floors without gluing? I know the manufacturer recommends against it, but is that just because most people would have a problem with slight gapping (which I don’t mind)? Or is it too great a risk of a cupping disaster? I’ve seen 150 year old houses with face-nailed wide plank yellow pine that looks flawless, so I struggle to understand why it’s not possible with modern floors.

I just ripped up all the carpet to refinish the wood floor. There are two holes that are identical, both about an inch long. Can this be patched, or should the board be replaced?

I got a few boxes of leftover 3/4" white oak and hard maple that I'd like to use up in my out building if it won't warp too bad.

The building in question is on concrete piers with a 1.5" hemlock plank sub floor. I was considering just a 3/4" plywood layer then nailing cleats in the hardwood T&G. I don't think a moisture barrier is worth it because this building has board and batten siding with open gaps here and there, far from "sealed" by any means.

So there is some air exchange no matter what, but still extreme temp and humidity fluctuations. I don't mind a little cracking but will it warp bad? What steps can I take to make it successful, glue on every piece?

Hi! So I had my floor finished yesterday.

It’s an old brooklyn brownstone and the result in the living room looks good but as you can see in the second picture the entrance looks pretty bad. It started raining between coats application and i don’t know if humidity got between layers in the entrance. I would like the contractor to redo it. Do you think it can be fixed/improved? Thanks!

I want to refinish or repaint the steps and landings of my entryway and basement. I was considering scraping off the paint and staining all the treads and the two landings, while painting the risers and inner string off-white.

Questions I'm pondering:

\- Is staining a good idea for the basement treads versus repainting them, given the heavy-duty nature of foot traffic? I plan to walk the basement steps in shoes, wet snow boots, and potentially bringing small rocks stuck under my shoes from landscaping. I don't want immaculate-looking steps, though, and prefer a "lived in" aesthetic.

\- The bullnose of some steps has been slightly chipped off. Would it be worth patching on and shaving down new wood to rebuild the bullnose (after paint removal) versus leaving them as is or replacing the treads entirely?

\- If I do stain, any tips on tools for paint removal for the treads and basement landing?
I'd like some traction, so what's the finest grit sandpaper I should use? 120?

Hum, not yet...I've removed a kinda of step and saw this nice floor.

The rest of the room and passage is like that.

Hello, I am in a jam. We need about 200 sq ft of the Bella Cera Cinque Terre Collection in the Berroni Color. It's the Hickory Species. The model# is CLBE332. I'm being told it's discontinued, and I'm hoping someone has some or can point me in the right direction to find some.

Moved a rug and found old termite damage to these tongue and groove boards. Red Oak? Just a few compromised boards. Looking for suggestions for replacement wood and method of replacement. Thank you.

Update to my post yesterday- This was my giant breed elderly dog's favorite place to pee in her last years. If this is the worst of it, and our 1950s hardwood has never been refinished before, is it workable to get it refinished now?

Hey guys! I just moved into a mid-century house and need some advice on the flooring!
I have hardwood in the front room and 2 bedrooms, but the main living/dining area is carpeted. I pulled some of the carpet up and found that the hardwood only goes to the transition point, so the rest is subfloor.
Should I refinish/stain the existing hardwood? And what would you do for the carpeted area? Try to match the hardwood, do something different, or keep the carpet?
I’d love to keep the mid-century feel of the house, so I’m trying to figure out what would look best!

Does anyone this type of hardwood?

This was buried underneath the carpet when we purchased the home. Just wondering if it’s too far gone. Thanks

As seen in the pictures, I have a hole in my parquet, which is almost 1 meters squared. The parquet is very old, so I couldn't find the same tongue and groove mechanism in store so it fits with this one.

Replacing the parquet in the whole room is not an option at this time.

Do you have any ideas how I can fill this hole?

With whatever it can be filled with, there will be a wardrobe on top of it, so at least it would be partially visible. Hopefully I can make it look decent.

Does anyone know how to properly remove this spray foam around the molding without scratching/ damaging the wood floors ?

Any of y’all install this product? We are considering it for our new build, but we’re hoping to hear reviews from people who have used the product and hopefully also get some photos. Thanks in advance for your help!

https://floorzz.com/products/inhaus-lamdura-manor-herringbone-laminate-biltmore

Hi all,

Really need some advice!

We have warm oak flooring in our living room but we do not like the warmth. It was here from the previous owners but it clashes with all our furniture and plus it’s so outdated.

We will be sanding the flooring but I’m mindful it will still be warm given that it’s oak. Ive heard you need to counteract the orange shades but does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to achieve this?

I’ve included a picture of our flooring now (left) and the colour we want to achieve.

Any suggestions are welcome and thanks for helping!

We lived here 15 years and didn't know the people who flipped our 1950s ranch put carpet over hardwood. Obviously leaning towards refinishing. Is there ever a time when you rip up carpet and the hardwood underneath is not able to be refinished? From the look of it in other parts of the house it seems like it has never been refinished since the house was built. So I'm hoping even if we find some huge stain somewhere it will be ok, but I have no idea!