We debated for ages what to do with the upstairs bedroom floors. When we moved in they were covered in carpet (like just about everything else in the house). We were excited to pull up the old shags to reveal what would lie beneath but were not exactly thrilled to find the mess that we found. The floors had seen better days, to say the least. There was much damage from years of neglect and clearly the last owner hadn't anticipated that they would ever be brought back to life because when we found them they were covered in splotches of white paint.
We talked about carpeting them, thought about using some of the leftover handscraped oak flooring from downstairs... but in the end, we decided to bite the bullet and just refinish them. We had been told that the floors were fir and that we shouldn't even bother to trying to do it ourselves. As it turns out, they're actually pine, but regardless we hired the pros to come in and do it for us. And I must say that I think we made the right decision to bring them back to life.
It was a bit of a nuisance to prepare for the event-- moving all the furniture, emptying the closets, and moving ourselves and "the kids" (cats) into the basement apartment, where we persist to reside. But all in all I think we'd both agree that it was worth the $481 and inconvenience we expended for the result. See for yourself!
Before
After
I can't believe those are the same floors! They look fantastic. Glad your decision to try to save them worked out. I'm sending a link to my parents, who have been debating debating pulling up their horrible brown carpets for at least 3 years, but are worried about the condition and the cost of refinishing them. But it sounds like it may not be so risky or pricey after all!
Also, Seamus is a new addition to the family, right? Yay for kitty siblings! Nora and Xavier turned 2 today =)
Posted by: Cheryl | March 31, 2008 at 11:57 AM