I know you are not a dummy but, let me just tell you one of the biggest "bang for your buck" projects when you buy an old house is having the hardwoods refinished. Every room will have shiny new floors in the stain that you choose giving the whole house a quick face-lift. Check out this before and after in our Dining Room.
BEFORE
AFTER
Floor Refinishing is dirty work. My best advice is do it BEFORE you move in! We closed on our house August 20th, had the floors done August 21 - 25th and moved in the next weekend (after a thorough cleaning of the house).
Here in South Carolina (and I've had floors refinished in Greenville and Columbia) you are going to pay about $1.25 - $2.25 per square foot to have hardwood floors sanded, stained and 2-3 coats of poly. Yes, you can do it yourself, just rent a sander, invest in stain and poly and prepare to work your butt off for about 3 - 4 days. BUT, unless you are a pro or have the hookup on a pro in the family you probably will spend more money paying a pro to fix your mistakes than you would have spent had you just hired a pro in the first place. This advice is especially true if you are doing 1600 SF like we did.
First up, the refinisher will rip up your old carpet (if you have any), remove staples and then sand your floors to take off old stain and poly(s).
A note about sanding: Floors can only be sanded a couple times in their lifetime. Each time the sanding takes off 1/8 - 1/4" of wood and thus after 2 - 3 refinishings you will need to replace the floor.
After a good vacuuming, they will apply the stain. Then (typically the very same day as the stain) apply the first coat of poly. Waiting overnight between poly coats is desirable. Day 3 usually is a quick light sanding and 2nd coat of poly. Unless you are doing a 3rd coat you can walk on the floors on day 4.
A good floor refinisher will work with you to get your desired color of stain - even staining a small portion of the floor with your choices so you can get a good idea of how the color will look in your house. We wanted a rich dark color that kept the traditional feel of the house while updating it a bit. In the BEFORE picture above the floors look a little yellow. This was not the original floor color but somewhere along the way the floors had been sanded and stained with a natural color and cheap poly that yellowed over time.
These are the 3 colors we chose from - we chose the one on the top, English Chestnut. Not too dark, not too red... just right.
Regarding the quarter round at the joint of the baseboards and floor you have a couple of options. 1. Leave it alone, we did. Typically unless you are going from very light to very dark or visa versa the color on the quarter round will be very similar to the new stain color. So leave it - it will save you lots of money and work. 2. Have it stained and polyed the same color - this is more expensive and may add a day or two to the work time because it is labor intensive. 3. Paint it white to match your baseboards. This is a very modern look and will really update the house. You can even do this yourself after the fact.
What a difference it made in our house - we will probably refinish the floors in every house we ever buy 'cause what an improvement!
So how to do find a floor refinisher? Well, you could do a google search in your area and pick the one with the best webpage BUT you would be missing the little guys who have been doing it for decades, don't have a webpage, charge less and do a better job the old school way [read: better]. So, ask your neighbors, go through the yellow pages and call every single listing. In Greenville, I got a recommendation from my Realtor but in Columbia I was on my own. I wrote down every company/name and phone number and called EVERY ONE. About 50% were out of business, miscategorized, or didn't return my phone call. I was left with about 8 guys who gave me a range of prices (most in the $1 - $2 range, some exorbitant like $6 a SF). I had the 3-4 in my budget come out, measure and give me a firm quote. Of the 4, one didn't show, one was really creepy, and of the final 2, the guy I chose was on time, good price and professional - plus he could start right away. HIRED! We were very pleased with our guys and if you are in Cola, SC and need a recommendation let me know.
Happy Refinishing!
We will cause its only supposed to be 93 this weekend - woo hooo cold front.
My copy is dogeared, has been dropped in the ocean, is highlighted, underlined and tear stained. I really have a little bit of a problem. This book finally gave me the kick in the buttookus I needed to be myself, to always try to explore new areas of my life, to do what I love, to literally live for my joy and the joy of those I truly, madly, deeply love.
I'll share one of the many, many, many underlined passages from my copy:
We've called our home warranty company and hope to have a contractor over to diagnose asap.
a bar of soap (any kind, any scent) grated
Then add the 1/2 cup of each Borax and Washing Soda and stir well - you want a granulated powder consistancy. Then store in your favorite container.
We made a double batch since we had all the ingredients on hand. Total cost of purchasing the box of Borax, soda and a 2 pack of soap is under $5. Each load of laundry only requires 2-4 Tbs of detergent so you do the math - ridiculously cheap.
The shed got ripped out, English Ivy cut back, and several buried surprises removed (doll legs, bricks, and glass). Here's Eric on Mt. Rubble. BUH-lieve me, the shed removal was a major undertaking - lots of nights and weekend work. Because we were cheap and didn't want to rent a dumpster - we cut up everything and put it in the garbage can - over several weeks of pick ups of course. 
All clear - you can see back into the backyard now. 
Then, once that was all clear we built a pergola over a raised deck. Here is Eric and our friend Mark sharing a fatty bud late at night after finally finishing the deck.
at this point we were spent but pressed on. We were actually on a major deadline - Mark and my BFF Tracy's engagement party was just 2 short weeks away. We laid an irregular stone path from the screened in porch out to the pergola with a little area on the way for a fire pit.
We purchased a flat of stone, leveled out the ground, laid a bed of sand and then arranged the stone. We took a shortcut to cement everything in - mixing sand and outdoor cement/grout sprinkled it dry over the stone, brushed it into the cracks and then watered it in. We wanted a simple look - nothing flashy or too uniform so this method was perfect!
Here is the finished product with the finalized pergola, deck and stone path - landscaped all along with cottage style flowers ... and the party was a great success!
I've got all sides of our families racking their brains for details they may remember about our family. Someday I hope to put together a book from one of the online publishing companies to compile all the info. I've learned in my short time as a genealogist that the search is never done. I don't know when I would call it complete enough to click "publish".
Eric and I did tons of updates - the kitchen, lots of painting, landscaping and a major bathroom reno. After a fresh paint job here she is in all her spring glory.
We miss you little house (but we have to admit the extra 900 SF and 2nd bath is nice) - hope you love your new owner. ;)
I've been saying I want to rip it out, replace it with a classic black and white look like this:
or this: 
Could it be??? Is that my pink tile? Could my bathroom actually look this good with a wallpaper or hand painted black and white design??
As the daylilies start blooming here in SC, I'm missing my daylillies at the old house in Greenville. Some of the plants were so old I had to split them into 7 or 8 plants - and they were still massive. I hope the new homeowner loves them as much as I did. Meh.
AFTER
Floor Refinishing is dirty work. My best advice is do it BEFORE you move in! We closed on our house August 20th, had the floors done August 21 - 25th and moved in the next weekend (after a thorough cleaning of the house).
Here in South Carolina (and I've had floors refinished in Greenville and Columbia) you are going to pay about $1.25 - $2.25 per square foot to have hardwood floors sanded, stained and 2-3 coats of poly. Yes, you can do it yourself, just rent a sander, invest in stain and poly and prepare to work your butt off for about 3 - 4 days. BUT, unless you are a pro or have the hookup on a pro in the family you probably will spend more money paying a pro to fix your mistakes than you would have spent had you just hired a pro in the first place. This advice is especially true if you are doing 1600 SF like we did.
A note about sanding: Floors can only be sanded a couple times in their lifetime. Each time the sanding takes off 1/8 - 1/4" of wood and thus after 2 - 3 refinishings you will need to replace the floor.
A good floor refinisher will work with you to get your desired color of stain - even staining a small portion of the floor with your choices so you can get a good idea of how the color will look in your house. We wanted a rich dark color that kept the traditional feel of the house while updating it a bit. In the BEFORE picture above the floors look a little yellow. This was not the original floor color but somewhere along the way the floors had been sanded and stained with a natural color and cheap poly that yellowed over time.
These are the 3 colors we chose from - we chose the one on the top, English Chestnut. Not too dark, not too red... just right.
What a difference it made in our house - we will probably refinish the floors in every house we ever buy 'cause what an improvement!
