We recently bought a house in OH built in 1930 with hardwood under carpet throughout. We finally got the nerve to pull up the carpet in one small room and were really delighted with the character and look of the floor. I'd guess it had been covered 30 years or more, given that the carpet padding had turned into yellow crumble cake (which made it easy to scoop up with a dust pan).

Here's a wide shot:



I've done zero cleaning, just vacuumed and pulled up the tack strip and staples. There is a small amount of water damage right under the window (left open in a storm, I'd guess):



The flecks of white are residual padding material, which comes up easily.

Here's a close-up:



It's a very narrow board, oak I guess (not sure red vs. white) at 1 1/2". Not sure about the finish but probably some shellac or varnish. We don't plan to stay in the house for terribly long, so a full refinish is probably not in the budget. We also love the warm rich look of the finish (dings and all).

What's our best approach for cleaning, filling the holes, and protecting this floor (and the 800 sq ft more around the house)? Should we consider wax? Would we fill nail and staple holes with putty before adding wax? What about gaps at the board ends? Sides? Any general advice for a floor of this sort? If a refinish is eventually required, what sort of finish would recapture this look best?

Thanks in advance,

I am fairly sure this is a quarter/rift sawn white oak floor that was stained a light golden/reddish color then probably shellaced or varnished and possibly waxed as well. If you do not want to have it completely refinished, then consider a through cleaning and a re-waxing. Here is a recommended cleaning and waxing procedure from Trewax.

Hardwood Floors
DIRECTIONS:

1. Dust mop all particles from floor.
2. Use Wood Cleaner to remove any dirt or old wax buildup. A piece of steel wool can be used in heavily soiled areas.
3. Apply Clear Paste Wax with a soft cloth or fine steel wool pad. Paste Wax should be applied going with the wood grain and spread evenly across the floors surface. Allow about one hour to dry and buff with a floor buffer or soft cloth.
4. When faced with old hardwood floors worn down by heavy traffic, utilize the Indian Sand Paste Wax following steps 1, 2, and 3 above. Apply two coats of wax in extremely worn areas.
5. If you desire a liquid coating for wood floors Clean & Wax can be applied with a lambs wool applicator or soft cloth (one or two thin coats as desired). Allow about one hour to dry and buff as described above.
6. When you desire a hard shell acrylic appearance on your wood floor, use Trewax® One Step. Apply one or two thin coats with a lambs wool applicator or soft cloth. Allow about one hour to dry. No buffing required. This is a permanent finish and cannot be removed. Reapply as needed.

REGULAR MAINTENANCE:

1. Dust mop or vacuum weekly.
2. Buff as desired to maintain a good shine. (Except One Step)
3. Re-wax every six months or as necessary.

Their website: http://www.trewaxdirect.com/cgi-bin/cat ... egory=Wood

As for filling holes and cracks, you could consider using Woodwise Prefinished Nail Hole Filler ( http://www.woodwise.com/woodfiller/prefinish.html ) It comes in various colors that can be mixed together to create custom colors. The nice thing about it is it gets harder than some of the other colored putties. You could consider cleaning well and applying one coat of wax. Then when dry, fill your cracks and nail holes, then apply another coat of wax.

Thanks, Gary. It does look quarter-sawn, with little fleck rays every where. Really beautiful. Regarding the wax-fill-wax suggestion, will this have a negative impact long-term on the ability to refinish with a urethane if we stay longer than we plan? I.e., will the wax penetrate into nooks and crannies that normal sanding wouldn't be able to remove, causing lines or areas where urethane couldn't bond?

Thanks again,

Refinishing waxed floors is done everyday. I have done many. It is not typically a problem as the wax is normally just on the surface and is sanded off. Using a Universal wax free shellac as a seal coat would solve any potential bonding issues. The Woodwise filler will not pose a problem for future refinishing UNLESS you changed the color to much lighter. Then the colored filler maybe too dark.