Some background:

I ripped up 170 sf of fir that was trashed (lino installed on top), and installed Braz. Cherry. I would like to wait to finish all of our floors at once, after being advised by the local rental shop that doing this small of job myself probably wouldn't pencil out (compared to hiring someone). He thought that most homeowners come out ahead around 500 sf or so (I wish I had known this before I jumped into installing this small quantity).

Anyway, I still need to rip out 200 sf of fir and replace, then sand 600 sf of fir, plus the 350 sf of Braz. Cherry I will have installed. Budget wise, I probably won't get to this final 200 sf for about another year. I guess I'm thinking that if it is all is sanded at the same time it will look better (the floors meet at several openings). So, a couple of questions:

1. Is it OK to wait a fairly long time to finish? If so, should I seal it in the meantime?
2. Is it possible for a DIYer to feather one finish job into another, or is this best left for the pros? Or, can it even be done well by the pros?

3. Should the fir be done by professionals? I have heard horror stories about damage wrought by DIYers . . . If so, and depending on the answer to #2, I guess maybe pros should do it all?

Whew, sorry about how long winded this has become. Thanks for any and all opinions, this is a great forum!

Cheers, Jason

1) Generally, no. But if you do, apply a polyurethane over it then sand it off when doing the rest of the job.

2) Pros (good ones) will typically always do a better job than a DIYer. But the answer is it always depends on the individual and their skill level.

3) I usually recommend sanding and finishing done by a pro. There is a steep learning curve involved in sanding and finishing floors.