nice! the difference is amazing. You would never guess how they looked before! our new house may have pine/spruce flooring under the laminates, I definitely would do this if we can uncover them in good enough shape to make the work worthwhile. Thanks for the inspiration!
don't forget to post pics again once the room is finished.

Pretty, pretty, pretty! What a wonderful difference. Bet it feels like a new house!

Details, please?
Wood type?
Re-stained (what color) before the poly?
Is the Bona poly worth the extra cost?
How many coats of poly?
Sanding between coats?
Dry time between coats?

I'm trying to pull the trigger on poly finish and need courage!

Thanks!

WOW !! Look so pretty ! We have 120 yr old heart pine so I know how much work you had to put in. Of course we paid someone to do it :) but I watched and commiserated !! Your home is wonderful inside and out ! c

They look really good. I agree with not oversanding -- an older home should have a little character in the flooring and you maintain more of the integrity and longevity of the wood. Good job.

Details: The flooring is white oak, narrow strips. We sanded off the old finish which was worn through in many places. We did not stain, and it had not been previously stained, so this is the natural color including wear and tear. The previous finish was much more yellow.

We used Bona Floor Poly HD from Big Orange Box, it was $60/gallon, ten $ more than the non HD. This room gets heavy traffic and we decided the promised extra durability was worth the cost. It dries to a clear finish, and does not have the amber tint most oil-based poly has. We liked the clear finish which lets the floor grain be the star.

It went down amazingly easily with a foam pad and a roller. The first coat was easiest as you could readily see where the finish was. We did not use any pre-treatment just put the Bona Poly down on the bare wood. The first coat used much more poly than the subsequent coats.

Directions call for 2 hours of dry time, more in humidity (and it was humid and getting hotter each day). We gave it 3-4 hours between coats, and did 3 coats. Between each coat we sanded lightly with 220 grit paper on a drywall pole. The first coat raised the grain in 2-3 places and that needed more sanding, but the rest was smooth.

After sanding, we dust-mopped thoroughly with a new microfiber cloth. We bought a big bag of Quickie brand cloths at Big Orange Box, and used a new cloth with each pass until the last pass left the mop clean. Let me just say that room has NEVER been so clean and likely will not be ever again!

Having 2 people was helpful but not necessary. DH poured and used the pad on the edges, and I rolled. We watched a couple of You Tube videos before the get the gist. Pouring was difficult at first as the gallon was heavy and dripped, so we used a paper plate with a ziploc bag over it to set the jug of poly down. It took maybe 20 minutes for a 350+/- room to put the poly down.

The Bona was fabulous, very little scent, excellent self-leveling and really did dry in 2 hours. In 72 hours it will be fully cured, and we'll start moving in furniture. I can't speak to the long term durability but will report any problems.

Javachik this is TOTALLY DIY-able. It is a bit intimidating, but can be done by anyone who can read and follow directions. Even the sanding was DIY-friendly, other then renting the sanders --they are heavy. The edge sander was the least DIY friendly and IMO was no more useful than my orbital sander, so consider buying the best orbital sander and paper you can buy instead of renting an edge sander. Feel free to e-mail me with questions, I'm away a couple of times this summer but try and check my mail regularly.

Amazing results, and my interest is definitely piqued. We have red oak and would love to have them refinished, but the logistics seems almost impossible to have them done professionally without moving out.

Were you able to mask off the room from the dust?

What orbital sander did you use?

It looks gorgeous, and the baseboard heat looks so much better too!! I love radiator heat but they can be a decorating challenge.

WOW!!!! You two did an amazing job!! I know all the work involved, been there, done that. Thanks for mentioning the Bona poly, I never knew about it even though I use the Bona cleaner on my hardwood floors. Love it. Can't wait to see the room all finished, even empty it looks warm and cozy.

Lovely!

That looks amazing! (And I am so impressed that you did it yourself!)

What a beautiful room. I can't wait to see it when it's all finished!

You did a fabulous job! Thank you for sharing the photos and explaining in detail all the steps you took to achieve such a beautiful result. Although a DIY floor is not in our immediate future, you never know!

Tinan, we did the radiator cover in our recent DIY bathroom, and unfortunately, now need to do it in every room because they look so much better.

gsciencechick we have a couple. A Rigid, not my favorite but excellent for sanding drywall with good dust collection, a B&D Mouse, great for tight places, and an old Milwaukee that my dad gave me. When that goes I'll buy a Bosch or Porter Cable.

Thanks for the compliments, it feels great because it was a lot of work. We had a pro replace the ceiling and do some drywall repair, that is one task where I'll hire a pro every time. Our guy is so meticulous he had barely any sanding to do, unlike when I tackle drywall.

They look great! It is a lot of work, that's for sure. We just tackled this two years ago when we laid new to us 113 year old poplar floors over our 100+ year old poplar in the living room that was in really bad shape. The older floor was in great shape, but had stain, shellac, and paint on top as well as some that was worn down to bare wood. Ours isn't nearly as pretty as yours, but it made an amazing difference when all was said and done. I was really tired of waxing floors all the time and it was so nice just to be able to sweep and damp mop for the first time!

Thanks for posting what you've accomplished. We're coming up on time to recoat our pine floors, and your information and very inspiring pictures for the first time make me think we should just do it ourselves.

It looks great, in fact looks like a brand new floor. Is it as smooth as it looks?

mrsmortarmixer, what is this thing you call waxing? ;-) I am looking forward to easier upkeep.

Marti8a, is is very smooth. You couldn't sock-skate on it, but a microfiber cloth, which we used for between-coat dusting, goes smoothly over the floor, where it catches horribly on my rough fingers. You can feel the grain in places, but is isn't rough.

I will say after this I'm sold on those microfiber clothes for dusting the floor, they were amazing.

*****Can I show off just a little? *****

You can and should show off a lot! Looks great!

That looks great!

Gsciencechick - you don't want to use an orbital sander on hardwood floors; it will make permanent swirl patterns in the wood. You need to use a belt sander.

Heck - when it comes to this forum you can show of your DIY a lot!

Let me know when you want to make a trip to my house lol!

It looks amazing!