Unfinished Oak Floors

New here and getting started on a recently purchased 1961 house.

I've pulled up all of the old carpet and pad throughout the house, about
1900 sq ft, to reveal the original hardwood floors. The floors in the
bedrooms were finished at some point in the past but appear to have been
covered with carpet for a long time, as they appear to be relatively free
of
any defects [except of course the holes from the staples removed]. In the
formal living room and dining room, however, the oak floors were never
finished. I don't notice any un-level boards but they do retain their
coarse
texture.

At this time, I'm not wanting to pour a huge amount of money into the
floors, as there are some other updates/repairs that I would like to make.
For the living room and dining room, my question is, could I stain them or
put a finish on them and have them look reasonably good without going
through the sanding process? If so, are there particular things to be
aware
of? My main reason for wanting to avoid doing this at the time, in
addition
to the cost and time, is that my wife is pregnant and we don't want to
deal
with the mess of all the particles in the air. If I can get away without
sanding and truly finishing at this point, is there any coating that would
keep the boards from being a "problem" (i.e. dangerous) to our new
daughter
when she starts crawling around in several months.

As an aside, for the bedrooms, which have the finished floors, is there a
good cleaner I should use on them just as general upkeep in transitioning
them for use. Since I'm not refinishing them, I'm not filling the staple
holes, but we will use area rugs.

Thanks for any guidance in advance.


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Unfinished Oak Floors
    ... I've pulled up all of the old carpet and pad throughout the house, ... to reveal the original hardwood floors. ... Major disruptions during pregnancy are less fun than they are the rest of the time, so, why not wait until the baby arrives and do it then? ... If the HOUSE was the major issue, I'd go along with suggestions for stripping out wood trim and all that others have suggested. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: OT - DD moving out - Day 1
    ... The most I can recommend right now is to work from the upper floors down, ... carpet second when at all possible. ... I looked long and hard for a house wihtout ... can you come up with a plan for our moving? ...
    (rec.crafts.textiles.quilting)
  • Re: Carpet Replacement
    ... on the carpet. ... What is perhaps the most durable solid floor covering to use given the ... That is a large living room; just 553 sq ft shy of my house. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Carpet vs hardwood for home sale?
    ... > Let me ask you this, if you were in the market to buy a house, would you ... > put a small child on the floor to play in someone else's dirt. ... rip up the filthy carpet and toss it. ... floors either refinished or installed. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Carpet vs hardwood for home sale?
    ... >> put a small child on the floor to play in someone else's dirt. ... rip up the filthy carpet and toss it. ... > floors either refinished or installed. ... so I'd definitely recommend to anyone looking for a quick house ...
    (alt.home.repair)