I have plenty oaks , I guess, but I like the sense of the branches leaning in over the walkway and the sense of enclosure made around our shady place. This is Texas. Shade is desirable and not always where you want it and need it.. I am over 60 and growing trees on this 4" of dry alkaline limestone rubble on a slope and caliche will take a long while especially since I can only water the first year to establish then it is on its own. We live 100% on rain water for all our needs. Irrigating is kept at a minimum. We are all about drought hardy. No worry there. I do know that October - November are the months to plant trees here in Texas. There is a sucker coming up from a root, so there is that variable to the possibilities if I do cut it down. It will take off a lot quicker than a planted tree. Below are what I left in the trimming. I did straighten it out and I took a weird crosswise branch that would have extended and started crowding a Madrone tree. The oak tree that we are talking about and the one on the other side of the Madrone had started to join their canopies and stunt the madrone a couple of years ago. Madrones are more than special and it is becoming an endangered tree. I clipped the branches back 2 years ago and the Madrone has rewarded me beautifully. The winds knocked the tree away from the madrone so Its space has really increased which is good. I do play favorites and I will butcher the other trees for that madrone.She's my baby. She takes precedence. Things look airer and the birds are flying through.Things are not as closed in and I bet the clematis vine will get more light and bloom better. I l included a picture which shows the walkway/sitting area and why I like that tree. I also left a picture showing what MOst of the trees are like around my place. My taste run towards natives and a wild look. No lawn, no hybrids, everything is tough as nails. If things go dormant in the heat of summer, so be it. I do have a good deal of sun here. It was 94 degree sun today and it has been a cool summer.. Now I will keep my fingers crossed and see what happens. I might call an arborist and mine him for info. This post was edited by wantonamara on Sun, Jul 6, 14 at 23:41

I have an old house with old white oak floors. When I pulled up carpeting in den, I discovered it wasn't wood plank but cheap plyboard or something. Kitchen had some sort of tile over linoleum. I had a contractor cut out existing floor in den and kitchen (I'm on a pier & beam, so I have a wood subfloor, which the contractor left intact). He installed new white oak, and did a good job matching up the lines in adjoining hall. So I then have amber colored old white oak floors and then the new white oak unfinished floors. Several wood floor refinishers have assured me they can refinish the old floors and the new flooring and match them with the same stain. There may be SOME slight difference, but not much, if any. That's good enough for me. Expensive, but the old floors need to be refinished, anyway. They all said they do this on occasion. They just sand the old floors down to the raw wood. As for a damaged area, contractors told me it's no problem to pull out what they consider a damaged area and feather in new white oak strips. I'm not having that done because I think the refinishing will deal with the discoloration, and I don't want to get into pulling up any more existing flooring.

You could try lifting the strips up using a 5 in 1 tool. Another option is to get a wood chisel, and split the wood carpet strips with the grain removing small slivers, once the strip is removed you should be able to scrape the glue off.

So here is what you are doing: you are slowing reducing your ceiling height (which is a selling point = higher ceilings = higher value in the home) with each layer of flooring. Just because SOMEONE else has made poor flooring decisions (made because they didn't have the budget to do it properly) doesn't mean you need to follow suit. Each layer you put down is another layer you will HAVE to pull out. It has to come out SOMETIME!!!! You can purchase new doors and new trim and new counter tops and new outside doors and new siding...etc... OR you can do the 'right thing' and get rid of the HORRIBLE flooring set up. You will pay for it today...or you will pay DOUBLE tomorrow. If you INSIST on doing this...then use the LOWEST priced flooring on the market = $0.79sf laminate and float the darn thing! Don't put down ANYTHING of value....NOTHING! Don't throw a 'medium' amount of money at this situation so that you can save a tiny amount today. You WILL PAY MORE. And remember: anything 'man made' (vinyl or bamboo) will NOT BE available 12 months from now. Which means you will NEVER match what is in that room. And that means it is a WASTE OF MONEY! If you must waste money (and you will be) you really should waste as LITTLE as possible. Find a nasty laminate and throw it down. You will rip it out in 7-10 years anyway. And no....don't trim your doors. It is the WRONG PLACE to put your money. Again = TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY! It's your call. How much money do you WANT to waste? That's what you need to ask yourself. IF you say, "Waste money? None! I never want to waste it! I can't afford it!" then you need to leave the flooring situation alone and start REMOVING the cr@ppy floors you have in the house and start saving for a REAL solution.