Even without knowing the kind of wood or condition, I can't imagine replacing wood flooring in an 1890 home. In my opinion, the value is in the original material. If the floor is in good condition, it may not need sanding at all; a screening and recoat might be all that's necessary and the patina would be retained. There are many threads on this topic, try searching the Old House forum. I live in a converted schoolhouse built in 1890. The fir floors had been covered with layers of linoleum, glue, paint ... they were a mess.. but looked awesome after refinishing. That was years ago and I'm planning to have them screened soon (aka buff and recoat.) What kind of wood is it? Do you have photos?

Just finished cleaning the kitchen floor (on my hands and knees). I need to correct my ratio posted above. I used a couple tablespoons of white vinegar to 2 quarts of water. Did a section at a time with a well rung cloth followed immediately by drying with a soft towel. I've been doing this for the past eight years. The floors have a satin finish, so they have a slight shine. That has not changed. There are scratches from the cats' claws (even though I keep them trimmed), but that's part of the patina. Those of you using steam mops on wood floors might want to reconsider. Clearing up confusion about wood floor maintenance from the National Wood Flooring Association

It looks like those floors have been recently refinished. The gloss level appears to be matte. That is a look that is hyper trendy. This trend has been going for the last 5-10 years (depending on where you are). The orange looks very good with the CEILING and the gold/orange trim. You will notice how much the new gray walls clash with the orange trim and the ceilings. For me the gray/orange combo that you have causes my vision to vibrate. That tells me the clash is in the extreme range. It reminds me of the purple/green combination. I'm sorry but if you want gray in this home, you are going to have to change the following: 1. The stone fireplace - the stone is clashing (just a snick) with the gray you have chosen 2. The ceiling - the yellow is clashing with the gray walls (but working 'OKish' with the current fireplace) 3. The deep orange wood floor - this is a big clash with the deep gray on the wall. These are expensive changes. To refinish a wood ceiling takes ++ effort from a professional (effort and time = very expensive). You either have to paint or stain it gray (not a good idea) to get it to work with the gray walls. The window trim is a P.I.T.A.! Again, it is time consuming and expensive. This has to be done to get the dark gray paint to work. The fieldstone fireplace is a subdued 'mortar gray' with hints of orange in it. Believe it or not, the mortar gray is starting clashing with the dark gray on the walls. And then there is the dark orange floors. If you want any gray in that room to work, you must redo the floors. Or you can change the dark gray to something more complimentary to the orange tones in the home. I'm not saying the mint green was a nice option...but there are better options than this stark gray colour. If you find the right gray, you can leave all the other items alone. But the dark gray you have chosen is not working with anything in this home.

OK...if the current oak is solid (3/4") you have a 20 year old floor that can live another 60 years. If you pull it you have wasted 60 years worth of flooring. That's a bit of a shame. To refinish oak/wood floors = $5-$7/sf. That's it. That's all. That includes labour and materials. Now, to remove it = $2/sf. And you still have NOTHING. To replace it = $7 - $12/sf for material + $4-$5 for labour = $11 - $17/sf. Hmmmmm. That $7/sf sounds pretty good right now, doesn't it. Right. Here's the best case scenario for wood everywhere. 1. Get species match (not all oak is white...just sayin'). 2. Get plank width/cut/grade match (yah...they are all different) 3. Get a wood flooring pro (someone who ONLY does wood floors...not some person with a hammer) to come in a do all the removal of all your other materials ($1-$2/sf...depending) 4. Have him/her lace in all the new wood into the existing wood (do the 1/2 bath and kitchen...no issues there) 5. Have everything sanded and finished all at once. When a wood flooring pro is offered a big, juicy, well paying job, they often give a small discount on the refinishing bit for the old hardwood. In other words, they are already there for a big job...what's it to them to sand an extra 400sf of old stuff? Not much. All their tools are already on site. They are making their income on the BIG stuff (install/demolition) what's a $1/sf on the old stuff between friends? See where I'm going with this? You can save a snick of money on the old floors by adding in a BIGGER job for the wood flooring PRO...something s/he can really sink their teeth into for several days worth of work.