My uncle inherited the family farmhouse (I had already bought the back acreage and built on it). He sold the 1743 farmhouse (yes, some "improvements" such as electricity, running water, a poorly-done 2nd floor apartment) to his DD whose DH is a carpenter. They ripped out everything - not that there was much fancy woodwork but there was a little in the front rooms. Wide board pine floors with square nails got ripped down to make "rustic" 4" wide trim. Plaster walls came down, sheetrock put up around the hand-hewn timbers that were stained dark, and the attic was ripped out to make a cathedral ceiling in part of the upstairs and a loft over the other part. New "handscraped" floors put in that aren't wearing as well as the old pine. New interior doors stained dark pine replaced the original painted (OK, they have small children and it was lead paint) doors with the ORIGINAL latches. French doors in place of the side entrance to the parlor, the parlor wall opened up to the (very small) entrance and original staircase (they kept that) with the mantel sticking out past the wall by 3". I could go on and on - breaks my heart to walk in there now, not that the old place was in good condition (awful wallpaper, vinyl over linoleum over pine, no subfloor) but there was so much to work with that could have been restored. But my cousin has to have everything open and airy and modern and now there's no going back...

sarah posted about her floors and black spots. You can get the black marks, which are rust, out of the wood with oxalic acid. They must be sanded first and then use it and then if you will use waterlox...three coats up to six coats...I will be glad to explain it if you post that you are interested, you will have a great finish that never needs sanding again and can be renewed whenever you want. Are your floors strong or is the disappearancce of the nails a bad sign ? That would be the first thing to check. Caroline

The restoration saga is far from over, but priming every things is giving us a much needed rest and reflection time. Soon I will hire a trim carpenter for the baseboards and picture rail installation, a plasterer for the skim coat, and electrician (MUCH needed). Not in that order ;) I enjoyed working on the windows and feel passionate about restoring them, but I just cannot do it myself right now. I'm thinking about sending the interior trim off to a Dip Strip place, then seeing what we got and working with some window restorers. Some pieces are broken :( While replacing the sash cords I could see that the windows were originally stained and shellacked. The restoration team can make custom storm windows, and much more. But our outside window trim is full of poorly painted nasty paint, super caked on layer after layer - have to hire someone to remove it (maybe lead abatement?) before storms can be made. Reglaze and weather strip, too. I know it's not cheap, but neither is replacing them. Maybe do one window at a time. Even one per year would be nice (only 5 double hungs and 2 pianos to do!) So...with everything I've read in favor of original wood windows, I have to say that currently our windows are definitely subpar and VERY cold. I see they MUST be maintained and have the storms to be great in the winter. We added a removable plasticy caulk, shimmed then, painted them shut, and plastics them, and now they are okay. Q: Can trim carpenters also repair parts of our hardwood floor? Thanks again to everyone on Houzz, I learned so much here.

Here's how you tell what LEVEL of refinish/refresh you can look at. Have a good look at the WORN areas. Ask yourself this: Can I see RAW WOOD? Or is it just deep/excessive scratches? If you can see 'raw wood' (which I think I can see in front of the pantry area) then you are too late for a quick refresh. If you have a deep/excessive scratches but the wood is FULLY covered, then you can opt for a buff-and-coat. A buff and coat is a quick (takes 1-2 days to complete) process. The professional comes in and does a LIGHT sanding (buffing) just to give a bit of grab to the EXISTING finish. Then they lay a SINGLE COAT of finish (compatible with your existing finish). The cost is roughly 1/2 the price of a full sand/refinish ($3/sf rather than $5/sf). A buff and coat will offer 5-7 years worth of service and will give a lovely 'pick-me-up' on a floor-finish that has another 10 years of service. If I'm correct and am seeing raw floor in front of the cabinet/pantry, then the buff and coat won't be enough. Raw wood means the floor has been left too long without a refinish. If you can see 'raw wood' then the previous owners missed the "time for a refinish" by SEVERAL YEARS. If the area of raw wood is significant (more than a few square inches) then they missed it by a decade or so. This all hangs on the "raw wood" vs. scratches.