The good thing about existing doors is that they are hung and fitted to your openings. If you look up how to install new doors, it's no picnic. With the existing doors, all you really need here is a bit of sanding, or you could paint them as is if you want to stay with the rustic look. A satin or semi-gloss paint would make a feature of the uneven surface if you left it that way. You'd want to sand a bit after the first coat, I think, but just to smooth down the loose fibres. Are you doing any work at all yourselves? If so, then I would suggest it might be worth your time to learn the skills and acquire the tools needed to do this job - it wouldn't be rocket science. You'd need a sander (by hand would be possible too), some dust masks, and maybe some sawhorses for setting up the workspace outside. The wood is actually quite beautiful, and the tone quite warm and pleasant, not dark in a bad way. But in certain types of rooms I can see you'd want them lighter. KarinL

I'm worried about the 'pock mark' in your second photo. A fully cured, fully ADHERED finish WILL NOT do that. You can see the centre of the pock is gone and the WHITE COLOURING around the edge of the mark = adhesion failure. I'm HIGHLY suspicious this floor is going to have more and more issues. A dropped toy should dent the WOOD but leave the finish INTACT. This is the OPPOSITE. The wood is intact (not a heavy object) but the FINISH has FAILED. I would assume the worst. If one spot fails, it is most likely it will ALL FAIL. As for the white scratches, that can be normal for a fresh finish. Even after a full 30+ day cure they can be a little delicate. I would recommend bringing in an NWFA Certified inspector (www.nwfa.org) and pay them for an inspection. They will perform an adhesion test to see how well that oil based poly is grabbing the Minwax stain. While you are waiting for the NWFA Inspector to call you back, I would reach out to Masterline (as G&S suggested a few weeks ago) to find out if Minwax is an acceptable stain underneath their product. And if so, how much time they want to see from 'stain' to first coat of finish. Minwax is KNOWN for taking many many hours (some required 24-72 hours) before the first coat of finish can be applied.

it already is refinished. What do you have in mind? Remove all of that stuff if it's yours. Simple option, remove all the stuff, add a wood beam mantle, bring in a few design elements, and maybe hang a nice piece of art on the wall above it. Simple, cheap and easy. paint the wall a dark color so the white pops. go to home depot, buy a Fir beam (maybe a 2x6 or 4x6) have them cut it to the length you want, and bring it home. Beat it up a bit with heavy chains and tools to 'age' it. now stain it a walnut color. ( ( (Sand it first if you need to) put a satin coat of poly on it. Install it on top of the brick. hang a nice piece of art over it. You could even get a solid piece black granite or slate and use it for the hearth. Style it exactly how it's shown here!! maybe do some shelving on either side. you like black better? paint it black. you can still add the wood mantle. (but not one like this: bring in some type of mantle, and maybe do some trim or panel work above it, even some book shelves on either side, or floating shelves would look nice panel trim work above the mantle,,, this has been retiled w/large square tiles and some panel molding above the mantle added. you could easily do something like this on top of the brick shiplap or tongue and groove planks. any of these doable for you? (and please, no glitter)

As long as the surface of the beams is rough it will always be a problem with dust and dirt...sandblasting or sanding or just using a scrub brush and cleaner are options that are mostly labor intensive...wrapping as an option looks less authentic as a beam...makes the beam bigger .....and always looks like a fake beam....with the added expense of all the material needed....almost all options come with a risk that the walls will be damaged and need touching up ...if it was me...i would try cleaning them first....to maintain the authenticity...and then touch up if any of the color has come off..