Exactly what classic structures said. The floors are perfect for the house so save them for as long as you can. Sounds like they want to grind out all of the scratches and character (patina)-don't let them! I would only want a light sanding and quality coats of protection. You can also look in to waterlox finish which is great and doesn't require a full stripping every time, you can spot treat with it on your own (I have it on my reclaimed heart pine floors).

i would never ever ever put engineered wood in your lovely home. It is fine for new builds but has none of the character of your floor. If that is your aesthetic expectation (super smooth and shiny and flawless), Spend some time looking at antique homes and you will start to gain an appreciation for the story that wood floors can tell.

Here is a terrible story. My husband's aunt lived in an antique cape (early 1700s). It was gorgeous and had 200 year old wide pine floors. They were stunning, and had the warm glow and patina that can only come with time and care. When they decided it was time to freshen things up, they had them sanded to fresh wood and stained dark brown, then coated with a high-gloss bullet-proof enamel. I almost puked when they proudly showed me.

Uh, I'm completely failing to see what you think is so wrong with those floors that they need complete replacing. They are in good shape and look like the main level floors in my Victorian, which I'm not doing anything with - just some scuffs and scratches that come with age. Buff them, maybe?

If I was looking at an otherwise nice Craftsman to buy and saw engineered hardwood in it instead of the original/quality hardwood floors, I'd wonder what monster was responsible and weigh the cost of putting in real hardwood. And then if I found out the floors the engineered stuff replaced looked like yours do (aka just fine), I'd be LIVID.

We did restore the attic floors in this house, which were pine planks that had been painted about six times. We sanded and refinished (no choice other than putting carpet or another layer of floor paint down) and they look brand new. Also, we are mysteriously missing oak flooring in some of the second floor bedrooms. There is carpeting in those rooms, so the oak was either removed at some point or never installed (quarter round is nailed straight to the pine subfloor). We are going to lay down some pre-stained hardwood in those rooms (after the adventure in the attic, no more floor finishing oh god).

Those hardwood floors have many more refinishings in them before they're done. Basically you can refinish them till you run out of wood.

Ugh. Can you FEEL the envy emanating from me??? You are SO LUCKY!

You know, I think you should find another floor person who knows antiques . I don't trust yours.

Agreed with greenfish - perhaps whoever you've been talking to just wants to sell you a new floor (they don't stand to make money if they advise that you simply buff or very lightly sand the floor).

Find preservationist/restoration craftsmen to work on your Craftsman. There are those who know old houses and doing things the old way who will help you fix up your house right. We are starting to find them for work on our Victorian. For example, we've found the wood window guy to replace some of the rotten original windows with exact replicas, and in turn he's referred us to a carpenter he often works with who adores working on old houses, as well as a stained glass guy who can help us out with replacing the missing stained glass transoms and (if we win the lottery) the big window in the landing.

SAVE THE FLOORS! I bought a condo 10+ years ago that had been gut renovated after a small fire, the builder managed to save the floors in 3 of 4 rooms - that 4th room is the saddest room of all w/ it's shiny NEW floors. Our home now has original floors from the late 1800s. It is always the first thing people notice/compliment at both homes. ya just can't beat ORIGINAL floors.

I would NOT put in new flooring. That old is gold! And as to the color -- I would keep the color of the floor as is. It GOES with the woodwork and has for 100 years!

Man...going back to love on your floors again and took a closer look here-is that a privacy sheet in your window? We ruined several sets of sheets in our temporary dwelling when a 5 month renovation on our home turned in to 14 months...it brings me back!! Keep posting ad you settle in to this great new house!!

I think these floors have a couple decades left in them for sure. You can splice boards in for damaged areas now, or just clean and toss down a rug until you truly need to replace the floor. 20 years is plenty of time to save up extra to replace with solid hardwood when it's truly time.

One of the houses across the street from us is being restored from being a triplex rental for decades and the floors were so chewed up that there was no saving them. They are laying down new solid hardwood and it looks fantastic. The one slightly annoying thing is that new hardwood only goes down to 2-1/4" wide boards, when lots of older Craftsmans and Victorians had narrower boards (downstairs in ours has 1-1/2" or so, and second floor is 2"). Go with the narrowest board width and it'll look fine. What would be silly would be to put in wide plank floors in these houses.

If it were mine (and was truly worn out) I would choose 3/4" x 2-1/4" rift and quarter sawn White Oak strip flooring sanded and finished to a natural color or maybe a very light stain like Golden Oak.