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The Old House Remodeling Flooring

What should I do with the old hardwood flooring? Can I sell it?

2 years ago

I have $1240 sqft hardwood flooring, 1.5" wide, decent conditions, originally installed in 1959 in the house, that I am removing replace with a more modern wide plank (8") white oak I just bought (house is actually 2400 sqf, the rest is carpet so removing old oak and get one type of nice modern wood for the entire house was the way to go). What should I do with the old hardwood flooring? With the current scarce availability of oak (I paid mine a fortune), it would be bad to throw it away. It can be sanded and refinished and look stunning. What would be a fair price to ask if I sell it? Or should I just give it for free?

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Comments (7)

littlebug zone 5 Missouri
2 years ago
My former employer bought up some old houses to be demolished for some expansion room. They offered to sell anything out of the houses first - a lady paid for the floors in one house, and removed the floor too! This was 20 years ago so I don’t remember what she paid.

You could list it on FB marketplace, fsbo.
cooper8828
2 years ago
Just list it as make an offer. I have the same kind of floor and if I needed replacement pieces it would have to be milled. I had to rob some from the closet at the last house to make a repair.
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Laying the new floor in the same direction as the old floor is not the normal way to go about this. In the building industry, it is more common to see layers that are staggered or "bricked". In other words if layer #1 is laid in a North-South direction, then layer #2 (the top layer) is laid perpendicular to it in an East-West presentation. If you want to run the new flooring in the same direction as the old, you will want to use some underlayment (plywood) over top of the old floor so that you can maintain the "staggered" or "bricked" layering system. That is one way to maintain the North-South presentation. Please work with hardwood flooring professionals who have some experience renovating these old gems. They will have seen what worked....and what didn't. Their experience will be invaluable on a project like yours.
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I'm not sure what LVT is. :) I have an appointment with the flooring person for Saturday to test out samples. Cherie, we hate forced hot air because it bothers my and the kids' asthma and allergies so I am actually very happy about these baseboard radiators as radiant heat is much easier on the lungs since it's not blowing hot air all over the place. There is central air for the summer months. We live in Northern NH... it gets cold here for sure. I am going to keep the tile in the kitchen for now and the rest will be new flooring *all going in the same direction* ! We are ripping out the red carpeting, which is in all four bedrooms as well as on the stairs. We want to replace that with flooring and we don't want yet another type of flooring in the house so it makes sense to do the living and dining room as well. When we reconfigure the kitchen, we'll have to match it up and remove the tile at that time.
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Seabornman
2 years ago
I'm in the middle of removing old oak flooring now. It would be a very slow, labor-intensive job removing a nailed down hardwood floor to try and save it. The nails are usually hardened and driven through the tongue at an angle. The ends are tongue and groove also. It makes a good bonfire!
venexiano
Original Author
2 years ago
My installer will be removing it to put plywood to level it with the other 1/3 of the house that is on a concrete slab (old hardwood is on wooden subfloor). So it will be just a matter of picking it up from my garage
Seabornman
2 years ago
Please post after the removal. I'm curious how much can be saved.
kudzu9
2 years ago
I think it's great that you are seeking a new life for the old flooring, However, it's hard to remove it without damaging the tongues. If your installer is removing it for you, don't expect that it will be carefully removed as time = money for him, and there will be a lot of damage. If you can remove it yourself, it will be in better shape. But don't expect to get a huge amount of money for second-hand, somewhat damaged flooring material.
weedyacres
2 years ago
An architectural salvage place in my neck of the woods sells salvaged oak planks for around $2.50/sf. But like the others have said, it's got to be removed carefully to preserve the tongues and grooves so it can be put back together. And then de-nailed.

Either remove it yourself, or offer it to someone for $1/sf if they remove. That's the best way to preserve it for re-use, which I would applaud you for.

If you don't want to do either of those, then make it free for pickup in your garage. The taker will have to do a lot of culling and de-nailing to make it useful. Or they may do something other than put it on the floor. But at least you'll keep it out of the landfill.

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