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?

Wood comes from trees. Different parts of the trees. Entirely different trees. Different forests for different trees. Different states for different trees. And wood behaves like wood. You can have all the uniformity you want if you choose plastic. Maybe laminate would have been a better choice for you, rather than real wood. Thst looks like real wood, and has behaved like real wood. And it’s great looking. You just need rugs and furniture.

Ha! I was about to suggest the Loba 2K Supra AT! Snicker! I was also going to suggest the UV Protect additive to STOP the maple from turning yellow (which maple does...quite happily). They are copping out. I've sold Loba 2K Supra AT (satin is nice as low gloss...if you want a bit of sheen you will work with the semi-gloss). I'm a HUGE fan. I've used it on CORK...and it does EXTREMEMLY well against dogs' nails. Cork is the softest hardwood in the world...if the 2K Supra AT works on cork it will be AWESOME on Maple. Traditionally an oil based finish, with THREE coats, is one of the toughest finishes on the market. But you'll notice there is a caveat = 3 coats is a must! If your oil based finish is looking beaten up, I'm going to take an educated guess - they only used 2 coats (saves time and money!). Now for the stuff about Loba 2K Supra AT = very expensive. It retails for $195 - $225 USD. Yep. It is EXPENSIVE. And GUESS who has to take on that expense - before they get paid? The refinishers. If you assume a 'good' oil based polyurethane retails for $80/gallon, you can see why they are trying to push back on this item. I personally would look at using the combination: 1. UV Protect Additive ($60 - $80/container = enough for 1 gallon) for the first coat of, 2. Loba 2K Supra AT Gloss (assume $200/gallon = 525sf of coverage): 1st coat 3. Loba 2K Supra AT Gloss (assume $200/gallon = 550sf of coverage): 2nd coat 4. Loba 2K Supra AT "Your choice of sheen" (assume $200/gallon = 600sf of coverage): 3rd coat Just the materials alone will increase their bid by $1.50/sf. Tell them you are willing to pay the upcharge for the materials. You understand the Loba 2K Supra AT is expensive and you are more than willing to pay the extra. That should calm their feathers. But be aware: Loba is HIGHLY sensitive to LOW temps. And by low, they mean +45 F or lower (5C or lower). Getting hold of some in the winter is like hunting for Leprechauns....unless you live close enough to N.C. that you can drive to the factory.

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.