I'm sanding my hardwood floors with a rental machine and concerned how using two different grits of sandpaper - 100 and 80, with the latter getting down to the wood in places where I tried to get deeper scratches out - will effect the appearance after a topcoat of polyurethane. The floors are 75 yrs old and were 'taken down' for the first time 10 years ago, unfortunately before I did a lot of other work in the house, thus they're scratched and the poly is worn in major walkways. I didn't expect to go down to bare wood (and prefer not to, but would like to try to get the noticeable scratches out, for which I've used my hand sander w/80 grit) - and am now concerned whether 'uneven' sanding will result in a splotchy appearance after topcoats of poly. Is there a conditioner or sealer I can use to be sure I end up with an 'even' appearance. This has been a lot of work so far; I'd hate to have ruined the job in the end. Thank you very much for any input and/or advice.

The stairs *should match the "public" area flooring (as in the main living area floors). If the upstairs is for bedrooms and games room, this would be considered "private" (for the homeowners). If the main floor is the "public" area (living room, kitchen, dining, etc) then the stairs going UP should match the main floor flooring. The reason: the stairs are visible to the public and therefore they should match the public area floors. Now for tiles in the upstairs area. This is not common but it has been done. It takes extra work (and extra materials = extra money) to get this to work over wood-joist construction. The subfloors will have to be assessed for deflection rating. I'll assume they rating isn't good enough for tile (tile is VERY HEAVY and requires very STIFF/thick subfloor). That means you'll need another layer of plywood over top. That plywood will change the height of the subfloor at the TOP of the stairs...which can mess up the stairs themselves (according to code). And then you have to add the tile which can often add as much as 3/4" height - which can again mess up the top step which messes up the stairs yet again. And then we get into the "tile is loud" concept. It is extremely loud. It transfers noise "up and down" (from upstairs to down stairs) as well as "wall to wall" (down hallways, into the bedrooms, etc). To deal with the noise and echo, you could be looking at changing the doors to solid core (expensive proposition depending on how many doors you have). And if you find the noise transfer TOO much (up to down) then you may have to rework the ceiling on the main floor (pull it down, stuff it with acoustic insulation, replace ceiling with acoustic drywall, etc). You can see the $$$$ signs flying out the window. Please look at the upstairs as a part of the whole home. Ask yourself how big your MAXIMUM budget is (once all the bills are paid = includes labor as well). And then find out if it can handle the "extras" such as new subfloor and possibly a stair case that has to be updated to allow for the extra height at the top of the stairs (rebuilding stairs is one of the most expensive projects in the building industry). Then make your decision as to whether or not tile on the second floor is a good idea FOR YOU. You are the only one who can answer that question.

Red oak and white oak are both "oak" . Which is the same as saying they are both TREES. But so too are cherry, maple , walnut. fir, African Mahogany and lowly pine! in NO WAY do they take stain color the same way. A factory finish won't get the red out of a red oak, and nor will an on site finisher unless it is water popped to go quite dark. Grain can appear nearly same or quite different, depending how it was cut. "Despite their similar names, these two woods are very different. there is only one true species of red oak (Quercas rubra) and of white oak (Quercas alba), but there are 20 other varieties commonly grouped under the “red oak” or “white oak” heading based on their characteristics, so the possible color variations can be significant." You missed Oak and Broads, point. PICK ONE floor and match the treads.. Rather than make brain surgery of a relatively simple decision? : )

Seeing the tile without seeing where it is going is pretty useless. Whaere are you in the world? I really dislike tile floors they are hard on backs , knees and feet but in some cases the best choice . As for where to put it and how to lay we need pictures and you need to do a floor plan to scale in feet and inches since this is a US site . I do like the same flooring in all main living spaces . I often do different flooring in bedrooms. Those tiles have a very pink look on my monitor so would be abig no for me .