Having Orange hardwoods sanded and sealed before we put our house on the market. Question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house with red oak floors, and they had taken on that orange color from an oil-based finish. The first thing we did was to have them sanded and refinished. I, too, wanted a white oak appearance and achieved it by having them bleach the floor first and then seal it with a water-based poly. They turned out beautifully! Personally, I would do it before selling because it completely changed the look of the house, and it did not cost very much. ($5,000 for the entire house) The return on that would be worth it.

I had no idea what you're describing would be that affordable, it sounds wonderful. Although I'm already living in my home so it would probably be very difficult at this point.

Same here. What is the SF of the house? $5k seems like a great way to update a house.

[Anonymous]

But you have to take all your stuff out if you want to refinish all the floors. Where’s it going to go? Unless you plan to list it empty (a mistake I think) it’s logistically easier for the buyer to do before move-in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But you have to take all your stuff out if you want to refinish all the floors. Where’s it going to go? Unless you plan to list it empty (a mistake I think) it’s logistically easier for the buyer to do before move-in.

We had this done as part of other work to update our house for selling. The workers went room by room. We did pay extra for the trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house with red oak floors, and they had taken on that orange color from an oil-based finish. The first thing we did was to have them sanded and refinished. I, too, wanted a white oak appearance and achieved it by having them bleach the floor first and then seal it with a water-based poly. They turned out beautifully! Personally, I would do it before selling because it completely changed the look of the house, and it did not cost very much. ($5,000 for the entire house) The return on that would be worth it.

I had no idea what you're describing would be that affordable, it sounds wonderful. Although I'm already living in my home so it would probably be very difficult at this point.

I got a ridiculous quote from DC Floors, but then I got a referral from a neighbor for a different company and they quoted a MUCH better price! I should have stated that this did not include the basement and one of the bedrooms. and we had no furniture in the house, which helped the price as well, but I it still would not have been that much more. I have found that we are getting better prices with smaller companies and better service too! Now, we only use smaller companies and have been able to get more done for less money, and the quality has been superb. Plus we are supporting small business owners, which we like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does the water based stain last? I’m worried it would quickly fade in sunny spots or get scuffed up.

So far, they still look beautiful! It has not quite been two years. I had oil-based poly in another house, and it held up well, but the color changed over the years, and they got scuffed, too. The pluses of water-based are the drying time and the absence of odor. The new water-based products are much better now than in years past. I think the durability is very comparable with the newer products.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right on, I would not buy a house that had old floors. What a job to do right off the bat. It will update the house. Do it.

Ok. Good for you. Next buyer please (counting the multiple offers I have in hand).

It's easy to get the floors refinished before you move in. Not spending money on an unnecessary refinishing when it won't add value to an already hot property.

I would also much rather have bought a house with finished floors than have to arrange to have them done before moving in. A friend did it and it took weeks of work plus their house smelled for a good week.

You must not be a serious buyer in today’s DMV market.

No, but I was in 2021 which seems to have been a bit more seller friendly than the 2024 market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house with red oak floors, and they had taken on that orange color from an oil-based finish. The first thing we did was to have them sanded and refinished. I, too, wanted a white oak appearance and achieved it by having them bleach the floor first and then seal it with a water-based poly. They turned out beautifully! Personally, I would do it before selling because it completely changed the look of the house, and it did not cost very much. ($5,000 for the entire house) The return on that would be worth it.

I had no idea what you're describing would be that affordable, it sounds wonderful. Although I'm already living in my home so it would probably be very difficult at this point.

I got a ridiculous quote from DC Floors, but then I got a referral from a neighbor for a different company and they quoted a MUCH better price! I should have stated that this did not include the basement and one of the bedrooms. and we had no furniture in the house, which helped the price as well, but I it still would not have been that much more. I have found that we are getting better prices with smaller companies and better service too! Now, we only use smaller companies and have been able to get more done for less money, and the quality has been superb. Plus we are supporting small business owners, which we like.

Are you able to share which company you ended up using?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house with red oak floors, and they had taken on that orange color from an oil-based finish. The first thing we did was to have them sanded and refinished. I, too, wanted a white oak appearance and achieved it by having them bleach the floor first and then seal it with a water-based poly. They turned out beautifully! Personally, I would do it before selling because it completely changed the look of the house, and it did not cost very much. ($5,000 for the entire house) The return on that would be worth it.

Yep, totally transforms the house from dated to looking brand new. These posters who think they’re hot stuff because they own a house and may get multiple bids for their shitboxes are rookies (news alerts, most people buying houses these days are also homeowners). Update your floors and fresh paint and you can be in a different stratosphere.

[Anonymous]

Why bother? Next buyer may just throw some LVP on top of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house with red oak floors, and they had taken on that orange color from an oil-based finish. The first thing we did was to have them sanded and refinished. I, too, wanted a white oak appearance and achieved it by having them bleach the floor first and then seal it with a water-based poly. They turned out beautifully! Personally, I would do it before selling because it completely changed the look of the house, and it did not cost very much. ($5,000 for the entire house) The return on that would be worth it.

I had no idea what you're describing would be that affordable, it sounds wonderful. Although I'm already living in my home so it would probably be very difficult at this point.

I got a ridiculous quote from DC Floors, but then I got a referral from a neighbor for a different company and they quoted a MUCH better price! I should have stated that this did not include the basement and one of the bedrooms. and we had no furniture in the house, which helped the price as well, but I it still would not have been that much more. I have found that we are getting better prices with smaller companies and better service too! Now, we only use smaller companies and have been able to get more done for less money, and the quality has been superb. Plus we are supporting small business owners, which we like.

AG Floors 240 246-4561

Are you able to share which company you ended up using?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right on, I would not buy a house that had old floors. What a job to do right off the bat. It will update the house. Do it.

Most people will do this before they move it (and it isn't expensive). I'd rather choose my own stain color.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right on, I would not buy a house that had old floors. What a job to do right off the bat. It will update the house. Do it.

Ok. Good for you. Next buyer please (counting the multiple offers I have in hand).

It's easy to get the floors refinished before you move in. Not spending money on an unnecessary refinishing when it won't add value to an already hot property.

I would also much rather have bought a house with finished floors than have to arrange to have them done before moving in. A friend did it and it took weeks of work plus their house smelled for a good week.

The floors are finished. OP is guessing new buyers may not like the color, so want to guess what color the unknown buyers will like and re-do the floors. What if the new buyer likes the existing color, even if OP doesn't? What if she picks a terrible color that no one likes? What if the winning bidder doesn't like the new color and redoes the recently redone floors before moving in anyway?

It's all guesswork and not worth the cost unless they are so bad that the house is unsellable.

[Anonymous]

I love our golden oak orangey floors, so I would prefer the originals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can do a greyish stain, as the blue in it helps neutralize the orange/red. BUT I'd say that you may not even want to bother, as someone might end up ripping htem out anyways or loving them as is.

Do not. Greyish stain is awful and was trendy, now just super ugly. Let the new buyers decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right on, I would not buy a house that had old floors. What a job to do right off the bat. It will update the house. Do it.

Ok. Good for you. Next buyer please (counting the multiple offers I have in hand).

It's easy to get the floors refinished before you move in. Not spending money on an unnecessary refinishing when it won't add value to an already hot property.

I would also much rather have bought a house with finished floors than have to arrange to have them done before moving in. A friend did it and it took weeks of work plus their house smelled for a good week.

We had a professional do ours. Went out of town for a long weekend and they were fine upon return.