Worked case: bringing back oak found under carpet in a postwar house — steps and cost

The scenario

Picture a one-story house from the postwar building boom a few blocks off the old Route 66 corridor. The owners lift a corner of the living-room carpet and find narrow oak strips, sound for the most part, with gray lanes where the finish has worn away between the front door and the hall.

The room and the dining nook together measure roughly 350 square feet. A floor vent shows a wood subfloor, and the boards stand high enough above the nail heads to take a sanding.

Because the house is older than the federal lead-paint cutoff, painted trim that the machines will touch is tested for lead first. Water drops on a clean spot soak in and darken the wood, so the finish is worn but there is no wax, and a sand will reach bare wood without a fight.

The owners like the honey tone the oak takes at the edges, but a darker shade appeals to them. Stain samples go on the floor itself, in a closet corner, and are looked at again in afternoon light.

Fontana summers run hot and dry, so the plan also sets a time of day for the coats: early, with the windows shaded, so the finish levels instead of flashing off.

What the job involves

1. The carpet, pad and tack strips are out; the boards are checked for nail heads and loose pieces and painted trim is tested for lead.
2. A drum sander and an edger work from coarse grit to fine along the grain, and the room is sealed with plastic.
3. Gaps and nail holes are filled, the dust is vacuumed and wiped, and the owners choose from the stain samples.
4. Stain goes on, then coats of finish with a light abrasion in between, applied in the cooler morning hours.
5. Doors stay closed until the data sheet allows light foot traffic, then rugs and furniture.

Materials and tools

• Drum sander and edger with a vacuum attachment
• Filler, stain and brushes
• Water-based or oil-modified finish
• Plastic sheeting, lead test swabs and protective gear

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Stain samples on your floor — +$75–$200. Samples are tried on the floor itself, in a corner nobody sees, before a color is chosen.

Why it is done this way

Old oak under carpet is usually the best value in a flooring job, because the wood already exists and a sanding takes off only a thin skin. A stain changes the color without changing the boards.

The calculator uses one formula for every floor: a rate per square foot for the service, a surcharge for how worn the floor is, and flat options. Gray lanes raise the rate because the sander needs extra passes there.

A floor in better shape has no surcharge, and a floor in worse shape shows up as a few replaced boards.

What would change the price

• Some boards are too thin and are replaced.
• The finish turns out to contain wax and needs more sanding.
• The owners choose clear natural finish in place of a stain.
• The dining nook and hall add square footage.
• A doorway needs new boards woven into the old floor.