Can we save our original parquet floors?

You will end up screening. If it were my house, i would use the big festool rotex and get on my hands and knees and sand it. Keep in mind, some of us have to sand veneers so we can deal with thin stuff.

If i can find time when my son is off from school this week i might make a video on how to deal with a patch or blend.

I was one of the Carlos fans, pretty sure they did all the edges with hand held tools. This was 4 years ago, so could be wrong. Our floors were a mess, (previous owner had laid 3 inches of cement and tile over some areas) and he was very good about working with us to save as much as possible. His number, 646-418-0925

Efbk, all of these guys use a hand held edger. But these edgers are monsters. The handheld tools i am referring to are for finer wood work. They wont be so aggresive.

Op is not going to find a floor person to sand with hand held stuff. They need a good woodworker. Some one who has refinished bar tops or something. If you can sand a bartop without leaving divets, you can do a floor.

OP, i just reread your last reply. you said that you met with a flooring guy who says he can sand this floor. if that is what you want to do, i would check the background on the person who says he can sand them – and then speak to some others. People on here are recommending carlos. check his reviews and call him and talk to him. also, call one of the bigger name floor companies. One of the ones that drives around the city with their names on the vans; Norwegian Wood, Sullivan Brothers, or perhaps the guy i list above (i have a feeling these people are pricier than carlos). Those people putting their names out there on the vans, they are the top tier companies doing this and they cannot risk screwing something like this up and having it all over the internet.

a lot of what you have to do when looking for a specialist is learn how to dismiss the bs’ers. as a contractor, i know how to do that but a lot of people on here, especially those who have not been through a renovation before, do not understand what to look for when sourcing a real professional and then they come on here with their problems. you need that pro. here are some tips:

1. see if they do other things. for this floor you need someone who does just floors. not a generalist (i was once a generalist). if they show up in a van that does not look like it is carrying just flooring equipment or they have paint on their clothes as if they were painting a wall the day before, be careful. ask questions and try to see if they do something else. if they do, dismiss them.

2. i said it above, look for someone who advertises that they do floors; this is important.

3. Get the person to converse about what they do. if you begin asking them questions and they are evasive or look away or seem unsure, they have not been doing this a long time. the person you want to do THESE floors has been doing floor every working day for the past 8 years or more – 5 of those on their own – at minimum. at that point of dealing with customers and buying things in a supply house, they will know how to talk about this as if they do it every day. if they can’t, they have not been doing it everyday. its simple.

4. ask them about finishes. see what they recommend. see if you can get them to talk about brands as well (i like Basic Coatings for my house. i used it on a stair case 9 years ago and the stairs look new today; bona is a mass market product). most people have gone on to water base now and that is fine. so ask how many coats you should out down (of water base); the answer is 4. ask how many can be put down in a day. i have not done a floor in years but even i know the cans say 2 coats in a day. if he says anything different tell him you read the directions on a container and it said 2. ask why he said something different (and maybe there is a product out there that allows for 3). a lot of inexperienced people and people who care more about their wallets than the customer will rush jobs like this by forcing more coats in a day. these have between 2 and 3 hour dry times (there is a way to check if it is dry) and if they try to put say three coats on in a day or too soon, it may not have dried properly underneath. these products and paints fail because people over coat too soon, while the paint underneath is still wet (it will look dry but it is wet underneath). the people who treat finishing this way are in this for one thing; fast money. beware.

5. ask what grits they screen between coats with and how many times they screen. it is not necessary to screen between all coats. i would consider after the first and before the last. grits should be 180 or 220. most people say 220.

6. ask if they have insurance and right before you sign the contract with them, ask for a certificate of insurance. then call the agent and ask if that insurance covers floor sanding. not all insurance will cover floor sanding and there is a reason for this; people sand too thin and ruin the floors.

if someone gets nasty with you, especially when you ask for the insurance cert, that is a big red flag. they may balk at having to have a cert sent to you (we don’t get asked often; i don’t carry any with me) but if they refuse to send one, don’t do work with them.

this is the best i can tell you.

and this is what you have to be aware of with something like this, where there is a chance someone sands it too thin; it might look good the day you finish but might have problems later, like the edges popping up (like loose veneer) or cracking and it they are thin and crack they will lift.