apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i had the same problem. mine look exactly like that picture above.

first i just did a regular mop job. then i used a bucket of soap and water and got on my hands and knees with a scrub brush. then i mopped again. then used "quick shine" to give them a shinier coat.

they aren't perfect, but they look so much better. i just make sure to mop regularly and use the quick shine every 8 weeks. and i have runners in heavy traffic areas.

Just give it an extra coat of varnish. The old boards are actually lovely -- they just need sprucing up.

(With the landlord's approval you might even go a bit darker.)

i was very pleased with my safe stripper, wood stain, tung oil re-do. plenty of character of an old floor, rich color and
glowing sheen

Flor Tiles! carpet that's not permanant, and you can take it with you.

We got our old wood floors refinished and now people think they're new. Not sure if you're land lord would go for it or if you'd want to put out the $$ either, but Kate's idea above - stripping and restaining. If your landloard would let you go darker it could cover some of the stains. Or you could bleach too. Good luck.

Murphy's oil works wonders for filling in scratches and discolorations. They have a light and dark oil for different colored woods. Careful though - your floor will be very slippery afterwards.

You could use large bamboo mats that aren't too expensive. You can find them online, but in NYC I'm pretty sure Pearl River has some downstairs. Maybe try to match the floor color so that it gives the feel that even the uncovered parts of the floor seem newer/cleaner.

72" x 108" for about $100...

http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/FramesCat.asp?iGroup=326

I second the get down on your knees and scrub away! I would follow this with a good coating of the Method Good for Wood floor polish. It makes my old Brooklyn wood floors sparkle!

I actually like that look. A good clean and polish with Murphy's Oil soap or that orange glow stuff will do wonders. I got some wood floor conditioner for my old place and they really helped too.

The method floor polish/cleaner that comes with the O-Mop is also really good. Your whole house will smell like almonds.

Having the floors redone at my expense was the big splurge when I moved into my apartment in February. It was with the landlords blessing (his gain) and since my apartment is rent stabilized, I felt like it was worth it. My studio is quite small, and only half wood, so there was only about 200 sq ft of floor to do... but it was gorgeous 100-year-old, wide-plank white pine. WARNING: get someone reputable. Seriously, I made a mistake and had to have them redone. I ended up using Vincent Devaney who I found here on AT, and in one day had lovely, lovely floors- sanded, and resealed with several coats of clear poly. It cost $500 (not much more than a decent rug), and was worth every penny.

our floors were just as bad. we talked to the landlord about it and they offered to have their guy fix it, however we had seen his previous work so we declined. we suggested they contribute whatever they were going to pay their guy towards the cost of getting someone to do a better job and they agreed.
now that our floors our smooth, they are so much easier to clean. it seriously takes 2 hours a week less time to clean my apartment now. even if i only stay here another 2 years i consider the money spent well worth it for the time i will save.
also the floors look great now.

if the landlord wont allow you to lay carpet or tile, then he/she obviously cares about the condition of this place, they might jump at the chance of splitting the cost of floor refinishing with you.

as a plan b maybe you could ask the landlord how they feel about laying some ikea laminate flooring? it is a floating floor so it would not damage the floors underneath, and it is pretty cheap. i used it in my last apartment and it held up well.

Murphy's oil soap and a scrub brush. Really scrub HARD. This is nothing a little elbow grease can't fix. If all f your attempts fail, ask the landlord if he'd consider a light sanding, oiling, then a matt topcoat? Matt hides imperfections WAY better then luster or glossy.

I looked at the picture & just laughed – last night I was up late putting polyurethane on our living room floor, 150 year old wide pine plank in a Philly rowhouse, even more chewed up than yours! I used the Fine Paints of Europe water-based “Eurolux” Varnish Gloss, which dries enough to recoat in 4 hours – so I did the whole floor section in one day, and it looks great. The Eurolux lets off a lot of fumes for the first hour or two, so you want the windows open, fans on, and maybe a respirator. That said, it is SO much less horrible than solvent-based polyurethane, which cannot be recoated for 24 hours and will stink for weeks. Downside is the cost - $100 for a eurogallon. We have two little kids, so the health/convenience argument won out.

To start, I filled a bunch of holes & gaps where the tongue&groove had split off. Used carpenters glue tinted with acrylic paint in a squirt bottle to fill some of the damage in the grooves between the boards (okay, I'm anal -- and we own the place). Then I used a big hand orbital sander with 220 grit to rough up the floor, spent a little more time on the bad areas, vacuumed the dust and wiped the wood down with denatured alcohol – it evaporates very quickly and leaves no residue.

Then, I thinned the Eurolux a bit less than 10% water for the first coat, cut in around the edges with a good quality synthetic brush (new – not previously used for painting), then applied the Eurolux with a 1/2” pile lamb’s wool applicator block on a pushbroom pole (dampen lamb’s wool first). After 4 hours I lightly scuffed the surface by hand with 220 sandpaper, wiped it down with a tack cloth (go lightly so you don’t leave sticky residue), put down another coat thinned maybe 5%. Another 4 hours, scuffed & wiped, and put down the final coat full strength. They say it takes 48 hours to fully cure, but you can put stuff back on it gently after 24. Emmitt at the Fine Paints of Europe office in Woodstock, VT is very helpful, so call him with questions. I’ve also used their oil based paint on our front door, and it looks fabulous. http://www.finepaintsofeurope.com/

i second the deep scrub Quick Shine recommendation. my floor is the same way, and if it's scrubbed and shining it looks much better than dull. (it's about making the imperfections looks good, not hiding them.) i do three coats of quick shine every 4-6 months and it looks great.