Our finished floors

Well, almost finished.  I still need to repaint all the base trim and install shoe moldings.  But, the floors themselves are looking mighty fine!  Here are the goods....

As you can see in these pictures, there is a lot of variation in the stain, which was pretty much unavoidable because of the condition of the floors.  Many people think that refinishing is simply cosmetic, but that is simply not true.  Much of the poly was rubbed away up here, and that made the wood very vulnerable to wet feet (and paws!) from the bathroom, spills, accidents, and just general humidity - which we have a lot of in WI.  If you have wood floors that are in bad shape, it is best to refinish before there is real damage that will affect your floors in the future!  I actually like the dark spots, though.  It looks pretty cool, especially in the art room:

And here is the cost breakdown for this project:

4 Gallons Varathane Satin Polyurethane $148 (would have been 3 gallons if we hadn't messed up!)

24 hour sander rental with paper  $87

Hand sander sandpaper  $20

4 Quarts Varathane Espresso Satin  $28

Lambskin applicators  $18

Suits and booties  $11

Tack cloths  $6

Total -  $318. 

And we will spend another $300-$400 to do the remaining 3 bedrooms in the future. It works out to be less than $1 a square foot.  Not bad condsidering a professional would charge around $4 a sq ft!  Side note if you are considering this project, everything you've heard about dark floors is true.  Every speck of dust, every hair, anything will show on dark floors.  But I love the color, and it takes no time at all to Swiffer it all up.  I hope you love the finished floors as much as I do!