Would you cover hardwood floors?

Question

I've just purchased my first property: a duplex in I guess what I'd call a C- neighborhood. I'm hoping it will turn into a success story post soon, but TBD.

Both of the units have hardwood flooring in their main living rooms but the floors are in dire need of refinishing. Big scratches and discoloration throughout. Given the quality of tenants I'll likely be dealing with, I can't decide if I should refinish the floors and risk having them get scratched up again, or if I should cover them with something like luxury vinyl planking? I worry that every time I have to refinish the hardwood I reduce the life of the wood, and that eventually I'll have to replace the entire floor because it has been sanded down to the point it can't support the weight of the room. I plan on holding this property for 10+ years, so if I have to refinish the floor after every tenancy... could that be a real scenario?

Covering the hardwood with LVP instead I still run the risk of having to replace the planks after every tenancy but the hardwood is protected. When I go to sell some day I can just refinish the hardwood then.

Just in case it isn't obvious yet I should mention I am totally clueless about realistic expectations on floor care / maintenance. I'd love to hear the opinions of experts!

Jacob Sampson · Answer

just thinking out of the box.  I love to get carpet remnants and have Lowes or wherever seal off the edges so it is essentially a rug.  I get it large enough to cover 70-80% of the room and then slap that thing down.  No need to refinish hardwood in a lower quality home and no need to pay for carpeting install.  That being said, I do like LVP, though I don't have long term experience with it.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

THIS^^^

TELL your tenants at lease signing that you WILL be coming through every quarter to inspect the property to make sure everything is still in working order. Invite them to share with you any needed repairs - and don't do that silly thing where you "charge" them for the first $50 of any repair. All that gets you is zero reports that there is a leak when it's a $4 part instead of a total replacement plus flood damage and mold remediation.

Dennis M. · Answer

FreShly polyed Hardwood has a “wow “factor that new carpet or plank floors don’t

Kevin Sobilo · Answer

I agree with @Marc Winter, @Dennis M., etc who said to refinish and use poly on the floors.

I will add that on an old floor, I would not worry about small scratches etc. I have refinished old beat up floors where all the imperfections cannot be sanded out. I actually PREFER a refinished old beat up floor to new hardwood flooring.

With an old floor, a few extra dings and scratches won't draw attention and just adds to the character. With a brand new floor, any minor damage stands out and takes away from the fresh new look. So, love those old floors for what they are!

Small refinishing tip. If you have any holes in the floor like from heating pipes, you can use some spray foam to fill them, then hollow out the hardened spray foam and then use some epoxy wood filler to cover the hole. I did this for small holes and it worked pretty well. The filler takes stain well enough to blend in and not be noticeable.

I like old refinished floors so much I bought an old floor sander so that I can refinish them whenever it makes sense.

Dennis M. · Answer

My opinion is When it comes to hardwood floors it’s better to sand them and oil based poly them than shell out money on vinyl plank flooring or carpet . I don’t care what class it is hardwood floors are very durable , will always look better than anything if done right and will command higher rent and rent faster in my experience. A thick coat of polyurethane is like a rock . First thing a potential tenant will say in the walk through is wow I love these refinished floors . It’s not that difficult or expensive to do and can withstand abusive tenants .

Marc Winter · Answer

If you are worried about sanding down the hardwood to the point of floor-failure, don't.  That ain't gonna happen.  Older hardwood flooring is 3/4" and in older homes that is laid over a sub-floor.

I love the vinyl plank floors, but in this case you'd be better off just refinishing the wood and giving a couple, two-three coats of good poly.  The rug-remnant idea above by @Jacob Sampson is a winner--we've used it many times.  Another thing to do is supply furniture pads for the bottom of chairs/sofas, etc.

Lastly, inspect those units on a regular basis to let the tenants know you are heads-up in the game.

Jacob Sampson · Answer

@Dave Chow - I don't have any video.  It's essentially laying a throw rug down over the worn hardwood.  I just try to cover the majority of the room.

Travis Daudelin · Answer

Excellent suggestions, everyone. I like the idea of the poly finish to give it that extra durability, that makes me feel much more confident that my investment in the floors won't go to waste. Also, great suggestion @Mindy Jensen to incentivize tenants to report any damages!

Jim K. · Answer

@Travis Daudelin

The problem with leaving the floors as-is is that typically, older hardwod floors were originally finished with shellac and wax, not polyurethane. This gets dirty, and you can never really get a floor like this clean without attacking the shellac under the wax. The surface of these floors is also never quite hard enough to resist surface scratches.

If your business model has you doing the rehab and maintenance of your units yourself, you should learn how to refinish and repair these floors. That's what I do and I'm very happy with that. If not, cover them.

Would you cover hardwood floors?

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