Fix hardwood floors, or...

[Roger S.]

I am fixing up a new SFH I just bought. Pulled all the carpet out and found beautiful 2" oak floors in a bedroom and living room. Only problem is, the living room has about a 4x12 section where the wood was removed and plywood was put down. The previous owner said that it was done when the house was leveled. I could fix it with the flooring from the bedroom.

Would you go to the trouble to remove the bedroom floor to patch in the living room?    I figure it would take at least a whole day.   I'd have to pull up almost the whole bedroom floor and take the time to stagger the seams in the living room.  But putting down the vinyl planks i was planning on putting down in the living room would take half a day at least.   I'm just going to go with carpet in the bedrooms

The main issue is time.  I closed on the house last week, and due to my work schedule i have only 5 days to get it ready if I want to have a tenant in place by June 1st.   I always try to get a tenant in as quick as possible, because since I closed on the 18th of May, the 1st mortgage payment isn't due until July.   So Junes rent is a freebie, and it makes a big difference on the years income for the house.

[Bob H.]

Look into patching the living room with new wood. Home Depot sells the solid planks unfinished. You'd probably need to sand the rest of the floor and then finish the whole thing.