Finding Original Hardwood Under Carpet! (Photos)

[Zachary R.]

I am currently turning tenants in a 4br/2ba SFH in Arvada, CO and planned to have laminate flooring + new carpet installed on Wednesday. As I'm sure a lot of you have done, I opted to pull out the old stain riddled carpet on my own to save some money on the project. Tonight, to my surprise, I found original hardwood under the carpet and it's actually not in terrible shape.

My question is, am I wrong in thinking that this can be salvaged easily?  I already bought all of the supplied, scheduled both the carpet replacement for the bedrooms and laminate install for living room/hallways to be completed Wednesday with the goal of showing the house by Friday for the weekend.

Salvage or stick to the original plan?  I'm pretty handy on these types of projects, so would love to get the experience doing it on my own, but advice is much appreciated!  I don't know if I can pull off the project in time if I shift gears now, but I have another property that would really benefit from adding the laminate that I've already purchased.  Also - any advice as to how either of the options I've mentioned will impact refinance appraisal?

Also - the back/master bedroom will be carpet since it's the only spot in the house without hardwood underneath the carpet and in pretty rough shape.

Sorry ahead of time for the sideways photos, I am not sure why they turned out like that!

Thanks!

[Jim K.]

@Zachary R.

Well, that's oil-polyurethaned oak, almost certainly 3/4 in thick, almost certainly 2 1/4 in. tongue-in-groove . It's Monday morning. There's no way you're going to master the refinishing process and get it done by yourself in two days, then do everything else you have planned to show the house by Friday. There's also only a very small chance you or anyone you hire is going to reliably get the laminate flooring in and a good job done on the trim by Wednesday, either, not in a 4/2 SFH where the tackless strip still need to go (and in a 4/2 you probably have stairs).

Do what you can within the time you have. Go with the laminate, take the punches on the time that you're almost certainly going to be dealing with already. It's going to take a lot of competent sanding and polyurethane application and drying time to get it done. Especially in the beginning, there's a steep learning curve to overcome and some special materials you'll need to buy that you probably don't have and can't get easily, especially if you want to try to do it with a handheld belt sander (which takes a lot longer than a drum sander and edger you might rent).