Just closed on a 1940s house. The entire home has red oak under shag carpet from the 60s, about 1700 sq feet of it. The prior owner pulled up sections of the carpet in each room and the floors appear to be in good refinishable condition.
I am wondering if I can refinish the floor room by room when I have spare time throughout the next 6 months. Are there any issues I should look out for with blending the finish between rooms and the hallways? I'm planning on using a water based poly.
My reasons for wanting to do so are:
- I don't have the extra $ to pay a professional to refinish the entire house all at once. Having them come out multiple times will be more costly overall, so I want to do it myself. I am pretty handy and have helped family refinish floors in the past. I can live with the old carpet for a bit.
- My lease is expiring and I will need to move in right after we get possession. I can't do it all before we move in.
-New house is much larger than my current apartment, so most of the house will be empty after we move in. I won't have to move much furniture to do this in sections.
Is this a bad idea? What potential problems should I look out for?