The previous owner of this church did a bit of a ham-fisted job sanding and staining the sanctuary floor, and he never sealed the wood, so the whole thing looks dusty and is prone to damage. We had someone in to look it over, and he thinks it's in good condition -- likely because it was under carpet for many years - and he'll give us a good deal to refinish it. They start today, sanding down the fir in 40+-celsius temperatures, bless their hearts. We offered to delay until it's cooler, but he says it's not a problem. I'm hoping they have vacuum attachments on their sanders, or imagine the clinging sawdust!
He's trying to convince us that it's usual to leave the wood a natural colour and just apply a sealant on it. I'm unconvinced, as I think it would look too much like a gym floor. I'm not sure "basketball court" is the look I'm going for, and how would it be with the old dark trim and windowsills? At the same time, I know that an elegant dark floor would show every scratch and scuff and bit of dust and dog hair. Even a Roomba can't cure all (I know, because we had one here before, and after half an hour of aimlessly wandering the massive room, it gave up, stopped in the middle of the floor, and began wailing in German, unable to find its docking station).
I am going to leave the colour decision up to my husband because I've found I'm useless with colour, he's going to be the one using the room the most, and he knows the budget constraints. I trust his judgment.
Meanwhile, I'm hiding in the basement with a fan and my laptop, madly doing rewrites for my publisher. I have the dog with me, who will not be happy about the sanding going on upstairs, but it can't be helped. It's too hot to keep him outdoors away from the noise.
I'll post photos once it's sanded down and we see the natural colour. It will be easier to decide once we see the whole room in the bare wood.
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