Many San Francisco homes built between the 1920s and 1950s have oak parquet floors: basket-weave squares, herringbone, or decorative patterns framed with contrasting borders. A lot of them spent decades under carpet, and they're often in better shape than owners expect.
Parquet is harder to refinish than straight strip flooring. Because the grain runs in different directions, a sander always crosses some of it, and careless sanding leaves visible scratches. We use multiple passes with progressively finer grits and finish by hand along borders and inlays.
Loose blocks are common in older parquet. We re-glue them before sanding and replace any that are cracked or missing, cutting new pieces from matching oak so the pattern stays complete.
The result is worth it. A restored parquet floor with crisp borders adds character that's hard to buy new, and it suits the architecture of the house far better than a modern plank laid over the top.
If you've found parquet under your carpet, or you have a parquet floor that's gone dull and gray, send us a photo or book a free estimate. We'll tell you exactly what it will take.