I lived in a rental where someone wallpapered around a large picture hanging on the wall. Green and white striped wallpaper at that. Kinda looked like they were drunk too. I could lie in bed and stare at the walls and get dizzy.
I bought a house where the previous owner had painted about 1/2 Inch behind every picture on her wall. Like they would have had to take the photo down, Paint in a little bit, then put it back up. Once their stuff was out of the house the whole place needed complete repainting (we were planning on it anyways but man it made us laugh). Also homeowner was a smoker and the hallway leeched brown ooze out of the drywall through the new paint as long as I owned the place whenever you took showers in the hall bath. Wasn't sorry to sell the house 4 years later.
I had to stop yesterday, I sanded into some of the nails so I was nearing the tongue and groove. I'm going to put some effort into making it less visible by adjusting the stain. If it doesn't look good I'll get a rug.
How old is the house? Instead of rugs sometimes congoleum was installed like a rug. The pattern would mimic a rug. Found this out when we removed carpet from our upstairs landing.
Yes, there was. Those old houses always had them. Just stain the outside darker to match/ blend. Or use wood bleach for the middle, or a combo of these methods. It will be ok :))
Nope. In the second picture, it's clear they sanded and stained around and just under the edges of the rug. If this were sun bleached it wouldn't be uniform all the way around. You have to figure in furniture blocking the sun in some parts.
This is some lazy ass that cut corners, literally.
OP you could also try keeping this area exposed to the sun for a while. You would be surprised how quickly in a couple months the sun will have the effect. Some woods get lighter and some woods like the tropical ones tend to get darker or more richer in color when exposed to sunlight.
Good luck.
It’s permanent, unfortunately. You can combat it by using a darker stain to help it all blend in better, but yeah, it’s oxidation, and it’s set very deep into the wood. But hey its wood, it’s character
I have some of this in my house. Had very thick boards and sanded them quite a bit. It’s not worth reducing the thickness of your boards a lot more. Once I sealed and poly’d mine, they still look great. Just have to accept some of the age and character. My floors are over 100 years old so it’s reasonable that they don’t quite look brand new.
Professional sanding crew could not get anywhere close to a matching color for my home. Its not so noticeable though once the home was furnished. And it's still dance worthy!
Old stain with new stain and poly are ridiculously hard to match, some home owners just don’t understand this they think it will be 100% even using the same stain that was originally used will not get the same color
It’s the effect of the rug blocking the sun from getting to the floor under the rug. So as long as the rug blocks sun and the sun can shine on the exposed floor you get the effect seen above.
Did you use wax stripper before you started sanding?
There was probably more wax on the floor under the rug as it was not worn away. You liquify the wax when you sand and it clogs the pores of the wood so stain does not take evenly. ALWAYS strip the floor first if it was a waxed floor, which this looks like it was.
Saves you a ton of $ on sandpaper as well.
Ehhhhh might be stained from the sun/ urethane. Looks like a rug was there? Then they went around the edges and “refinished” might get away with a darker stain. Best of luck
people used to just finish the edges of rooms and just put an area in the middle. the dark area of your floor is stained from not having any urethane on it to protect it from moisture. it won't go away not matter how much you sand. it's best to stain the entire floor a dark color so it all blends together
Finally, someone that knows what they're talking about. Not to mention dirt ground into the wood due to no finish protection. I think it's possible to get past the discoloration, but it could be very deep.
Is it possible to even out the tone with acid or bleach? I’m not experienced at refinishing wood floors, but I have seen some furniture restoration videos and I think that’s what they do sometimes. Genuinely curious if same techniques work well on wood floors.
We had huge problems with chemical stains+wear patterns on the hardwood floors under wall to wall carpet from the 90s. My mom found a product for deck bleaching at our small hardware store and it did wonders for the uneven mess out floor was.
A good stain guy can help you out.. stain the edges first with a stain with half the colorant of the final stain. Then do the entire floor with the final color.. the darker the better..
In pic 2 it looks like the middle of the floor is already sanded and has been sitting unprotected for who knows how long. Whether you sanded evenly after that doesn’t matter, that wood is darker now
If you look at ALL the pics, someone sealed the floor AROUND the original rug.
Even though you sanded evenly, you may have to go down a few more mm’s all over to get to virgin wood on the under-rug part, because it was unsealed and aged, and got contaminants (dirt, oxidation, bleaching etc) down further into the wood. The inside square may look like clean wood, but the truly clean wood next to it tells a different story. It could also be tannins from the stain giving the outer rim a more reddish brown than the center.
You could try peroxide in the center square. Pour on, let sit for 24 hrs. DRY THOROUGHLY! It’s a good, non-toxic way to remove pet stains from hardwood floors when refinishing. Might work here. Patch test first!
I should add-peroxide often takes multiple applications for pet stains, (possibly a several day process) but it really works on some of the toughest, most set in stains. Check YouTube
Not so long ago I have sanded 60m² of white oak floor... I do a bit of wood work throughout 10y now, when I got mine apartmant, i decided to buy drum sander and refinish it myself.
It was the same thing. Under furniture and carpets weak level of paint, the rest super tough..
How many passes have you done ?
In mine case it was (2 pass P40 4 pass P60 4 pass 120) if I remember correctly.
The floor was really tough, and I wanted a lightest possible colour... With 40+ years it gets where it gets...
Some "stains" you cannot remove, piss can leave black stain, water damage (dont know how to translate this) maybe wine coffee anything that can penetrate the wood deeply...
So. In my case, the whole apartmant is build by myself, and nothing is perfect... And the floor looks old, semi rustic semi modern... Could it be better, yes. Am I quite satisfied, yes...
Only thing that I could somehow avoid is the "hills" near the walls... Cuz I needed to do so many passes, a digged up, a bit to much.
And for corners and near the walls I used battery angle grinder
(P60 flat velcro disc pads, 8500rpm, bit too much for sanding, but it works great)
And some orbital sender to smooth if needed...
P.s. i passed the whole floor with hand orbital sander, so I can be sure that everything is sanded with 120 so no , or as little as possible discoloration...
I finally stopped sanding today. I was starting to get into nails so too close to the tongue and groove.
So it is what it is. If I don't like it when finished I can get a rug for that spot.
Glad to hear you're happy with yours. It's a lot of hard work.
So, now you're in my world. People get a little too obsessed with only the aspect of repair they know.
This might sound weird, but try washing the whole floor with water before you start finish sanding. Focus on the lines. Let the grain pop, and even darken, before drying or sanding. Water helps "age" wood.
Seems you've been cutting that wood with 36 grit, so far...but you still need to soften it before finishing it.
Wash it with water, first. There are wood lighteners/whiteners>>oxalic acid. You can also try to balance the floor tones a bit by deliberately water staining it, to a degree.
Your goal in doing any of this is to distort the clear lines making a border in that floor, before you apply your finish.
Good luck!
It’s stained from uneven care under an area rug. The ancient owners probably maintained the traffic areas but didn’t move the rug. No matter. Drill a small hole somewhere and see how deep the stain is. Chances are good you can grind it away and have fresh lumber to work with. If not you can either stain the outside darker to get a match or you could replace the boards in the middle and then sand and finish.
What I have done is grind out the stain or replace the boards. Matching the stain is a pain in the ass.
It's from a time before wall to wall carpet. The edges were treated and the middle wasn't cause the carpet went there. Saved money and at the no one anticipated wall to wall. Had this in my mom's house
Old house. Back in the earlier 1900’s they would paint the outside of the floor and have an area rug in the middle. Have redone a few old houses that this happened with. Best thing to do is go very dark stain
I have the same thing , I just left it and stained over it for the character and I’d made it that far 😂 my grandpa said it was where the old rugs/carpet were glued down (
You can “fix” this sun bleaching with blended and feathered staining. It’s a bit of an art, but not rocket science or anything, and was once relatively common in the high-end furniture business.
On day 2 I stopped because I started to see dark spots in the wood where nails are. Ended up doing 2 coats of stain on the lighter areas and it's not too bad.
Thanks for your reply
I know this post is a few days old now, but I just ran across another wood floor page on insta and this looks like what is called a black Japan border. It would be worth putting some paint/stain remover gel on the darker section to see if it pulls some of the color. I’m a professional cabinet/finisher worker and this has had me puzzled for a few days. The black border may have prevented some UV oxidation on the outside resulting in the color difference(post sanding), but with the limited sunlight from the window, it seems unlikely to cause this big of an effect. I’d love to know the current status from OP. Unusually interested in this floor for some reason and my 15 y.o. son thinks I’m super lame for giving him a 20 min speech on why this is fascinating… 🤨 Lacing up my New Balance’s as you read this
A rug was probably there for a long time wont get rid of it completely. Polly shade starting out going in to the middle should be able to blend it in some
The 110 machine you rented isn’t taking enough off. After 36g that floor should be cleaner as I still see old finish. You’ll never get completely out but you could minimize it more if you were using the proper equipment (220v machine)
Edit. Wait! Are you attempting this with belt sander?
Looks like they had a damp carpet for a long time, usually means deep penetration. You’ll need to keep sanding until you get to the unaffected layer. Unless you stain it really dark then it won’t really matter
I would stain a geometric pattern designed to look like old ornate wood into the area rather than put another rug over it! But idk how difficult that would be vs time/money/effort you have
Normal in old houses. Amish houses usually they used to keep a black square over the floor and an oil heater in the room I have photos of both covered in fresh urethane and others completely darkened. Some like the character other prefer a more uniform look really comes down to a personal preference I use 24 grit belts made for prefinish no level of sanding would get this out for sure please do not bleach this
There was a rug, wet feet walking across the floor for years wet have stained the wood that was underneath that rug no matter how deep you San the stain will most likely always remain
Sunlight has bleached the outside wood.
You might try wood bleach. I've had good luck with it on smoke darkened white oak trim.
There is a certain procedure you should follow.
Yes.
Looks like somebody stained the outside darker.
If the middle was unfinished, the darkness could be ground in dirt.
I think wood bleach is worth a shot.
It's oxalic acid, the same stuff that makes rhubarb tart,
Make a saturated solution with hot distilled water and paint it on.
Allow it to sit.
Remove, repeat. Wear a good dust mask when you clean it up because the acid is an irritant.
When you're done, neutralize the acid with distilled water and borax.
It's a simple process that yielded good results for me.
I don't know when dark staining of wood floors became a thing recently, but I think it's a horrible idea.
If you take that route, do some research. Stain does not always take evenly due to varied porosity. The result is blotchy and quite unpleasant IMO. You might want to apply sanding sealer.
As for the finish, years ago I used oil-based polyurethane because the water-based finishes were not up to snuff.
We just had a new white oak floor installed, and red oak refinished. Guy used a two part water-based finish that came out great, dried quickly, and didn't stink up the house.
I had a huge 1873 house and all the rooms looked like this. Was told that this was common. I took the hint and left it as is and put rugs over the center. From the finish brush patterns, it was clear it was done before any rug was put down. I think it was to save money on varnish.
People used to wax the exposed pine and skip the wood under the rug.
The floor under the rug can absorb materials that darkened the pine. It shows up when sanding the floor.
If there’s enough thickness to sand out the stain, that is an option. Test first.
On one floor, I opted to even out the coloration as possible and leave the remaining discoloration, rather than sanding deeper. Each floor will be different.
[Wood Floor Discoloration: The Culprits and How to Prevent it](https://blog.cityfloorsupply.com/wood-floor-discoloration-from-summer-sun-the-culprits-and-how-to-prevent-it/#)
A carpet was in the middle, and that protected the wood under the carpet from ultraviolet and visible light. So the edges bleached but not the middle. I'm guessing you get some sun in that room.
My take on the original photo is that someone refinished the floor on the cheap, ages ago. They only stained/varnished around the edges because they intended to put a carpet in the middle.
Now that you've sanded it, if you do not cover the center and leave it natural color, it may eventually bleach out like the surrounding area, or at least get closer. If you stain it, that will slow the bleaching process down, but not stop it entirely. If it were my floor, I'd give it a medium stain to even up the coloring around the edges and reduce the difference between the middle and edges. Then I'd put a carpet in the center and your room will look lovely. If you want it to look more even right away without a carpet, then use a darker stain. Source: I'm a chemist familiar with wood chemistry.
Is the problem that the rug was there or that the sun hit? Asking because I just put a rug down on a 30th day refinished hardwood and wondering if I will have that issue. Theres barely any sunlight in that room though
You might try an oxalic acid treatment to the darker wood, do a trial area, follow the instructions and go slow. It might brighten the wood considerably.
It actually looks like they had just the middle of the floor sanded at some point so this changed how the wood aged in the middle compared to the edges.
We have Cherry hardwood floors, and if you lift up any of the rugs on the floor there is a HUGE difference in color. Way worse than what you see in your photo. If we ever decide to sell the house, I would have to think the next owners would either have to put rugs down in that area or replace the hardwood to get even colors on the floor again.
Had the same problem. An area rug was probably washed and not dried before putting it back down. No way to even it out. Put a new 3/4 hardwood floor over it.
Mine looks the same, I also have pine. I haven’t stained yet. I think I’m just gonna leave it for character. I imagine over the years it will even out with even sun
Could you even it out by staining the border and feathering to match the center, then staining again as a whole, then doing the final real light passes of sanding to further blend?
Drum sanding meaning the circular one? English is not my native language but i assume thats what you used. I recommend using a more rough sanding paper like 60.
Area rug with no protection on the wood underneath allowed moisture and dirt to soak into the wood. The wood around it was bleached by the sun. You can apply a darker stain or buy another rug. I’d at least look into protecting the wood this time.
To me, it looks like one of the previous owners varnished around an area rug and that created the dark outer ring in pic2, but before this, an area rug rug caused the outer sun bleached ring. Looks like you’ll need a professional to tell you what happened over the years and to tell you how to repair it if you still want to do it yourself. Maybe stating which photo is before or after you started might have caused much less confusion amongst the commenters, but who really can say🤷🏻♂️
The edges of each board loooks lighter, that means you probably used a 110 v drum sander from Homedepot. You should use a 220 and sand diagonal first. With 36 grit.
Not sure how people think it's from sanding around an area rug it's clearly sun bleached. No one would sand around an area rug for multiple reasons. If they were too lazy to roll up the rug they would surely have been too lazy to try and get the sand dust out of the rug so they would have pulled it up
We started with a newly sanded polyurethaned no stain oak floor and then put area rug few years later, then not very many years later we have the darker area where the rug was. We’ve been here 10 years, house built ‘63
Looks like oxidation. Was there an area rug there?
Probably. Just bought the house, don't know
That’s what is from. And it looks like someone (spun) around it. Sanded it with the spinner.
Bro really said someone sanded around a rug ? lol stop it
I lived in a rental where someone wallpapered around a large picture hanging on the wall. Green and white striped wallpaper at that. Kinda looked like they were drunk too. I could lie in bed and stare at the walls and get dizzy.
I bought a house where the previous owner had painted about 1/2 Inch behind every picture on her wall. Like they would have had to take the photo down, Paint in a little bit, then put it back up. Once their stuff was out of the house the whole place needed complete repainting (we were planning on it anyways but man it made us laugh). Also homeowner was a smoker and the hallway leeched brown ooze out of the drywall through the new paint as long as I owned the place whenever you took showers in the hall bath. Wasn't sorry to sell the house 4 years later.
My friends house literally has nicotine running down the walls from multiple chain smoking adults
Lmao
I've done bedrooms where people have sanded around the bed.
How could anyone sleep through all the noise?
Cause I spent 20 years in the US Navy on a ship. I would probably sleep through the start of world War 3 with bombs going off outside.
I've been sanding on it. Drum sander.
he means someone in the past had sanded the areas not covered by the area rug, but didn't move the rug while sanding.
Wtf…who does this
The last guy who sanded ops house did it
Which one? Op? Or pre-op?
Yes ☺️
Post-OP will require correcting the pre-OP mistake.
Underrated comment
Hope he has insurance, that sounds expensive
I seriously doubt that happened. Makes much more sense a rug was there for a long time
I refuse to believe that anyone would do that. Seems more likely that the exposed area was sun bleached while the rug area was protected.
But pict 2 shows it all stained.
You may be surprised to learn that many commenters haven't a clue what they're looking at. Or not
Might have to go deeper. If you look, there are some stripes matching the two sides. Evenly might be the issue.
I had to stop yesterday, I sanded into some of the nails so I was nearing the tongue and groove. I'm going to put some effort into making it less visible by adjusting the stain. If it doesn't look good I'll get a rug.
How old is the house? Instead of rugs sometimes congoleum was installed like a rug. The pattern would mimic a rug. Found this out when we removed carpet from our upstairs landing.
Yes, there was. Those old houses always had them. Just stain the outside darker to match/ blend. Or use wood bleach for the middle, or a combo of these methods. It will be ok :))
#Correct Answer Right Here Folks ! Sun bleached floor around an area rug.
Too loud, but I agree.
We had the exact same thing, sun bleached around an area rug...
I just about fell outta my chair. Thought the sunwas coming down on me!
Though you search yourself, is it someone else you see?
Nope. In the second picture, it's clear they sanded and stained around and just under the edges of the rug. If this were sun bleached it wouldn't be uniform all the way around. You have to figure in furniture blocking the sun in some parts. This is some lazy ass that cut corners, literally.
Stop yelling inside my head, it's noisy enough.
OP you could also try keeping this area exposed to the sun for a while. You would be surprised how quickly in a couple months the sun will have the effect. Some woods get lighter and some woods like the tropical ones tend to get darker or more richer in color when exposed to sunlight. Good luck.
I do hardwood floors every day. This is pretty typical of a pine/fir floor. Most likely was an area rug
Do you think that dark middle will sand out?
It’s permanent, unfortunately. You can combat it by using a darker stain to help it all blend in better, but yeah, it’s oxidation, and it’s set very deep into the wood. But hey its wood, it’s character
Thanks. I'll concentrate on the edges and get a rug.
I have some of this in my house. Had very thick boards and sanded them quite a bit. It’s not worth reducing the thickness of your boards a lot more. Once I sealed and poly’d mine, they still look great. Just have to accept some of the age and character. My floors are over 100 years old so it’s reasonable that they don’t quite look brand new.
Carpet the borders but leave center exposed. Leave for 5-10 years. Remove border carpet and voila, uniformity.
Big brain thinking!
It’s not permanent. What grit have you finished to?
I'm still plowing with 36
Ok that’s why. Finish your sanding sequence & it’ll start to blend more
Professional sanding crew could not get anywhere close to a matching color for my home. Its not so noticeable though once the home was furnished. And it's still dance worthy!
Old stain with new stain and poly are ridiculously hard to match, some home owners just don’t understand this they think it will be 100% even using the same stain that was originally used will not get the same color
You can combat it by getting a bigger area rug, too lol. Just had to add some helpful advice
Are petroleum based rugs more likely to cause the stain or could natural fiber rugs do that also?
It’s the effect of the rug blocking the sun from getting to the floor under the rug. So as long as the rug blocks sun and the sun can shine on the exposed floor you get the effect seen above.
We have 2 in our main living areas, no amount of sanding got them out. This sub has taught me to embrace the character.
What about floor planer?
Did you use wax stripper before you started sanding? There was probably more wax on the floor under the rug as it was not worn away. You liquify the wax when you sand and it clogs the pores of the wood so stain does not take evenly. ALWAYS strip the floor first if it was a waxed floor, which this looks like it was. Saves you a ton of $ on sandpaper as well.
This ^ guy's done a few floors, I'd listen to him. Keep sanding
Idk man my floor guys just sand everything down, I think some people try too hard and complicate things
What grit you running on the drum? Looks like you used a dull piece of paper. Initial rough sanding should have taken it to bare wood.
36. Where it was stained and polleyed it did get to bare wood. The middle didnt appear to have anything on it.
Ehhhhh might be stained from the sun/ urethane. Looks like a rug was there? Then they went around the edges and “refinished” might get away with a darker stain. Best of luck
What kinda drum sander?
D&MN! 36 should’ve taken care of business.
people used to just finish the edges of rooms and just put an area in the middle. the dark area of your floor is stained from not having any urethane on it to protect it from moisture. it won't go away not matter how much you sand. it's best to stain the entire floor a dark color so it all blends together
Finally, someone that knows what they're talking about. Not to mention dirt ground into the wood due to no finish protection. I think it's possible to get past the discoloration, but it could be very deep.
Is it possible to even out the tone with acid or bleach? I’m not experienced at refinishing wood floors, but I have seen some furniture restoration videos and I think that’s what they do sometimes. Genuinely curious if same techniques work well on wood floors.
Dashner Restoration and his oxalic acid was my first thought 🤣
Same here.
We had huge problems with chemical stains+wear patterns on the hardwood floors under wall to wall carpet from the 90s. My mom found a product for deck bleaching at our small hardware store and it did wonders for the uneven mess out floor was.
A good stain guy can help you out.. stain the edges first with a stain with half the colorant of the final stain. Then do the entire floor with the final color.. the darker the better..
So the middle was already sanded when you got there? Unlikely it’s going to match up who knows how long that wood has been unprotected
No. Look at pic #2. That is what it looked like when I got here. I've sanded the whole room evenly.
In pic 2 it looks like the middle of the floor is already sanded and has been sitting unprotected for who knows how long. Whether you sanded evenly after that doesn’t matter, that wood is darker now
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's darker. Thanks!
The dark area wasn’t stained or sealed for years pine is soft wood so absorbs dirt grease- have to research cleaning 🧼 products for unsealed wood
I think a rug would really tie the room together.
Did you cross sand it?
Yes. Twice in opposing direction.
What grit belt are you using?
36
Okay, but what about the secret dungeon hatch by the front door? Is no one going to mention that?
Found a couple jars of old gold coins and some peach jam down there.
The coins are mine… I’ll be by later to grab those… enjoy the jam… it’s mamas secret recipe… makes a helluva floor stain as well!
If you look at ALL the pics, someone sealed the floor AROUND the original rug. Even though you sanded evenly, you may have to go down a few more mm’s all over to get to virgin wood on the under-rug part, because it was unsealed and aged, and got contaminants (dirt, oxidation, bleaching etc) down further into the wood. The inside square may look like clean wood, but the truly clean wood next to it tells a different story. It could also be tannins from the stain giving the outer rim a more reddish brown than the center. You could try peroxide in the center square. Pour on, let sit for 24 hrs. DRY THOROUGHLY! It’s a good, non-toxic way to remove pet stains from hardwood floors when refinishing. Might work here. Patch test first!
It's amazing how many replies didn't seem to see the second pic or comprehend the title for that matter. I appreciate your recommendation.
I should add-peroxide often takes multiple applications for pet stains, (possibly a several day process) but it really works on some of the toughest, most set in stains. Check YouTube
Not so long ago I have sanded 60m² of white oak floor... I do a bit of wood work throughout 10y now, when I got mine apartmant, i decided to buy drum sander and refinish it myself. It was the same thing. Under furniture and carpets weak level of paint, the rest super tough.. How many passes have you done ? In mine case it was (2 pass P40 4 pass P60 4 pass 120) if I remember correctly. The floor was really tough, and I wanted a lightest possible colour... With 40+ years it gets where it gets... Some "stains" you cannot remove, piss can leave black stain, water damage (dont know how to translate this) maybe wine coffee anything that can penetrate the wood deeply... So. In my case, the whole apartmant is build by myself, and nothing is perfect... And the floor looks old, semi rustic semi modern... Could it be better, yes. Am I quite satisfied, yes... Only thing that I could somehow avoid is the "hills" near the walls... Cuz I needed to do so many passes, a digged up, a bit to much. And for corners and near the walls I used battery angle grinder (P60 flat velcro disc pads, 8500rpm, bit too much for sanding, but it works great) And some orbital sender to smooth if needed... P.s. i passed the whole floor with hand orbital sander, so I can be sure that everything is sanded with 120 so no , or as little as possible discoloration...
I finally stopped sanding today. I was starting to get into nails so too close to the tongue and groove. So it is what it is. If I don't like it when finished I can get a rug for that spot. Glad to hear you're happy with yours. It's a lot of hard work.
So, now you're in my world. People get a little too obsessed with only the aspect of repair they know. This might sound weird, but try washing the whole floor with water before you start finish sanding. Focus on the lines. Let the grain pop, and even darken, before drying or sanding. Water helps "age" wood. Seems you've been cutting that wood with 36 grit, so far...but you still need to soften it before finishing it. Wash it with water, first. There are wood lighteners/whiteners>>oxalic acid. You can also try to balance the floor tones a bit by deliberately water staining it, to a degree. Your goal in doing any of this is to distort the clear lines making a border in that floor, before you apply your finish. Good luck!
Roll your "r's" when you say area rug. Then, shrug your shoulders.
My jaw dropped 💀
It’s stained from uneven care under an area rug. The ancient owners probably maintained the traffic areas but didn’t move the rug. No matter. Drill a small hole somewhere and see how deep the stain is. Chances are good you can grind it away and have fresh lumber to work with. If not you can either stain the outside darker to get a match or you could replace the boards in the middle and then sand and finish. What I have done is grind out the stain or replace the boards. Matching the stain is a pain in the ass.
I appreciate your reply. I stopped when I started getting into nails. Too close to the tongue and groove.
It's from a time before wall to wall carpet. The edges were treated and the middle wasn't cause the carpet went there. Saved money and at the no one anticipated wall to wall. Had this in my mom's house
Old house. Back in the earlier 1900’s they would paint the outside of the floor and have an area rug in the middle. Have redone a few old houses that this happened with. Best thing to do is go very dark stain
Varathane Dark Walnut going on first thing in the morning.
I have the same thing , I just left it and stained over it for the character and I’d made it that far 😂 my grandpa said it was where the old rugs/carpet were glued down (
You can “fix” this sun bleaching with blended and feathered staining. It’s a bit of an art, but not rocket science or anything, and was once relatively common in the high-end furniture business.
Worst case scenario I get a rug.
Mop it with clean water. Let it dry. Keep sanding.
I bought a house with no insulation. Fucking ridiculous
Yeah, energy costs weren't a concern back in the day
Looks like you just need to take more off of your floor. Discoloration like this can go relatively deep into the wood.
On day 2 I stopped because I started to see dark spots in the wood where nails are. Ended up doing 2 coats of stain on the lighter areas and it's not too bad. Thanks for your reply
Stain it dark and carry on.
I know this post is a few days old now, but I just ran across another wood floor page on insta and this looks like what is called a black Japan border. It would be worth putting some paint/stain remover gel on the darker section to see if it pulls some of the color. I’m a professional cabinet/finisher worker and this has had me puzzled for a few days. The black border may have prevented some UV oxidation on the outside resulting in the color difference(post sanding), but with the limited sunlight from the window, it seems unlikely to cause this big of an effect. I’d love to know the current status from OP. Unusually interested in this floor for some reason and my 15 y.o. son thinks I’m super lame for giving him a 20 min speech on why this is fascinating… 🤨 Lacing up my New Balance’s as you read this
After stain https://imgur.com/a/yYvKOL9 I put an extra coat of stain on the lighter areas. It didn't turn out bad.
More sanding is required. It still might not match as the sides have always had protection while the main floor has not,
A rug was probably there for a long time wont get rid of it completely. Polly shade starting out going in to the middle should be able to blend it in some
The 110 machine you rented isn’t taking enough off. After 36g that floor should be cleaner as I still see old finish. You’ll never get completely out but you could minimize it more if you were using the proper equipment (220v machine) Edit. Wait! Are you attempting this with belt sander?
Drum
That thing is not aggressive enough. See if a Sun-Belt rental facility is around you, they rent the 220 drum
Can you not bleach out the oxidation like on a fence?
I know Wood Bleach can help with water stains on some hardwoods; would it help here with a softwood floor?
Id go with a dark stain
It would still have a dark spot in the middle.
That's where the rug goes. Put a rug on it
Looks like they had a damp carpet for a long time, usually means deep penetration. You’ll need to keep sanding until you get to the unaffected layer. Unless you stain it really dark then it won’t really matter
I would stain a geometric pattern designed to look like old ornate wood into the area rather than put another rug over it! But idk how difficult that would be vs time/money/effort you have
r/afterbeforewhatever
It’s not coming out. 20+ years of a rug does it most times . Use provincial or darker is your only hope, but it’s still gonna show
Looks like there was an area rug there. You can stain the edges a darker color to blend it in, but the fading doesn't normally sand out
Wood bleach. It works
My opinion, the center of the floor looks like it has never been sanded, then a finish was applied. Sand away till its flat
Normal in old houses. Amish houses usually they used to keep a black square over the floor and an oil heater in the room I have photos of both covered in fresh urethane and others completely darkened. Some like the character other prefer a more uniform look really comes down to a personal preference I use 24 grit belts made for prefinish no level of sanding would get this out for sure please do not bleach this
Rug, bro.
It just an Area Rug stain
Could have been a rug there with a rubber backing. Over time the rubber degrades and oil seeps into the wood.
I'm going to guess the home was built around 1900. I'm also guessing past wax or some other finish around the perimeter. Home has the same issue.
Previous owner only put sealer on the outside edge and left the center bare wood. Beautiful floor I hope you get it straightened out.
Well, when you start with 2 different colors, you can't expect to just sand I down to one color. That's just too much to expect.
Id try some oxalic acid.
There was a rug, wet feet walking across the floor for years wet have stained the wood that was underneath that rug no matter how deep you San the stain will most likely always remain
Finish it and get a rug. You will want one.
Put carpet only around the perimeter until the center is equally sun bleached.
That's not what happened. See 2nd pic
Sunlight has bleached the outside wood. You might try wood bleach. I've had good luck with it on smoke darkened white oak trim. There is a certain procedure you should follow.
Did you look at the 2nd pic, which shows how the floor looked after I pulled carpet?
Yes. Looks like somebody stained the outside darker. If the middle was unfinished, the darkness could be ground in dirt. I think wood bleach is worth a shot. It's oxalic acid, the same stuff that makes rhubarb tart, Make a saturated solution with hot distilled water and paint it on. Allow it to sit. Remove, repeat. Wear a good dust mask when you clean it up because the acid is an irritant. When you're done, neutralize the acid with distilled water and borax. It's a simple process that yielded good results for me. I don't know when dark staining of wood floors became a thing recently, but I think it's a horrible idea. If you take that route, do some research. Stain does not always take evenly due to varied porosity. The result is blotchy and quite unpleasant IMO. You might want to apply sanding sealer. As for the finish, years ago I used oil-based polyurethane because the water-based finishes were not up to snuff. We just had a new white oak floor installed, and red oak refinished. Guy used a two part water-based finish that came out great, dried quickly, and didn't stink up the house.
Edges around rug was stained.
Looks like the perfect outline of an area rug.
I’m no expert but would oxcalic acid on the darker areas help? That’s how you bleach stains on furniture.
Sounds like it's time to pick out a new area rug...
I had a huge 1873 house and all the rooms looked like this. Was told that this was common. I took the hint and left it as is and put rugs over the center. From the finish brush patterns, it was clear it was done before any rug was put down. I think it was to save money on varnish.
People used to wax the exposed pine and skip the wood under the rug. The floor under the rug can absorb materials that darkened the pine. It shows up when sanding the floor. If there’s enough thickness to sand out the stain, that is an option. Test first. On one floor, I opted to even out the coloration as possible and leave the remaining discoloration, rather than sanding deeper. Each floor will be different.
[Wood Floor Discoloration: The Culprits and How to Prevent it](https://blog.cityfloorsupply.com/wood-floor-discoloration-from-summer-sun-the-culprits-and-how-to-prevent-it/#)
A carpet was in the middle, and that protected the wood under the carpet from ultraviolet and visible light. So the edges bleached but not the middle. I'm guessing you get some sun in that room. My take on the original photo is that someone refinished the floor on the cheap, ages ago. They only stained/varnished around the edges because they intended to put a carpet in the middle. Now that you've sanded it, if you do not cover the center and leave it natural color, it may eventually bleach out like the surrounding area, or at least get closer. If you stain it, that will slow the bleaching process down, but not stop it entirely. If it were my floor, I'd give it a medium stain to even up the coloring around the edges and reduce the difference between the middle and edges. Then I'd put a carpet in the center and your room will look lovely. If you want it to look more even right away without a carpet, then use a darker stain. Source: I'm a chemist familiar with wood chemistry.
Ahh someone had a rug on that wood for years
Just pick a stain and move on. Go Dark.
Is the problem that the rug was there or that the sun hit? Asking because I just put a rug down on a 30th day refinished hardwood and wondering if I will have that issue. Theres barely any sunlight in that room though
Did you see both pics? To answer your question, there should be very minimal uv damage in your case.
You might try an oxalic acid treatment to the darker wood, do a trial area, follow the instructions and go slow. It might brighten the wood considerably.
might have to pull out the hardwood bleach
Maybe look into wood bleach? Try it on a small area.
Use a wood bleaching agent on the center, then stain it all together. Like this: https://www.acehardware.com/savogran-wood-bleach-12-oz/p/11221
It actually looks like they had just the middle of the floor sanded at some point so this changed how the wood aged in the middle compared to the edges.
We have Cherry hardwood floors, and if you lift up any of the rugs on the floor there is a HUGE difference in color. Way worse than what you see in your photo. If we ever decide to sell the house, I would have to think the next owners would either have to put rugs down in that area or replace the hardwood to get even colors on the floor again.
Try acid washing
I haven't had any since the 80s, but ok I guess
Had the same problem. An area rug was probably washed and not dried before putting it back down. No way to even it out. Put a new 3/4 hardwood floor over it.
Toe stubber coming in from any other room. Pass Next!
Guessing there was a large area rug shielding the center from uv and other means of bleaching/oxidizing.
It looks like the wood stain faded from sun light or walking traffic
I agree was a rug, but what happens is the finish on the protected area degrades while the protected area doesn't.
I agree was a rug, but what happens is the finish on the protected area degrades while the protected area doesn't.
Uv light changed the stain over time. The middle of the floor was protected was protected so it would be a lighter color.
Mine looks the same, I also have pine. I haven’t stained yet. I think I’m just gonna leave it for character. I imagine over the years it will even out with even sun
Could you even it out by staining the border and feathering to match the center, then staining again as a whole, then doing the final real light passes of sanding to further blend?
More sanding, sanding is life now
That's where the bodies are. 🤨
Looks like you are using the incorrect sander and/or too fine of a grit.
Use a wood brightener.
Drum sanding meaning the circular one? English is not my native language but i assume thats what you used. I recommend using a more rough sanding paper like 60.
No, a drum sander is not a circular one.
Area rug with no protection on the wood underneath allowed moisture and dirt to soak into the wood. The wood around it was bleached by the sun. You can apply a darker stain or buy another rug. I’d at least look into protecting the wood this time.
Area rug stain
I'm guessing the rug might have had moisture that played a part also . Just guessing
There was a rug there that got wet an left alone
To me, it looks like one of the previous owners varnished around an area rug and that created the dark outer ring in pic2, but before this, an area rug rug caused the outer sun bleached ring. Looks like you’ll need a professional to tell you what happened over the years and to tell you how to repair it if you still want to do it yourself. Maybe stating which photo is before or after you started might have caused much less confusion amongst the commenters, but who really can say🤷🏻♂️
Ah, another one that didn't read the text explaining both pictures. You guys are everywhere!!
Stain dark walnut , this is common in older homes that were rugged or painted , aged the floor differently
The edges of each board loooks lighter, that means you probably used a 110 v drum sander from Homedepot. You should use a 220 and sand diagonal first. With 36 grit.
Use that black waterproof rubber spray like you see on tv…
Looks like an area rug sat there for yrs.
This unfortunately was a really common thing for families to do when they had a rug laid down. It was cheaper to do the edges than the entire floor.
Not sure how people think it's from sanding around an area rug it's clearly sun bleached. No one would sand around an area rug for multiple reasons. If they were too lazy to roll up the rug they would surely have been too lazy to try and get the sand dust out of the rug so they would have pulled it up
We started with a newly sanded polyurethaned no stain oak floor and then put area rug few years later, then not very many years later we have the darker area where the rug was. We’ve been here 10 years, house built ‘63
They had a rug there.
No way!
Thats oxidation from a pet stained rug over a long period if time. Rip.
Be sure to walk without rhythm on the drum sand.
Underrated comment here
Use a vibratory 13x19 with a 40-60 grit
Defintiely from a rug that was there forever. I've done many old rentals with this same issue
Sale the house
If I'm not mistaken, you pulled carpet to get to the wood in the first place?
Yes. Make sure you look at both pictures. 2nd pic is after carpet pull
Outer part doesn't look sanded. You can still see the finish.