Hey there, what did you end up deciding?

We had a professional sand and finish our cypress floor with an oil and it looks great. 5 years old now. We've only sealed it once with 'Gemini' floor sealer but it should be done once or twice a year...... The oil is a European brand and quite expensive. The floor guy's use the same product on all their floors be it hardwoods or cypress (cypress is a 'hard' softwood). They do quality work only, throughout Sydney. Many use polyurethanes but these seal the moisture in, don't let the timber breath and shrink, etc. as the poly is like a glue......

I have two dogs and they both live and play inside. At one stage we had three. Our floors look no more worn than the day I oiled then 6 years ago. We will be selling in around a year and at that time I may rotary with a white pad (never need to sand again)but really there is no need. After 30 years of fixing timber issues, it breaks my heart to see such a beautiful substance treated with a toxic plastic bag. This is our puppy the other day with a sore foot.

Hi Some floorboards can have a finish applied as they come raw whilst others cannot without work. It depends on the brand and finish. I suggest you speak to the installers and get hold of the manufacturers rep to ask about the finish if it is not readily available at the point of sale. You should be able to just have the floor lightly buffed after it is installed (ie scratch/rough up the existing polish) to create a purchase for the new polish without actually sanding down to the timber. You do need to know what type of finish it is ie oil based or water based on the original boards as they can sometimes react with each other if you change. Then your sander can apply the new finish. Cheers