It depends... IIRC, It seems i'm probably paying a lot less than you are for the flooring/install. OTOH, the two times I've gotten quotes to sand and finish a f

It depends... IIRC, It seems i'm probably paying a lot less than you are for the flooring/install. OTOH, the two times I've gotten quotes to sand and finish a floor its been more than just ripping out and putting in something else. I guess it would be pretty inexpensive to rent a sander and do it myself (or hire unskilled labor) but i'm not sure I trust the latter, and the former sounds like the kind of frustration I don't need more of. I've tangentially helped people sand their decks and its was a PITA. In Austin, there are a lot of people who can install wood flooring, and they are crazy fast, and it turns out that makes them pretty inexpensive. That is part of the reason I do floating floors in the rentals. The removal costs for a glued down floor, or "well installed" linoleum, is many multiples what it costs to put the new flooring in.