Dried out oak floor

[dovogt]

My mother-in-law's 80-year old house in LA has 1 1/2" oak strip flooring throughout the house. The floor was never taken care of. Fortunately, much of it was covered with carpet until recently and is in relatively good shape, so it will refinish OK. But some areas, especially in high-traffic halls, not only look terrible but also have dried out considerably, causing small gaps to appear between the strips. Is there anything I should do before having the floor refinished to "refresh" the wood, or should I just proceed with sanding and finishing? Thanks for any assistance.

[The Builder]

It depends on your desire. If the gaps are not that bad to your appearance then leave as is, but if its to bad, then replace the boards

[AcademyHardwood]

high traffic

how long has the floor been there ? i would suggest using crete/tile for the high traffic areas, then using hardwood on the rest of the house - Refinishing along with sanding is a good idea, but if the plank is completely ruined.. then just replace it with a brand new board of Hardwood

[HayZee518]

Agreed by the last posting. You could try a sanding sealer to expand those joints. White shellac in an alcohol solvent may expand the joint a bit - Parks shellac is the brand name. pour it into the crack and wait a day or so and see if the joint expands.