Lifting oak strip flooring

[Boscoe]

My late 50's house has what i think is oak strip flooring in the hall. I have just discovered that it also has it in the lounge. I would like to lift and relay this elsewhere. How difficult is it likely to be to do so? Are there any tips on how to tackle it?

Also it is not the same colour as the floor in the hall. I don't know if this is because it is stained or varnished. Is it likely that i will be able to bring it back to the same colour as the other floor? Would sanding a bit be the thing to do?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Symptoms]

Bosco - Is the timber floor layed over concrete (really solid) or suspended (50's house - possibly on joists)? You'll need to do a trial on an unobtrusive bit of your floor (behind a door or in a corner) to discover how it was fixed down, how thick it is, etc. Don't go hacking away at the floor with a chisel but bore a 10mm dia hole (which can be plugged later) through the timber; this will give you an indication of thickness of the timber and how it's fixed. If the floor is original it may have been stuck to concrete with adhesive (black in colour means bitumen). What size are the strips of oak, are they tongue & grooved? Let us know then we can advise on feasability of lifting.