Repairing Parquet Flooring

[diy_darren]

Entire downstairs of the house has 35 year old parquet flooring which had been covered entirely in carpet when I moved in. Since removing the carpet I'm thinking of restoring the parquet, but am unsure if I will be able to create a decent finish.

It's a dark wood (will post picture if required) with each piece about 1" x 4". A lot of the edge pieces are loose and some mid floor as well. On the back of them is a dry black substance, would I need to use the same to reattach them or would some super strong adhesive be better?

Other half claims it's too dark and would want it lightened too. Is there any substance I can paint on top to lighten the wood?

From what I've read the final stage is to sand smooth and finish with a couple of layers of hard wax.

Worth the effort, or am I best ripping it up and saving up for some more wooden flooring?

 

[WoodYouLike]

The black stuff underneath it is bitumen, which has become brittle - hence the loose blocks everywhere.

It's best to lift up all loose bits, get as much bitumen off as possible and re-glue them with normal modern parquet adhesive.
HOWEVER: the bitumen underneath the whole floor I suspect is brittle, so going over it with a heavy sander might loosen even more blocks.

 

[diy_darren]

So it could turn out to be a lot of work if the sander loosens more blocks. That doesn't bother me so much as long as I can get a good finish.

The finish is also going to depend on how much I can lighten the dark wood. Can anyone recommend a product for this? Even if it's as crude as painting bleach on the pieces! I'm hoping it's achievable as the sun and cat vomit have both managed to lighten pieces already!