Repairing parquet: Is it wood?

Hello dear house building experts, I found a floor in a room in a newly purchased house that does not please me in its current condition. Unfortunately, it is uneven, grayish in some places, and in a nice wood tone in others. There are no major damages. I assumed it was laminate and therefore only a replacement would be possible. Then I removed a profile strip and started to have some doubts. It somehow doesn’t look like what I imagine a typical laminate floor to be. From the cross-section, it looks more like engineered wood flooring to me. Unfortunately, I am a complete layman in this field and can only proceed based on Aunt Google. Would it be possible to sand this floor with a fine grain and treat it with hard wax oil so that it looks uniformly nice again? Thanks and best regards

Could be engineered hardwood. At least the core layer is pretty certainly made of real wood. Sanding is definitely possible (though not too often) – and could be worth it. As a wood fan, I would say: Go for it!

That's how I see it too, that should be "normal" engineered wood flooring. Of course, you can't say anything about its quality. There is engineered wood flooring as cheap goods as well as high-quality ones. It is also a question of effort and whether you want to include sanding in the house, how important the room is, how you want to use it, what you like, etc. All that would factor into my consideration. For example, I have a master 2nd choice engineered wood flooring here for €25/sqm, so you can think about whether the effort for sanding, oiling, etc. is worth it. You can also take a look at OSMO Farben, where there are products that can even be applied without sanding, such as Dekowachs. I used it on my entire solid wood floorboards. In general, it would be interesting for me whether the current floor lies well and whether I would like it. If both are yes, then I would leave it in and refurbish it with paint/oil etc.

Thank you very much for the answers. In its current state, I definitely do not like the floor. I will try to work on it and report on the outcome. Certainly effort, but renting equipment for one day is still manageable. If it doesn’t work, I can always cancel and redo it.

The idea with the decorative wax also sounds interesting. So I could, for example, brush on decorative wax "Oak". Then, as recommended, add a layer of clear hard wax oil. That would also work without sanding? As mentioned, there are no major damages visible... but if the surface is uneven before painting (partly grayish, partly more like beech) – can I even that out with the decorative wax or will the differences still show through?

You cannot see the surface well enough to give an accurate estimate. Sanding is quick to do, creates a lot of dust, and always surprises you anew with how beautiful an old floor can become.

The picture is also pretty bad. But there is a realistic picture of the overall impression "buche/grau". If it helps, I will try to take better photos again.