Grappling with wide plank floor choices!

16 years ago

Hi, I'm looking for help trying to narrow the field down. You could say I'm a Carlisle Antique Heart Pine or reclaimed heart pine girl with an Armstrong Illusions budget. Know what I mean? I would love the look of an old barn, am perfectly happy with imperfections and like a darker stain oiled finish look. I've searched gardenweb previous messages and found some really helpful info but I guess I'm wondering if anyone can just tell me what worked great for you on a budget. I'm considering lumber liquidators but I'm nervous because they're more known for the more standard stuff. Sorry this is so disjointed, but thanks for the help.

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Comments (7)

oruboris
16 years ago
I may sound like a broken record, but have you seen Berry floors?

Look at their 'Regency' and 'Residential' lines. Low gloss with superb color-- no one can believe the sample I have is a laminate-- and the embossing of the texture matches the wood grain. I wouldn't call it rustic, exactly, but it is less formal than the Armstrong. Available in widths of 9.49 inches.

{{gwi:1567436}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Berry Regency
eandhl
16 years ago
caligirl_cottage, I know right just what you are feeling. I love the Carlile but it was out of our budget. We have a local lumber place and ordered random 12-20 inch pine. They kiln dry. We did straight sides, face nailed. There was some waste but still much more reasonable. We did Land Ark oil system for finishing. Labor intensive but beautiful. They look and feel like hand rubbed furniture, no shine and spot repairable if necessary.
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Thanks Katz! Wow... sounds like you are in a houseful of chaos. Congratulations! It must be a wonderful feeling being able to "move in." I can't wait! I sent you an email to whatever email address is linked here at gardenweb. One of the questions I had was in regards to the Provenza Old World Collection. That is the flooring we are thinking about. We noticed that the tung oil finish is much rougher than the urethane finishes. Have you noticed that it is more difficult to clean? We are also going to have fur babies on this floor (one of the nice things about that tung oil finish, - quick removal of scratches!), and was wondering about the fur clean up issues. I have heard that those with urethane finishes initially can't believe how much fur "floats" around, especially if they had carpet before. Now I am curious about this rougher finish. Will the fur cling to it? Is it tough to clean? I am thrilled to hear about your experience with this floor and wish you well as your finish your home. Thanks again! :)
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glennsfc - Thanks for your replies. I was so despondent last night when we got home that posting on this forum felt like crying out for a voice in the wilderness. Things are looking a bit brighter today. My husband was able to contact a person from the flooring company who assured us that all is not lost. Our GC contacted a pro floor installer from our area who is coming in tomorrow to sand the floor. It's a more delicate process than DIY'ers like us should attempt at this point. The stain should take well after that, and though we won't have the same milled finish we would have gotten had there not been a problem, one look at those beautiful planks indicates to me that we will have lovely (though glossier) floors in the end. We took your suggestion about finishing all the treads and risers for the stairway before installing. Another tip the pine guy told my husband was that instead of wiping down the floors with a dampened tack cloth, he uses a rag wrung out with mineral spirits and goes over the surface with it before staining. Supposedly this helps remove any dastardly glue spots - or at least lets you spot them so you can gently and discreetly sand them down before staining. They are nearly invisible buggers that bond with the wood in an instant. Wish we'd known that one day earlier! Again, thanks for your responses - I appreciated that you took the time to offer an ear and some help.
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All wood flooring (and your cabinets, doors, frames, paint, drywall, etc) have these types of requirements. The "range" is up to the individual manufacturer to specify. I've seen bamboo that has the narrowest requirement of 45%-60%....for good reason. The GLUE that holds bamboo together is RIGID whereas the grass (bamboo is grass) is ABSORPTIVE so it MOVES. Engineered hardwoods are more specific because the layers create layers of glue...and glue acts and reacts DIFFERENTLY from the wood layers. If one expands but the other does not, you get DELAMINATION. The companies have tested their specifications under laboratory conditions and have found the BIGGEST window for "success" with their floors. They have then written those down. As for solid wood floors in old homes, remember this: the wood floors CUPPED and/or CROWNED and/or SEPARATED early on in the life of the floor. It could have taken more than a DECADE for the home to find it's equilibrium. The original owners SIMPLY PUT UP WITH IT (imagine having to 'put up' with crowned floors for 10 years...today's consumer REFUSES to accept this....so we have warranty requirements now that SPECIFY the 'happy place' for each wood product). Once the first sand/refinish occured (25 years later) the "problem" (the visual issues) with the wood were sanded away. One generation later, it looks GREAT. But no one took selfies of the floors in the '60's. And the cuts and widths were different (there is a BIG reason why 2" strip hardwood was sooooooo popular....and it wasn't because it looked good). And the wood was often sourced (and dried/racked) from local mills. And it sat longer on site before it was installed, and, and, and, and....you get the idea.
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awm03
16 years ago
eandhl, any pictures? Did you specify a certain type of pine when you ordered? thanks.
caligirl_cottage
Original Author
16 years ago
I'd love to see a pic too! I'm still driving around looking at floors or checking on line and it's just such a mess of choices and questions.

TY
saawdust
15 years ago
Hello You may have seen my other post. We manufacture a wide plank rustic flooring you might be interested in. Check it out at www.rusticplankflooring.com
Thanks and good luck with your search!

Here is a link that might be useful: Rustic Plank Flooring Wide Plank Floors
dougowen
15 years ago
If you want a rustic look on a beer budget, try using unfinished oak and before you stain it have some friends over for a beat up the floor party. Take chains and beat it, take nails scattered around the house and walk on then, beat them with a hammer, and hit the floor with a pipe one time for me. Use your imagination! It's Fun !

After the party, sweep and lightly "dust" mop the home. Then stain to your choice of color, and finish with urethane containing aluminim oxide.

This technique is used by those in the know to get that old rustic flooring everyone wants without breaking the bank.

Let me know how it turns out !!
sfberk
15 years ago
Great message thread - I'm "grappling" with a wide plank floor for a kitchen too. Anderson has an expensive line (Biltmore)with the Titanium finish that you can only find at dealers and Armstrong has the next best I found so far which is a little less $ but up there (Anderson Locking Floor - Australian Wormy Chestnut - "Antique Heritage" is rustic.) So I'm thinking of eandhl's advise and installing real oak planks but my contractor told me they only go up to 5" which I can live with. I also ran across across the Rustic Plank Flooring site a couple of weeks ago. The material looks nice but I hesitate to order without seeing an installation. Also what about the warranty service - the company is in PA and I'm in MA.

Grappling with wide plank floor choices!

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oruboris

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Grappling with wide plank floor choices!

Comments (7)

oruboris

eandhl

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awm03

caligirl_cottageOriginal Author

saawdust

dougowen

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