Removing mystery finish and refinishing 120yo pine floor
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (30)
Related Discussions
Pine Flooring refinishing, a Crime in progress
Comments (5)First of all, when you sand a floor you are resurfacing the wood to receive new finishing products. The sanding process removes old finish and minor damage (dents, scratches) and removes some of the wood that has been oxidized (aged). There is no such thing as a 'gentle' or 'light' sanding. Second, you need to know what you want to finish the floors with to get the look you're after. This can range from a film-forming finishes (waterborne or oilbase) to the tung oil type that supposedly harden (fortify) a very thin layer on the surface and provide a cleanable, repairable result. Third, each finishing product will impart a 'look' all by itself. A floor finisher will stain the floor and use the finish that will come close to the color and look you want as a final result. Yes, even pine can be stained...although it is very difficult to do and to not have the blotchiness your contractor said would happen. I have had great success staining pine with BonaKemi DryFast Stains. The darker you go the more likely that the floor will blotch. The finer you sand pine or any other wood the less likely blotching will occur, but finer sanding also reduces the amount of pigment that the wood will hold...resulting in possibly a lighter than desired final result. Fourth, you can add tints to finish to bring down the brightness some, but that can result in a floor that looks like it was finished with Minwax Polyshades (not a good look). What did the contractor use as a sealer before the coat of 'poly'...or was a sealer skipped?...See MoreRemoving Paint From Pine Floors
Comments (17)They are tongue and groove and there is no subfloor. This photo is before I took the tack out. The room is roughly 120 square feet. The main damaged area is on the left wall kind of under the light socket. The planks go all the way across the room (about 10 feet). They originally may have been longer, because I know that they cut out the wood floors on the other side of the wall (which may have been moved) to drop in one of those big shower fiberglass shower units in the 60s. How do you repair something like this without taking out the whole plank? Also, I know prices vary by region and what kind of work you want done. But does anyone have a rough estimate for floor refinishing costs? This guy charges by the room instead of square foot, which I thought was odd and it still adds up to be very expensive. He's also trying to entice us with a small discount if we do the adjoining room. I know it's probably a sales tactic, but I find myself believing that it will look kind of strange to have one nice looking floor stop at the doorway and the rest of that part of the house remain in a semi-rough condition. Granted, he definitely seems to be knowledgeable of old floors and he says the price includes the repair and that he can get salvaged pine tongue and groove from a contact to closely match what we have. I'm looking for other places to get quotes from, but not having much luck so far....See MoreRecovered wide pine floors/refinish
Comments (8)I, too, have wide old board (early, old growth white pine) floors - mine were set in when the house was built in the 1840s. But every year in the heating season they contract, opening a gap between the boards that one can loose a chopstick in. Then they swell up, reaching their maximum dimension in mid-September. So I don't think age really affects dimensional stability, particularly across the board width. What would keep them more stable would be constant temps and, probably more importantly, steady humidity, which I can not supply in a wood heated, un-airconditioned house with a full cellar located in the humid NE. However, the boards can shrink or swell, and it doesn't concern me in the least. Mine are thicker (1 3/16") than yours will be after planing, but I have reluctantly abandoned the idea of installing radiant (hydonic) heating in the floor because wood that thick will not be a very efficient transfer of heat and the heat necessary to make them warm up would be hard on them, and probably on my pocketbook as well. In my case this is exagerated because my building is so energy-inefficient and my climate so severe that my heat load would be considerable even without the issue of the thickness of the wood. The only good thing to be said for my floor in relation to radiant heating (which I crave) is that I have full unhindered access to the undersides of the boards, making retro-fitting very easy. That said I once owned a house with modern strip red oak flooring and radiant floor heating on a slab. Heat transeferred just fine, but some of the seams did open up every year. Nothing more than cosmetic issue, in my opinion, but it did raise questions at resale because one of the reasons the boards might shrink is due to a leak in the system, which was not the case. I happened to find a buyer who saw it both closed, open and then closed again, so she believed me when I said it was a normal thing not the result of a recent trouble. Other would-be purchasers who saw it in its gap-y state at the end of the heating season were more sceptical. What do you plan to use for subflooring under your wide boards? I don't meant to discourage you from using the boards, just sound a note of caution about using thick, old growth boards as radiant transfers. Unless they are severely cupped I would think about laying them without planing. How are they edged; would you have to have T&G put on them? Many of the boards in my barns and attics are apparently identical to my flooring, but usually not as nice. I have used them to make small patches or repairs, though. One other thing has to do with the varying widths. It can be a bear if you have too much variation and need to match up with an exact dimension to span the floor. Depending on the length of your boards and the width of the room, you may have an easier, or more frustrating time fitting them to the space. In my house the boards are so long they go under the partitions and span most of the rooms. Good luck, your floor sounds great and I am a big believer in re-using parts. Molly~...See MoreHow to refinish 160 year old pine floors
Comments (4)Looks like a soft pine (white pine or spruce) therefore getting a commercial drum sander to remove the paint is going to remove a lot of material in a hurry. Then applying a finish like polyurethane, which can only be removed by sanding (again) locks you into a cycle wherein your historic material is carted to the landfill as dust in garbage bags. Within a few cycles, the flooring will be abraded down to the t&g, and effectively ruined. The good new as I see it is that these floors have not been previously sanded, as they apparently been covered with area rugs and a painted border (a very typical treatment in the 19th century). There's no reason why you couldn't repeat this, and choose your personal floor paint color, and use a Persian (or a modern rug) of an appropriate size. It would look 100% authentic. There is an issue of which I must make you aware. Those never-painted central patches are never going to match the wood underneath the painted borders if both of them are stripped down. The bare patches have 160 years more oxidation head start, and will be darker when varnished. Artful (painfully so) staining work can diminish the differences a great deal, as will a flat finish, but this is really an art, and a historic floor specialist (or experienced, determined homeowner who's good at wood finishing, or gets ones self to that point) would need to take charge. We hand scrape old/historic floors where there is high regard for them or they are nearing the point where the t&g will become exposed. Our hand scraping bears no relationship to the current factory process of intentionally putting scraper tracks into material for the sake of added texture. We are scraping to have total control inch by inch over how much material gets removed, where; to keep material removal to the minimum level to render the floorboards smooth and finish-ready. The scraper gives complete control and can leave an even layer of oxidised wood (patina) that a power-sanding would render very much flatter, but with infinitely varying degrees of patina. With a cupped board, fo instance, a sander will sand the cupping completely out, in the process removing less material at the center (low point of the cup) and greatly more material at the edges, rendering two lighter stripes and a darker center. On wide pine boards this is very pronounced. This is too long, sorry, here is a pic of one of our scraped-process floors, of wide heart pine, where there had been very bad weathered. sun-faded patches in line with the window, and the 14-16" wide boards would not have withstood drum sanding. Casey...See MoreRelated Professionals
Fullerton Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Rendon Painters · Hammond Painters · Hanover Park Painters · Manville Painters · Ruskin Painters · Camp Verde Flooring Contractors · Cincinnati Flooring Contractors · Wyomissing Tile and Stone Contractors · Casas Adobes General Contractors · Mount Vernon General Contractors · Perrysburg General Contractors · Toledo Furniture & Accessories · Silver Spring Furniture & Accessories · Oak Park Window Treatments- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
Related Stories

GREAT HOME PROJECTSWhat to Know Before Refinishing Your Floors
Learn costs and other important details about renewing a hardwood floor — and the one mistake you should avoid
Full Story
FLOORS11 Distinctive Finishes for Original Floorboards
Whether you go for glossy, painted or matte boards, make your wood floor the star
Full Story
REMODELING GUIDESWhat Lies Beneath That Old Linoleum Kitchen Floor?
Antique wood subfloors are finding new life as finished floors. Learn more about exposing, restoring and enjoying them
Full Story
FLOORS10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Home’s Original Floors
Save yourself the cost of replacing your old floorboards with these tips for a new finish
Full Story
REMODELING GUIDESDesigner Confessions: Torn Between Wood Floors
19 Photos to Help You Choose a Wood Floor Finish
Full Story
REMODELING GUIDESContractor Tips: Smooth Moves for Hardwood Floors
Dreaming of gorgeous, natural wood floors? Consider these professional pointers before you lay the first plank
Full Story
FLOORSHow to Paint Your Hardwood Floors
Know how to apply nail polish? Then you can give your wooden floors a brand-new look
Full Story
KITCHEN DESIGNEye-Catching Colors for Your Kitchen Floor
Revitalize a tired wooden floor with a paint or stain in an unexpected color
Full Story
WALL TREATMENTSThese Are Not Your Grandfather’s Pine Walls
The knotty look went from popular to pariah in years past, but today’s designers are finding new and stylish ways to embrace it
Full Story
HOUSEKEEPINGHow to Clean Hardwood Floors
Gleaming wood floors are a thing of beauty. Find out how to keep them that way
Full Story
DavidR