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Is antique heart pine flooring toxic around kids?

last year

Hi all! Al we are searching for a home, and came across one that has 300-year-old antique heart pine plank floors. Is there any risk that this would contain lead paint or any toxins that would be dangerous to our kids and pets? Please advise. Thank you!

Comments (11)

kempek01
last year
Unless your children or pets will be chewing on the floor, you should be okay.

If they are chewing on the floor, you've got bigger problems than lead paint.....
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
What is the current finish? Pine floors were often coated with paint before modern floor finishes were invented. You can buy a lead test kit at any hardware or paint store. If they have a clear finish (varnish or polyurethane) you have nothing to worry about other than the lead paint on all the interior and exterior trim.
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We recently just finished installing and finishing utility grade mixed solid hardwood oak floors from LL (.99/sqft) all DIY. It was our first time installing any type of hardwood flooring DIY. Looking at the Elastilon product, I wouldn't suggest using the very rustic utility grade flooring unless you plan on nailing it down due to the extra fitting/fussing it can take to install it. Also I would be concerned about possible movement with the heavy sanding machines/buffing during the finishing process. I would think an engineered or prefinished hardwood flooring would be better to use with the Elastilon. Laminate (depending on quality) may hold up better with kids and pets as far as scratches. Prefinished hardwood may have a stronger finish (factory) than site finished too. However solid hardwood can be refinished, it may hold up to liquid issues a little better than laminate, have more value, and if you get a rustic character grade flooring the imperfections will blend in. Even with my dogs nails clipped on the site finished solid hardwood, I can still hear the click of their nails, however it's not as loud as it is on laminate floors. If you really want to do site finished utility grade rustic solid hardwood floors, it might be possible to build a proper subfloor accounting for the moisture, on top of the concrete slab. Someone on the Hardwood flooring talk forum may be able to offer some more information on this, I have no idea how easy it is or how well it would hold up. http://hardwoodflooringtalk.com/forum/ Hickory is harder than white oak, so it will probably be more durable, but the lower grades of hickory can have more pattern to them and I don't think hickory takes stain as easily as oak. With a good professional grade finish, I think an oak floor would be fine. With natural oil finishes (100% tung oil, linseed oil, etc.) I think it depends on the finish, after considering it for our floors and researching it, I decided against it. Natural oil finishes can smell and the odor can linger for a while, they may take a long time to dry/cure, and are not as durable as the water based poly finishes. However the natural oil finishes are repairable, which is nice. I've read that in high traffic areas the finish can wear faster requiring recoating once a year or every couple years though. I know my mom has spot repaired old wood floors with poly, but it's probably not as easy as using a natural oil finish because you have to sand. We went with the professional grade floor finishing products (Bona) and decided to use a water based poly (Bona traffic HD in extreme matte) so far with two dogs and two visiting dogs racing and sliding on the floor, it's been wearing like iron. The extreme matte finish gives it a very natural wood look (not really plastic) and is extremely durable, the matte finish also hides more imperfections. The rustic floors also being custom stained with different light/medium brown shades (Bona drifast stains) really helps hide tons of dirt and dog hair. Our floors
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We had heart pine flooring in our last house and it was beautiful! It did have a low sheen poly coating on it though... not unfinished. I would be worried about splinters if the wood was not finished and I had 5 boys running around in socks or bare feet. Another possibility that you could explore is using tung oil on the floor to give it some protection but not end up shiny.
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Heyholl, thank you so much for the $$ info and posting pics. I looked for your kitchen in the FKB, in progress, latest and coming soon categories but couldn't find it. You should post--your kitchen is great!! The floors are gorgeous and I love, love, love your baking center (although I don't get a chance to bake much anymore). Your cabs are beautiful & unique. After doing ALOT of research yesterday on floors, I had figured it would cost us $10-$13/sq. ft. probably to get the floors we want. I'm only doing this once so it's worth it to get floors that will look great & last. We've been in this house 18 years & plan to stay another 10-15 yrs. I notice a black furry friend in one of the pics--could almost be my youngest dog, Maya--she always lays in the kitchen when I'm in there working. LOL! Cabinfo--good luck refinishing. Mayhem is exactly right, but it does keep things interesting and I love having my kids' friends hang out at my house because I really get to know them that way. At this point, they're part of the family! Eandhl, I know there was a very large posting recently about finishing floors with oil. I haven't read through all of it yet, but am hoping to get to the rest of it tonight or tomorrow night. It definitely sounds interesting and I need to finish checking it out. Thanks everyone for the great info!
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So we had a refinisher out who is the only one locally trained in applying Rubio monocoat. He felt duraseal was a better option for us. He is willing to do in stages so we don't have to have our house inaccessible for a few days. We would have to touch up every 3-4 years but wouldn't have to resand everything. It will cost a little less than the vinyl plank for the initial job. It will still be a big mess for a week though. So we're trying to decide which way to go at this point. I am afraid that with the wood beams, etc not having the wood floors exposed takes away some of the charm. I attached a picture with some of the worn floor, and one of the main perpetrators to the damage sleeping in his dog bed.
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tilleylove
Original Author
last year
@kempek01 unfortunately they might!! My 3yo is all over our floors here, licking up stuff off the floor, etc! So I would worry about him. And a new puppy might definitely chew up on the floors/trim, etc! 😬
tilleylove
Original Author
last year
@Hallett…Here are some closeup pics of the floor. Not sure if there is any stain on them, or just clear coat. The owner just explained that they were 300yrs old, so I’m not sure if they ever had paint on them or not. Have heard some varnishes back in the day also contained lead though.
tilleylove
Original Author
last year
They also have heat pine in the ceiling in the basement and some older wooden posts and walking they they said was reclaimed wood. Maybe I should wait on this house then? Or is it generally okay as long as there is no visible paint?
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
It’s all buried under many coats of poly even if there were traces of lead. You are good to go
btydrvn
last year
Is the house that old?…. or just the wood on the floors?…the ceiling seems low…it kinda looks like a can of worms to me…the obvious changes and additions don’t really go well together?…in quality or style…to me the floor is the best part …imperfections are to be expected…appreciated even…
tilleylove
Original Author
last year
No, the house was built in 2007, so not that old. Just the floor and the reclaimed wood on the walls, ceiling and floor and posts are old. That room is in the basement, so yes, pretty low ceiling there. Here is a pic of the living area. I was just worried about the mantels and pretty much all the wood is reclaimed. Do they inspect for lead paint before installing in new homes? Or really wouldn’t they need to mill the floor especially and inspect before installing? Wasn’t sure how the process went with reclaimed wood in newer homes. Thanks! Attaching a pic of the living room and then the family room with the reclaimed fireplace mantle.
tilleylove
Original Author
last year
Living room with flooring and ceiling heart pine and living room with reclaimed wood mantle.
Connecticut Yankeeeee
last year
Gorgeous home! I’m no expert on old wood, but as far as inspections, you’ll probably need to hire your own expert to determine safety. I wouldn’t think this would be included in a regular type home inspection report. That said, I’m familiar with the look of very old New England homes and their wide timber floors with large gaps, divots, etc. Your floors are wide, and certainly seem old. They do look like the wood has been taken care of - sanded and stained (or whatever, I’m no expert here), so they look to be intact. Beautiful home, I’d be very inclined towards buying that.
btydrvn
last year
Wow…what about this home do you love ?…nothing makes sense …the high ceilings are a nightmare for keeping the home warm in the winter..and all the ceiling heights are either too low or way too high ..the disparity is too exaggerated …the odd use of mismatching wood elements begs painting it all to improve the flow

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