Doug fir refinished feedback request
J C
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
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fir floors
Comments (22)This post is old, but I too have old Douglas Fir flooring that we just refinished in our 1940's house. Our Fir is in the Dining Room, hallway and downstairs bedroom. We did the hallway a few years ago - the DR and hall had carpet over bright orange tiles that were tarred down by a previous owner in the 1960's. We used paint stripper to remove the tar and then sanded the floor (hand sander in the hall years ago; a rented stand-up belt sander in the DR). Most floor refinishers REFUSED to sand down the tar, so we did it ourselves. It left a lot of stains, and in the DR there were also stains from pet accidents over the years and stains left from the carpet tacks. We stained it English Chestnut and then Tung Oiled it (8 coats). I think the hallway only had one coat of stain, but the dogs' claws scuffed it really bad over the years, and since the DR was so badly stained in spots, I just second-coated the stain and am currently waiting for it to dry - the stains are hardly noticeable now. When we expanded the house the idiots broke the first two planks of Fir when they put in the header between the new kitchen and Dining Room (when I went nuts yelling at them they said "You are going to replace this ugly old floor, aren't you?" My reply: "Are you NUTS?!?! This floor is irreplaceable!") and so we had to get three new planks, and luckily our local lumberyard carries a lot of traditional building supplies like rough-sawn siding, and they actually carried Douglas Fir flooring in many different widths! None of the flooring places carried it. The three new planks fit the t&g, but they were a lot lower than the old, so the old was sanded down to match the height. The new planks also are going to take AT LEAST one extra coat of stain to be equally dark (old wood always absorbs more finish than new wood). I like the Fir natural, but the stains on mine were just awful. Also, it meets up with the new Sassafrass in the kitchen / family room, and that is a similar color to the natural Fir, but a totally different grain, so it would look really weird where they meet. Also, the dark floor looks really dramatic in the Dining Room. We are DEFINITELY putting a rug under the table / chairs to prevent scratches, though! As for wood floors in kitchens, we put Sassafrass in ours, and that is a fairly soft wood, but loaded with character. We have neoprene mats for in front of the sink and stove. I wouldn't personally put anything other than ceramic or porcelain or glass tile in a full bathroom though (even natural stone needs to be re-sealed every year). Athomedads, the floor in your pics is OAK! We refinished all our old oak in the entry / living room by hand sanding and 8 coats of tung Oil and they are GORGEOUS! All I can say is that having refinished both really OLD wood floors, and also finished new wood floors, I HATE NEW WOOD!!! Old wood floors sand down easily and soak up stain and / or tung oil really quickly. New wood takes WEEKS to absorb 8 coats of tung oil, and a LOT of steel wool in between. The old floors were completed in one week with 8 coats; the new took over a month! You MUST allow each coat to dry fully before the next or the entire finish is destroyed and you must sand it down and start over (TRUST ME ON THIS - I learned that the hard way - don't rush it!). As for sanding you own floors - it truly depends. Personally, I cannot handle a real floor sander (I'm a 125 pound female), but my brother rented and used the stand-up belt-sander with no problems. I would NOT trust him with one of those huge stand-up orbitals, though! On our old oak floors that just needed a light sanding, I did that myself with an orbital and it was fine. The only problem is being on your hands and knees for so long - invest in a good pair of knee pads!...See Moreis this quartzite too wild? design help urgently needed
Comments (47)Hi oldbat2b and others, Thanks for your continued interest - Yes! I did go with this stone, though two different slabs from the same block. They are in and they are gorgeous. They do just what I wanted, bringing the ocean and sky colours into the room. We had the stone leathered to eliminate the reflection from the skylights and windows and I love the organic feel and look of it. It is all very natural, perfect for the space. It also helps that the accent colour, throughout my very open house, is blue. Even my skeptical husband likes it. I am almost ready to post my finished kitchen and will do so when I have the time to put it all together. Here is a sneak peak so you can see the counters. Note the bookmatched back splash - it looks like the bare winter trees against the ocean. Carol...See MoreKitchen layout advice!
Comments (72)mama g, That's a nice kitchen! I have no idea what the original cabinets looked like, but I'm guessing they were probably painted like that and I think the yellow/cream colors would have been very appropriate for this type of home at the time it was built. I've seen several ads from that time that have have colors like that! We have been increasingly enamored with the douglas fir that we are seeing in these kitchens somewhere on the spectrum between "craftsman" and "asian inspired." Hopefully we will be able to budget doug fir cabinet/drawer fronts from one of those companies like semihandmade or scherr's, both of them have doug fir as an option. I also like the craftsman tile backsplash in the picture below which is sort of like what we have around our fireplace. A lot of these houses have fir trim also, but our windows would look like the ones in the below picture as that is how the windows look throughout our house. (I would love to have as many windows as that in my kitchen :-) Our built-ins in LR and DR are douglas fir (which was probably the most common wood used for that purpose in these houses), but quite a bit darker in color since they are 90+ years old and were stained. I guess if we had the energy to do so, we could probably refinish the built-ins to bring out the fir color a little more. All of our interior trim is painted white, and under the paint is douglas fir also, but we would not want to strip the trim (especially since there is a lead paint layer under there). My mother thinks it's possible that the trim was originally painted when the house was built, but you can tell from the interior of the DR built-in that it was never painted, only stained (and the stain is really old)....See More80s oak kitchen--any thoughts?
Comments (48)If you don't want "nasty plastic chemicals" I assume you are ripping out the vinyl flooring and replacing it with ceramic tile, which unless you are on a slab will necessitate reinforcing the floor and putting down hardibacker. ESPECIALLY given that they nearly always use some version of OSB as floor underlayment. It isn't the load bearing capacity that is the problem, it is flexion. If your floor flexes with vinyl or wood its not a big deal. The same amount of flex with tile will crack tile and/or grout. I would never go larger than 12" tile on wood underlayment no matter how it is pumped up. Anyone who tells you you can cheap out on your underlayment is either an idiot or they're lying to you. I LOVE tile flooring - but unless you're on a slab its a lot of extra expense. Almost any of the laminate plank flooring will be a better option on a wood underlayment without additional expense. In other words, your best bet to replace that floor is "nasty plastic chemical having" vinyl sheet flooring expense-wise (and even appearance-wise, many vinyl sheet flooring designs are QUITE attractive), or laminate plank. The only thing I find "wrong" with the kitchen as it is is it seems dark, but that could be a function of your photography. There is no reason to replace those cabinets and you would have to pay a LOT to get similar quality. I would strip and refinish in a lighter color or paint. As in you paint them yourselves. They make several versions of paint suitable for painting cabinets that show few, if any, brushmarks. If you use the proper prep, primer, and brushes. And patience. I don't care for the flooring but wouldn't replace it unless it is actually worn or I was flush with money. The vinyl flooring I've seen in Home Despot is way uglier though so - really I think you're sort of lucky with what you have. Actual flooring companies undoubtedly have more options but will also (undoubtedly) be more costly than the Big Box stores. Watch for laminate plank on sale. That can be quite attractive and affordable at the right price. This is a minor quibble but those curtains are TOO long. Personally I don't want curtains draggling in the overspray from my sink. Hem them, replace them, or raise the rod. Mostly I don't think there's a thing wrong with your kitchen. I'd leave it alone unless you know you're going to be in it for years and years, in which case do whatever you want to it. "Upgrading" for sale is also not sensible. You will DEFINITELY NOT get your money back in a mere 2 or 3 years. I would also never put a rug in a kitchen. They get nasty fast. Comfort mats in front of work areas, sure. Rug - no. And that rug in the picture is way uglier than the floor itself. IMO....See More
arcy_gw
3 months ago
PROJAN MOYER
3 months ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 months ago J C
3 months agoTwo flooring contractors came out and both said doug fir. I don't know enough to be able to say what it is. It was sanded, clear coated, refinished. Would have hoped the old and new could have been mixed/moved around to blend more or a stain with color to make it less stark. Not sure what the wood is if not df additional photos attached and I'm so sorry the app has been really buggy on my phone if I try to delete any words they re-appear in duplicate/triplicate.
M C
3 months agolast modified: 3 months agoSpouse here. Here are a couple more photos of the completed original material. Contractor states that moving boards around is not possible because old fir is too brittle although the non-damaged pieces that were removed in the area where new material went in came out without issue.
There was no stain put on anything, I'm not sure why the contractor's photo came out so red.
As JC said, refinish was repair damage with some replacements and filler, set all nails, sand. Then 1 coat Duraseal oil based sealer and 2 coats DuraSeal oil based polyurethane.
BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
3 months agoci_lantro
3 months agostellarceline
3 months agolast modified: 3 months agoBlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
3 months agoM C
3 months agoBlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
3 months ago
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