Original Wooden floors

[Kitten]

Apparently when we got our carpets down the fitters said our floorboards were perfect. I now want to get rid of the carpet. What exactly needs to be done to the floors and can anyone recommend anyone to do the job, dublin southside?

Did check the sticky's for this but didn't get info needed.

Thanks
Kitten

 

[Sherman]

You'll almost certainly need to sand them and then varnish / stain. Before sanding you'll need to make sure all nails / screws are punched well below the surface of the wood, otherwise they'll rip the sanding sheets - your sanding company would probably do it for you - otherwise, it can be quite therapeutic going around bashing them into the floor (use a nail-punch and hammer).

If your house is old and has a suspended timber floor, you will probably find draughts coming up through the gaps in the floor. You can either fill these gaps (other more knowledgeable bods here will tell you how) or you can lift all floorboards and butt them closer together, inserting a new one in at the wall the width of any resulting gap. Or, you could insulate underneath them all with rigid insulation fixed to the joists, or quilt insulation suspended on chickenwire which has been nailed to the joists.

I was going to sand my circa 60 year old floorboards, but neighbours have complained that theirs are very draughty, and I didn't fancy the cost / hassle of insulating under them, so I just carpeted instead - much cosier!

 

[Kitten]

hmm I've been told that unless they are really good that it looks cheap to just sand and varnish them......? Think I'll stick with cleaning the carpets until I can afford a proper new wooden floor.......I'd simply die if I thought people assumed I was doing things on the cheap!!!

 

[huskerdu]

I would disagree, Kitten, that sanded and varnished old floorboards look cheap, this is definitely a subjective opinion. D4 is full of houses costing 5M or more with old wooden floors varnished. Plenty of people really like the look, others don't.

Why do you think your floorboards are not "proper" wooden floors ?

What wood are these floorboards ? Pine, deal, hardwood ?
How old is the house and when were the floors laid ?

As has been said, the major consideration would be draughts, if they
are not tongued and grooved.

 

[Crubeens]

I thought that you're not supposed to sand old wooden floorboards as it takes away the nice 'antique' look to them?

 

[huskerdu]

If you leave old wooden floors unsanded, they will be dirty, full of splinters and not protected from spills. The " antique" look is still there after sanding and varnishing.

 

[Bob the slob]

I love that look in a house. It gives the house so much character.

 

[B787]

Hi all,

Was also thinking of trying to "bring up" original floors in my sitting room and hall (c.80 yrs old). They consist of suspended timber and someone did mention to me the problems with draughtiness. Any ideas on how much insulation would cost underneath, I imagine the chicken wire option is cheaper? While i'm at it, any ideas on how much it would cost to get someone in to do the whole thing; insulation, sanding and varnishing? Am a total novice in this regard so any advice would be much appreciated. The sitting room is 16'6 x 11'8 and hall is 9'6x 5ft.

Cheers!

 

[tdlynch]

My floorboards (c.100 years old) need to be nudged together. And a couple of the boards need to be replaced.

Does anyone know where in Dublin I can pick up some lengths which will blend in? The plan is to strip, stain and varnish the lot, after relaying.

Does the timber need to be of a similar vintage to what's down? I do like those black oxidised marks around the nails. I guess I'll not get that in newer timbers.

Any pointers very greatly received.

 

[Pope John 11]

You'll almost certainly need to sand them and then varnish / stain. Before sanding you'll need to make sure all nails / screws are punched well below the surface of the wood, otherwise they'll rip the sanding sheets - your sanding company would probably do it for you - otherwise, it can be quite therapeutic going around bashing them into the floor (use a nail-punch and hammer).

If your house is old and has a suspended timber floor, you will probably find draughts coming up through the gaps in the floor. You can either fill these gaps (other more knowledgeable bods here will tell you how) or you can lift all floorboards and butt them closer together, inserting a new one in at the wall the width of any resulting gap. Or, you could insulate underneath them all with rigid insulation fixed to the joists, or quilt insulation suspended on chickenwire which has been nailed to the joists.

I was going to sand my circa 60 year old floorboards, but neighbours have complained that theirs are very draughty, and I didn't fancy the cost / hassle of insulating under them, so I just carpeted instead - much cosier!

Has anyone got a solution to insulating an old timber suspended floor whick currently allows draughts through it....similar to the above.

Lifting up old floor boards is not an option....as it is extremely difficult, without causing damage to the boards.

Any thoughts welcome.

 

[Pope John 11]

Has anyone got a solution to insulating an old timber suspended floor whick currently allows draughts through it....similar to the above.

Lifting up old floor boards is not an option....as it is extremely difficult, without causing damage to the boards.

Any thoughts welcome.

Perhaps this should be in the Home Energy section, but has anyone got any thoughts on the above.

 

[mro]

Dont know if this is what you mean but..

A friend swore by this stuff, gapseal . We bought it and put it down but found it kept slipping up from between the gaps on some boards, which is really annoying and so we never finished putting it down (laziness too)

 

[Wexfordguy]

I'm looking for a 7ft length of 1965 pine floorboard to replace a splintered on my landing.

 

[Pope John 11]

Dont know if this is what you mean but..

A friend swore by this stuff, gapseal . We bought it and put it down but found it kept slipping up from between the gaps on some boards, which is really annoying and so we never finished putting it down (laziness too)

I have done this....but I am not happy with it. Obviously I had a fair idea it would not solve the problem.

Has anyone any other ideas.

 

[eamonn123456]

Sanding and varnishing floors that are made from soft wood is not ideal.

There may be different grades of softwoods, but IME the stuff used in most newbuilds, and then varnished as a 'feature', is far too soft.

You get grooves / tracks / scratches / dents from beds / chair / heels / dropped toys / books even. Normal usage in other words. Ends up looking battered and dirty.

Most of that white and red deal is fit only to be covered up.

If you do go down this road, be prepared to have to refinish it in a few years, which is more mess and hassle.

On the other hand if you ahve decent timebr floors, go for it, it looks fantastic.

 

[S.L.F]

Sanding and varnishing floors that are made from soft wood is not ideal.

There may be different grades of softwoods, but IME the stuff used in most newbuilds, and then varnished as a 'feature', is far too soft.

You get grooves / tracks / scratches / dents from beds / chair / heels / dropped toys / books even. Normal usage in other words. Ends up looking battered and dirty.

Most of that white and red deal is fit only to be covered up.

If you do go down this road, be prepared to have to refinish it in a few years, which is more mess and hassle.

On the other hand if you ahve decent timebr floors, go for it, it looks fantastic.

Ditto

The floors in my house are from 1942, sanded to a natural finish and are as tough as.....well nails.

 

[chum]

If you want to keep the antique look of your existing pine floors using the right finishes is the most important part of the whole refinishing process. I recommend using penetrating finishes as opposed to polyuerthane finishes. Penetrating finishes dry in the wood. Finishes to use are boiled linseed oil such as waterlox and tung oil. Constant care of your floors will avoid the hassle of sanding them again in the future instead recoating your floors will restore their lustre, just buff the floors and apply two new coats of finish. This process is very efficient way of protecting flooring in high traffic areas such as kitchens and entry foyers. Matching floor repairs is common practice in the wood flooring business,distressing wood,staining and use of dewaxed amber shellacs will provide successful results.