Hi, a few wood floor questions: We want to refurbish the floors of our bedroom. The floors are random-width pine, and are probably original to the house, an 1830s cape. The floor was under plywood and carpet when we got the house. The floors have never been painted or oiled –pretty much untouched. They are in good shape- no cracking, pretty tight to one another, overall rugged. They are, however, fairly dirty.
Here are my questions: 1. Should we clean the wood, is this a good idea and/or necessary? If so, what should we use to clean it? 2. Or, should we just give it a light sanding to remove the dirt? 3. After that, should we use oil or poly? any product recommendations? (Btw oil is my preference over poly as it’s a bedroom- not a lot of foot traffic- I was thinking of boiled linseed oil.) Thanks very much for your help/advice
Replies
as you can see here's another fer ya..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Yup. Got it, but too preoccupied last night.Where's Ditch anyway?Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
haven't seen him in a long while...
be nice if he'd show up..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
welcome to BT galusha...
I took the liberities of addressing a post to Mr know it all fer ya...
and...
>1. Should we clean the wood, is this a good idea and/or necessary?<
yups across the board here..
>If so, what should we use to clean it?<
TSP is an excellent cleaner to start with... After brooming, vacuuming and dry scubbing..
>2. Or, should we just give it a light sanding to remove the dirt?<
NO!!!!! Get that thought out of yur head now!!! Please...
you'll make a zillion problems fer yurself...
Describe the "dirt" a bit better...
>3. After that, should we use oil or poly? any product recommendations?<
I prefer a SW or BM product line.. Boiled linseed should be fine if you follow the Mfgrs instuction..
Poly would be too with less problems and maint in the future...
It doesn't have to be shiney...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
thanks very much for the ideas and taking the time --sorry about the tardy response--been away for work. Insofar as a description of the dirt, there are some watermarks, some black stuff that is in the grain--finger nails won't take it up--not paint and basically 180 years worth of grime. I got a request for some photos and plan to post a few of the floors in a few minutes--take a look perhaps that will give a sense of what's there--again thanks
try a stiff scrub brush and a bucket of soapy water - don't try to do it in one pass - wet an area, light scrub, let soak, another scrub, sponge up, repeat -
2-3 times over might well get you to where you want to be - it's generally considered undesirable to remove too much 'patina' - your lucky to be left with a floor that's just 'dirty'...
the look of the wet floor is what you would end up with if you use the oil finish - I like oil...others will disagree...
should be a most satisfying experience...
thanks very much for your ideas--after having removed three layers of paint on other floors in this house-- i too see these floors, in this condition, as a small bit of luck--sorry for the delay in responding--again thanks for your thoughts--
after having removed three layers of paint on other floors in this house--
Id like to know how you did this. A regular drum floor sander?
I have 3 more rooms like that to do here.
If I'm understanding this correctly..........this is raw wood.....never had a finish of any sort on it?
Can you post a couple of pics?
I wouldn't be comfortable making a recommendation without being able to see it. Cleaning just might be sufficient, but might not..is what I'm thinking at the moment.
Hi, I'd be happy to post some photos but . . . . how to? i've got photos on my laptop but don't see how to go about it from this page--is there an attachment option I don't see-thanks for clueing me in--
hit reply...
than attach files...
hit browse...
double click the photo you want to post...
hit upload and wait fer it to happen... it'll tell ya when that has happened
do this fer each pic...
then hit done when yer done....
GH and some of the others have dial up... hopefolly ya can keep the KB to a minimum..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I have to disagree on the floor -- never been sealed? -- -- I'd sweep as best as I could then go over with the large vibrating sanders with a 60 grit; suck it all up and then go over with 80 grit and make sure you have what you want -- stain if you want, seal and then first coat of finsih sealer - sand with 100 grit and come back with another coat of sealer, and keetp at it until you have 4 coats of sealer and fine sand the last one with 120 -- I would never wash an unsealed floor -- sand it to clean it up and keep stepping
she's gotta get the floor clean before she finishes or she'll have trapped mud and dirt in the finish...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
You might want to at least check out WaterLox...tung oily, incrediblely easy to touch up, jeeze, why would anyone use sumpin' like that? <G> Don't worry, we can fix that later!
Hi, I'd be happy to post some photos but . . . . how to? i've got photos on my laptop but don't see how to go about it from this page--is there an attachment option I don't see-thanks for clueing me in--
You can simply hit "reply" to a message. A ways below the box where you're typing your message in is the "attach files" button.
Click "attach files" and it brings up a box that lets you "browse" to the picture, then "upload". Browse to and upload each picture you want to attach.
Depending on the speed of your internet connection and the size of the picture files, it might take a couple seconds up to several minutes PER picture.
BreakTime will let you post pics up to 3 meg, HOWEVER, You typically get more responses on pics if you keep their file size under 100k.
edit: aha! IMERC beat me to the punch. Teach me to not read the whole thread prior to replying.
jt8
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -- Douglas Adams
Edited 1/21/2005 4:28 pm ET by JohnT8
IMERC covered the posting pics thing pretty godd already, but I'm gonna add just a couple notes.When you hit the attach files button and the browse window opens...make sure that window says "show all files" or you probably won't see your pics as you try to browse to them on your hard-drive.Like he said, you can only upload one at a time, so just keep attaching more files..if you want.After you got 'em done...hit "done" in that window.And then do not forget to hit "post" when you arrive back at your original message window.Pic sizes around 100 KB are decent for those of us on dial-up. Smaller is better yet, if a smaller pic would tell the story. sometimes, yes...sometimes, no.Means you'll probably have to do some editing before you post those critters. If you need help with that........ ask away. We will collectively have you confused in no time flat. <G> Remember, Friday night.........Breaktime.....and many are beer drinkers. Plus some of us (me,for one) are in the process of getting snowed in. Come to think of it.....I'll be back in a minute. Got a fearsome thirst suddenly.Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
here are some photos of the floors--thanks very much everyone for your thoughts/time on this --btw--not much of dig. camera person therefore my 45-attempt to reduce the size of these photos came to naught--sorry if it doesn't load until the sixth year of the bush presidency
Thank you for the pics, but.......... I can't begin to handle that size on this dial-up in just one afternoon's time. <G> I got about 33% of the way thru the first pic. Enough that I can pretty safely say…….get out that floor sander unless you're after the rustic look.Maybe somebody with high speed will grab these pics and do 'em down a bit, but……… Ya gotta learn how to downsize and edit pics cause we like to see pics around here. Maybe I can help ya. I'll try anyway.Basic graphic editing isn't all that hard once you get the hang of it. Don't know what you're currently using as graphics program, but Irfanview is an easy to understand and easy to get along with program for most stuff. Free download.The very basics = When resizing, you first open a pic, then choose the size you want to convert to, then give that pic a new name of some kind, then save it to file somewhere. If you don't give that modified pic a new name, you could end up writing over the top of the original. Now go open that new modified file you just saved. The info concerning file size should now be available to see on it. 100 KB and under is best for those on dial-up.With Irfanview that procedure = open pic….Click on image…then….resize/resample. For starters, try 640x480. Save it. Then open it. What's the file size? Too big? Delete that file. Reopen the original. Try "half". Save. Open. What ya got? Still too big? You might have to manually enter the size. Choose height or width. The other should follow along by itself. When you resize, you'll probably want to hit the sharpen function one time…..after the resizing and before the save. With Irfanview, that 's also found under "image" on the top tool bar. Pop it one time before the save. If something gets away from you while you manipulate the original pic and you want to start over……click on "file", then reopen.You have an undo button/arrow on the toolbar also. It works only for the very last thing you did. Got more trouble than that? Hit file/reopen.You may already have program on your puter you'd just as soon stay with rather than get Irfanview, but most folks like Irfanview better once they give it a whirl. At least for the very basic stuff. Quick, easy and friendly.Wanna crop a pic? Open it, then lasso the area you want to keep. Now hit "edit", then "crop selection". There it is. Do whatever you want to it yet, then save it. Easy stuff.http://www.irfanview.com/Hope to see more of those pics.Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
looks good to me - ya can't buy that look - (the stray sock is a nice touch) - a good clean and a coat of oil and revel in the history...
the dark would appear to be water stain - if you want to experiment, in a discrete spot use a toothbrush with a slurry of oxalic acid and scrub on the black - wipe clean and let dry and see what it does - I wouldn't take the trouble - many would consider it a mistake, even if it takes the black out -
your gonna have area rugs in the room, right? - -
a beautiful floor...
"there's enough for everyone"
Personally I wouldn't do any more to the floor than oil and buff it -- that patina of wear has taken years to build up and sanding the floor will just give you a crappy looking new floor look.
IanDG
Well.......from the sounds of these last two replies and suggestions....I need to see more of these floor pics.Depends to some degree on the personality of the house and the intent of decor, too. I shall defer to those of you who have.At least until/if I do actually get to see them pics.Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Do you know what's under this layer of flooring? Is there another layer of sheathing, or are these right on top of floor joists?
The detail is easier to see in the larger shots, but here are dial-up friendly versions.
jt8
When women love us, they forgive us everything, even our crimes; when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even our virtues. -- Honorý de Balzac
As has been said, don't sand it because you'll lose the patina of wear that is part of the beauty of an old floor.
You can use boiled linseed oil on its own but I prefer a more penetrative mixture of equal parts of natural tung oil, boiled linseed and turpentine which is swabbed on the floor and kept wet until the timber can't absorb any more.
The excess is dried off with old rags [these are very prone to self-combustion, so wet them thoroughly before disposal] and the floor is waxed lightly with Johnsons paste wax.
The next day, rent a buffer with several coarse nylon pads [I use Brown] and buff the entire floor at least half-a-dozen times. Repeat this for the next 2 days -- don't add any more wax during the buffing process.
Clean the floor regularly using a flat mop on which has been sprinkled a few drops of cedar oil or teak oil [never wet mop it] and you'll never have to do anything more than that to it ---- ever!
IanDG
Thanks very much for all of your thoughts on this--much appreciated--whether I can get the other half of the team to go for two days of buffing is another story. . . . again thanks for the time on this-
Can I apply this finish on pine floors that I want to first stain dark? How well does the finish hold up if one has young children?I am less than thrilled with the poly we put on our 90 year old floors. The dark stain took well, but the poly scratches somethimng awful. Given that the floors are stained dark, scratches show up easily.I've been thinking about resanding and refinishing this summer.
For staining I use a wood dye mixed in with the oil and that works fine.
The finish is the absolute best for aesthetics since it brings out all the figure and grain of the timber in a way that a film-type coating never can [see below] BUT it isn't waterproof -- liquids will stain it so I'd only recommend it in the same sort of area that you could use fitted carpet.
The exception to that would be if the house was old and you wanted the floor to quickly look original.
View Image
View Image
Tasmanian Oak
with
polyurethane finish
Tasmanian Oak
with
oil finish
IanDG
Thanks for the photos. I have used Transtint dyes with a tung oil/linseed oil combo on a figured red oak clock. Never thought about using it on a floor.Add one more thing to my ever growing list of renovation projects.
As most people here know....my old house(circa:1680) has some pretty old floors.
I added on additions and used wide plank pine flooring faced nails with rosehead nails.
In the living room I used tunge oil...its a nightmare to maintain and scratches beyond belief.
In the kitchen I used one coat of gloss poly and one on top of that with satin.
Been working in that room for almost two weeks now installing cabs with next to no scratches on the floor.
When my floor sanding guys do my upstairs I'll have them screen the kitchen floor one more time and give it a final coat cause its free with all the work I sent their way and all the work theyre doing here.
Doesn't scratch anywhere near the way the oil finish does..Not even close!
On the old floors the wood is certainly harder than the new ones I put in and old growth...duhhhh....feels as hard as oak....I haven't gotten to them yet so I can't tell you what the difference would be.
All I know is how I finished different rooms with the newer wide plank flooring.
Bet Piffin will be in here soon to jaw with you a bit.....beware : )
Be well
a
n
d
y
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
On the old floors the wood is certainly harder than the new ones I put in and old growth
I've seen old growth cherry floors here that seem harder than new oak floors. And cherry has a reputation for being soft.
Tung oil -- I can never understand the attraction in the tung oil/varnish that forms a film. It's the softest of the finishes and needs a heck of a lot of maintainence, it yellows -- about the only thing it does do is to make the grain and figure stand out but a penetrative oil would do that without the constant need to touch up scratches.
IanDG