Original Pine floors
We’re looking to do some work on our parlor floor. We’ve got these great, wide-plank original pine floors. But the floor isn’t level – and in some parts it’s really noticeable. I mean it’s like a serious incline. We had them cleaned up before we moved in. Now, we have to decide to keep them…
We’re looking to do some work on our parlor floor. We’ve got these great, wide-plank original pine floors. But the floor isn’t level – and in some parts it’s really noticeable. I mean it’s like a serious incline. We had them cleaned up before we moved in. Now, we have to decide to keep them or not. My biggest problem is that pine is so soft and everytime my kids move, they put another nick in them. Any thoughts? What are our options and are we crazy to even be thinking about pulling them up?
Yes tung oil would be instead of poly. It penetrates the wood and also makes it a little harder. There are also products available that contain it in case you do not want to use the pure form.
Can you shim / sister the joists in some way from below? That might save you the trouble of removing the boards and in the process breaking them.
The use of the floor is a big factor. We refinished pine in a bedroom with little traffic and it looked and held up great.
Sorry…If floor breaks, not you.
You can remove it yourself with a prybar. Just be careful not to break the pieces. If you do break, they can always be cut shorter. Then you’ll need to take out all nails, etc, and scrape down the tongue and grooves to make sure they will fit together nicely. First I’ve heard of the tung oil, but that’s good news! Is this instead of poly?
Thanks for the tips. I heard it was really expensive to remove pine planks and then put them down again. Do you mind if I ask what it cost? Could we do remove pine planks and then put them down again on part of the floor where it’s most crooked?
Also, what’s the deal with tung oil?
I would consider the dents and dings part of the character of the floor. How about Tung oil to harden the pine somewhat?
Your floors could be the original subfloor, which were meant to be covered with carpet in their day. Or, if you had the bucks, you put down parquet. I think I would put a new floor on top of it–it’s just too soft.
You could level the floor by removing the pine planks, laying down plywood (shimmed where necessary) and then reinstalling the pine. We did this very successfully in our top floor hall where we had to repair the joists. But pine is a soft wood so there’s nothing you can do about that other than decide you can live with the dents and dings.