Sanding 5/16" Floor
I’ve just bought a circa 1880 house in Greenpoint with 5/16″-thick wood floors. I know the previous owner sanded them once but I don’t know how often they were sanded before that. (Much of the floor was under linoleum for many years.) They appear to be down to 1/4 inch thick at most, though the…
I’ve just bought a circa 1880 house in Greenpoint with 5/16″-thick wood floors. I know the previous owner sanded them once but I don’t know how often they were sanded before that. (Much of the floor was under linoleum for many years.) They appear to be down to 1/4 inch thick at most, though the nail heads (they are face nailed) are still not flush with the surface. Wondering whether to have them sanded, which I know will produce the most attractive results, or simply screened. There are some deep and shallow scratches, bare spots and other blemishes on the floor. I’d like them gone, but not at the risk of ruining the floor. Anyone with this kind of flooring (common in Brooklyn for many years, I hear) had good or bad sanding experience?
Thanks Steve. In most places the nails appear to still be below the surface.
the 5/16 flooring can be done a few times. If you think about it, there is as much sanding surface or more on the 5/16 than on modern 3/4″ t&g. The downside is that the nails will show and it is a lot of work to tap them down and fill the holes – but I’ve seen plenty of floors that have been done and they look ok.
To really find out how much sanding surface is left, someone, the floor person, will have to pull one of the pieces of wood and look.
Also, if you need, this kind of flooring is still available at Eastside on 124th St in the city. If you have to call them, I think you refer to this floor as “face nailed strip flooring.” In addition to nailing this product these days, they also use a wood flooring cement under it.
Steve
jre, care to share who did your work?
Hey there – Welcome to the Neighborhood. Are you planning on living in the house? Hope so.
We had linoleum (the real thing), plus vinyl sheets and even carpeting through out our 3 story house. In the first floor’s kitchen, the absolute first layer was newspapers from BEFORE the Great Depression hit… All our floors are pine and with all those years of nailing, stapling the many layers, left some scars. But we thought of it as character. We looked at one proposal of sanding and coating them with a clear finish, but we decided to sand them and then use a dark brown stain and then coat that. We love them. If I had to do it again, I’d double/triple up the layers of stain since our high volume area (kitchen) has a few worn spots. Then again, the guy who did the sanding and staining may have been a little lazy…
Good luck! Btw: if you can, take advantage of the Million Trees program and get a tree planted in front of your house if you don’t have one… It’s Free. You can fill out an application on-line. Go to the NYC.gov website and then Parks and Rec. Or google the NYC Million Trees program.
Yes it can be done, depending how deep the scratches, you can also find the same vintage wood and replace any damaged wood. You need a good craftsman who will take their time and do it right. Here is a pic. of a similar vintage and type of floor I had redone.
http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/6149/0may19200624qe.jpg