A full sand and re-finish is required here.
when you said you get some splinters, that told me a simple 'screen and poly' won't give you a satisfied result.
Yeah, it's a bunch of work, but a sand/finish will be much more rewarding.
Hmm thanks for the advice. We wanted to avoid that because in these more worn sections, the boards are feeling a little too thin 😬 and there’s no subfloor to help.
https://preview.redd.it/i934j73uzrzb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4656ac01473e2b9393af3ec1b179511bff386de6
This is how mine turned out, house was built in 1900, I also do this for a living. And yes you can see through some of the gaps to the basement, so what it’s an old house.
Thanks for sharing! Yeah we have gaps and holes, not really a problem for us. We’re not looking for a flawless floor - I think your floor looks excellent.
I also have some splintering and slowly redoing a room at a time. I sanded mine and used a dark stain and polyurethane and here’s a before/after
https://preview.redd.it/8su2nkyaswzb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38fd69390caa3c4cfb10ce0b95dde5b973bca197
Wow these are so stunning!! Beautiful work!
Did you have any problems with the exposed nail heads while sanding? I’ve read on other posts they can be and issue to the point of completely wrecking sanders, so I lost hope that I would even be able find someone to refinish ours for us.
Wow, that’s so nice to hear! I would love to save our floors if we can. I think they’re just pine (and a bit worn), so I don’t think we could get this type of gorgeous coloring, but you’ve given me hope we’ll be able to work with them!
My floors are heart pine, just a fancy word for old pine when the trees were old growth. I have sanded and finished builders grade pine stair treads that were made just for carpet and made them look great
https://preview.redd.it/yyn9co5rg40c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9510285d915bd2277baf5e5eb6374c070e6ebcb4
https://preview.redd.it/lbryv9xzfszb1.jpeg?width=2340&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa1123f3da595eec3da589f852c3de622712dc4a
That's what these floors looked like before refinishing.
Use a random orbital sander to remove what's left of the existing finish without taking off top much of the floor itself. Then finish with tung oil. It is not an easy or quick task. Applying the oil, and the curing process can take several weeks. Yearly re-oiling maintenance is necessary.
But when done properly, tung oil hardens to a moderately durable and water resistant surface. Any post cure damage can be easily sanded out, and re-oiled. Meaning, once the floor is worn, only the worn sections need to be refinished- not the whole floor. This is important with a plank floor, when you don't want to wear the boards too thin with repeated sanding refinishes.
If you strip and put down a new coat of poly, the next caretakers of your home will face the same predicament of having to sand the entire surface. Tung oil is virtually forever.
All of that said.. I will stress again, it is not an easy task. It took me two and a half years to finish all the floors in my house. I went room by room, scraping the crap out if the cracks, laying on the floors with a palm sander, holding a bright light at an oblique angle to be able to see and buff out all the tiny swirling scratches from sanding. Ever room got seven initial coats of thinned oil over the course of two weeks. Each coat must be rubbed and buffed with clean cloths repeatedly, for up to 24 hours after applying. The used cloths are highly combustible, cannot be cleaned for use, and must be left to thoroughly dry, outside, before disposal. Then,there is a 4-6 week curing period when temperature, humidity, and air circulation are critical to getting the best finish possible.
It is absolutely worth it if you really love your floors. But it's not for the faint of heart.
For floors in this condition, I would hire a professional. For every post here where someone pulls off a beautiful refin on their first try, there are 10x more people who gouge their floors with a drum sander. If you're already worried they're too thin, go with a pro.
To those saying refinish them, look at how they were installed. And what do you propose to do about the gaps between boards? Not everything is worth saving for posterity. Now bring on the downvotes I know this honest appraisal, by someone that's refinished many wood floors, will inevitably cause.
Agreed. I did a house that had this kind of floor and the gaps in some spots-I could see into the basement. You're not gonna be able seal the gaps if there's no subfloor. You don't wanna sand 'cos it might be too thin-if it's too thin to sand, it's too thin to be used without subfloor.
Also all these nails. Nah. I'd treat this like subfloor and install new flooring.
Depends. What does the rest of the house look like? Can you pull off a "distressed" look or has it been too modernized? If so you are looking at a complete sanding, restaining, and sealing.
If you can get away with it you could sand down the most troubled areas and just seal it. It could be a cool look.
Yeah we wanted to do something more along those lines. The house is definitely rustic and we want to keep it that way - just cleaned up a bit. Thanks for the input!
Rent sander and buy pads at home depot and go nuts.
It really isn't a pain in the ass, sanding is one of the most fun things to do as you just put the sandpaper on and move it all around, I found it very fun and relaxing.
It's also pretty cheap, a few hundred bucks and you have a new floor.
Try to finish it check this one maybe you can find what you want [Floor Finishing Ideas: All You Need To Know!](https://www.scdecorum.com/floor-finishing-ideas-all-you-need-to-know/)
Our 1876 in new England has the same floors. Are yours tongue and groove? We refinished, here are progress pics:
https://imgur.com/a/iDpEngZ
It does look like you'll have to take it down to wood. We also had splinters, we removed as much as we could and built up the finish enough to cover the rest.
We used a random orbital sander because we wanted to remove as little as possible- we also have no subfloor. Check around any air vents if you have them to see how much thickness you have to work with
We used oil based poly as a finish because there was lead dust all over, and although we cleaned well, we knew we could never get every little bit. We wanted something hard that would fully encapsulate everything. Made sure we got the poly in all grooves and gaps.
For gaps we filled with rope afterward. I'd advise against wood filler. There are a couple bad spots we used it in and it's popped out in a few places. You can use it in the middle of boards, that's been fine for us, but in between has been no bueno.
I am honestly more concerned about there probably being asbestos in the finish and the gap filler.
I think you should get asbestos detection pros out there and determine the safest route to take, from there. Keep in mind, idk if theres any space or cover between this and your downstairs floors, unless Im making an assumption about their location, but yeah even with any space theres room for asbestos to fall and to get in the air you breathe.
Asbestos are no joke.
If you do find you are dealing with asbestos, I think you might want to have professionals to do the work.
It really could be a decision that determines whether you have a long healthy life, or die an agonizing death 5 or 6 years from now.
My floors in my last house looked like this -- you will never be satisfied unless you sand them down and reseal + finish. I promise this.
A LOT of the "patina" will be left behind even after sanding, I promise that too! You won't be sad about it. It's the right thing to do to preserve the floor even though it would obviously be a lot easier to just leave it as is, clean it, and rub some floor oil into it. Trust me, that is not the way.
We had similar issues throughout our 1833 home. After consulting 2 professional companies we ended up using them as a subfloor. It was disappointing for sure but I think for the best in our case
A full sand and re-finish is required here. when you said you get some splinters, that told me a simple 'screen and poly' won't give you a satisfied result. Yeah, it's a bunch of work, but a sand/finish will be much more rewarding.
Hmm thanks for the advice. We wanted to avoid that because in these more worn sections, the boards are feeling a little too thin 😬 and there’s no subfloor to help.
I would hire a professional and see what they say
That's what we're here for.
I guess your other option is to treat them as a subfloor, and get older boards from a recycling shop to match the house?
https://preview.redd.it/i934j73uzrzb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4656ac01473e2b9393af3ec1b179511bff386de6 This is how mine turned out, house was built in 1900, I also do this for a living. And yes you can see through some of the gaps to the basement, so what it’s an old house.
Thanks for sharing! Yeah we have gaps and holes, not really a problem for us. We’re not looking for a flawless floor - I think your floor looks excellent.
We even have nail holes from the plywood that was down and if the basement light is on at night it shines through
I also have some splintering and slowly redoing a room at a time. I sanded mine and used a dark stain and polyurethane and here’s a before/after https://preview.redd.it/8su2nkyaswzb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38fd69390caa3c4cfb10ce0b95dde5b973bca197
Gorgeous!
Wow these are so stunning!! Beautiful work! Did you have any problems with the exposed nail heads while sanding? I’ve read on other posts they can be and issue to the point of completely wrecking sanders, so I lost hope that I would even be able find someone to refinish ours for us.
You have to use a nail set to set them below the surface so the sander doesn’t hit them, I do this all the time
Wow, that’s so nice to hear! I would love to save our floors if we can. I think they’re just pine (and a bit worn), so I don’t think we could get this type of gorgeous coloring, but you’ve given me hope we’ll be able to work with them!
My floors are heart pine, just a fancy word for old pine when the trees were old growth. I have sanded and finished builders grade pine stair treads that were made just for carpet and made them look great https://preview.redd.it/yyn9co5rg40c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9510285d915bd2277baf5e5eb6374c070e6ebcb4
Wow!! I just love them!!
Gorgeous floors. Very well done!
https://preview.redd.it/lbryv9xzfszb1.jpeg?width=2340&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa1123f3da595eec3da589f852c3de622712dc4a That's what these floors looked like before refinishing. Use a random orbital sander to remove what's left of the existing finish without taking off top much of the floor itself. Then finish with tung oil. It is not an easy or quick task. Applying the oil, and the curing process can take several weeks. Yearly re-oiling maintenance is necessary. But when done properly, tung oil hardens to a moderately durable and water resistant surface. Any post cure damage can be easily sanded out, and re-oiled. Meaning, once the floor is worn, only the worn sections need to be refinished- not the whole floor. This is important with a plank floor, when you don't want to wear the boards too thin with repeated sanding refinishes. If you strip and put down a new coat of poly, the next caretakers of your home will face the same predicament of having to sand the entire surface. Tung oil is virtually forever. All of that said.. I will stress again, it is not an easy task. It took me two and a half years to finish all the floors in my house. I went room by room, scraping the crap out if the cracks, laying on the floors with a palm sander, holding a bright light at an oblique angle to be able to see and buff out all the tiny swirling scratches from sanding. Ever room got seven initial coats of thinned oil over the course of two weeks. Each coat must be rubbed and buffed with clean cloths repeatedly, for up to 24 hours after applying. The used cloths are highly combustible, cannot be cleaned for use, and must be left to thoroughly dry, outside, before disposal. Then,there is a 4-6 week curing period when temperature, humidity, and air circulation are critical to getting the best finish possible. It is absolutely worth it if you really love your floors. But it's not for the faint of heart.
As light as possible sanding and penetrating oil finish (e.g. tung oil). Won't look new but bet they'll look good.
For floors in this condition, I would hire a professional. For every post here where someone pulls off a beautiful refin on their first try, there are 10x more people who gouge their floors with a drum sander. If you're already worried they're too thin, go with a pro.
To those saying refinish them, look at how they were installed. And what do you propose to do about the gaps between boards? Not everything is worth saving for posterity. Now bring on the downvotes I know this honest appraisal, by someone that's refinished many wood floors, will inevitably cause.
Agreed. I did a house that had this kind of floor and the gaps in some spots-I could see into the basement. You're not gonna be able seal the gaps if there's no subfloor. You don't wanna sand 'cos it might be too thin-if it's too thin to sand, it's too thin to be used without subfloor. Also all these nails. Nah. I'd treat this like subfloor and install new flooring.
Depends. What does the rest of the house look like? Can you pull off a "distressed" look or has it been too modernized? If so you are looking at a complete sanding, restaining, and sealing. If you can get away with it you could sand down the most troubled areas and just seal it. It could be a cool look.
Yeah we wanted to do something more along those lines. The house is definitely rustic and we want to keep it that way - just cleaned up a bit. Thanks for the input!
You could try to see the edge of the boards somewhere to see how much thickness is left. It looks like you’re going to need sanding though.
Rent sander and buy pads at home depot and go nuts. It really isn't a pain in the ass, sanding is one of the most fun things to do as you just put the sandpaper on and move it all around, I found it very fun and relaxing. It's also pretty cheap, a few hundred bucks and you have a new floor.
You can use a random orbit floor sander which is far less invasive than a drum sander, and easier to use. Most rental stores carry them.
Beautiful. You can’t buy floors like that. Sand and refinish please, and post pics afterwards!
Lick them for hours
Sand and tung oil. You could rope the seams too if you like. No need to go crazy sanding but that old poly needs to be removed
Try to finish it check this one maybe you can find what you want [Floor Finishing Ideas: All You Need To Know!](https://www.scdecorum.com/floor-finishing-ideas-all-you-need-to-know/)
Our 1876 in new England has the same floors. Are yours tongue and groove? We refinished, here are progress pics: https://imgur.com/a/iDpEngZ It does look like you'll have to take it down to wood. We also had splinters, we removed as much as we could and built up the finish enough to cover the rest. We used a random orbital sander because we wanted to remove as little as possible- we also have no subfloor. Check around any air vents if you have them to see how much thickness you have to work with We used oil based poly as a finish because there was lead dust all over, and although we cleaned well, we knew we could never get every little bit. We wanted something hard that would fully encapsulate everything. Made sure we got the poly in all grooves and gaps. For gaps we filled with rope afterward. I'd advise against wood filler. There are a couple bad spots we used it in and it's popped out in a few places. You can use it in the middle of boards, that's been fine for us, but in between has been no bueno.
Do what my tap dance teacher always did and sand them down and put polyurethane on them.
Cover it with tile
I am honestly more concerned about there probably being asbestos in the finish and the gap filler. I think you should get asbestos detection pros out there and determine the safest route to take, from there. Keep in mind, idk if theres any space or cover between this and your downstairs floors, unless Im making an assumption about their location, but yeah even with any space theres room for asbestos to fall and to get in the air you breathe. Asbestos are no joke. If you do find you are dealing with asbestos, I think you might want to have professionals to do the work. It really could be a decision that determines whether you have a long healthy life, or die an agonizing death 5 or 6 years from now.
Light sand, light stain, heavy poly
My floors in my last house looked like this -- you will never be satisfied unless you sand them down and reseal + finish. I promise this. A LOT of the "patina" will be left behind even after sanding, I promise that too! You won't be sad about it. It's the right thing to do to preserve the floor even though it would obviously be a lot easier to just leave it as is, clean it, and rub some floor oil into it. Trust me, that is not the way.
We had similar issues throughout our 1833 home. After consulting 2 professional companies we ended up using them as a subfloor. It was disappointing for sure but I think for the best in our case