Original floorboards

[Oscar111]

Hi everyone,

Im a newbie on here, so hoping for some of your knowledge / help going forward.

We have moved into our new home, and was thinking of laying herringbone flooring in front room.

 

On taking up the carpet, we have found floorboards in good condition.

 

Can someone identify if soft/hard wood ? Also what next, worth keeping these?
If so a light sand? then what ....wax or ?!?

 

Help greatly appreciated,

 

Oscar

 

[ProDave]

They don't look anything special to me probably some form of pine.

[Simplysimon]

welcome to the forum,

 

they'll definately sand, look quite flat so minimal sanding. the only issue will be the gaps in the t&g, glue and sawdust will do the job or leave as is. wax is hard to put on in a large area but easy to touch in after, varnish is easier to start but more difficult to touch in when it wears

[Conor]

Pitch pine most likely.

 

If that is a suspended floor with nothing underneath, you'll have terrible draughts unless you do a good job of filling the gaps and sealing the wood. 

[Mr Punter]

I had about 160m2 of boards sanded and finished several years ago in a first floor office.  They used the sawdust from the sanding and mixed it with PVA to fill the gaps.  2 coats of floor varnish to finish.  It looked really good compared to original.

[AliG]

I would take up a board and see what is underneath them before doing anything.

 

If there is no insulation under there and you remove the underlay and carpet you are going to lose a lot of heat through the floor even if you fill in the gaps.

 

If there is no insulation I would consider taking up the floor and insulating it first. This will clearly cost more although it would probably pay for itself eventually in lower bills and increased comfort.