What to do with an old softwood floor?

[Racheljane]

Hi, We bought a house that has a wonky wooden floor in the living room. It is quite thick planks over floorboards and I have thought about taking it up but that would leave a gap around the skirting and fireplaces... so I'm told. These planks are nearly 20mm thick but they seem to be quite soft wood and the varnish that is on them scratches off easily.  I am open to having them sanded, filled and re stained or varnished. Does anyone have any advice as it is quite a big area and I would rather have it done properly or have someone tell me that it's not a good idea before I start getting people out. I am open to doing it myself but I am also open to paying for it to be done. Many thanks in advance.

[SimonD]

We had redwood (which is a pine) floorboards in a previous cottage. You often see whitewood, which is spruce, used too. Both are fine for flooring use. When we moved into the cottage they were either covered up with old carpet or an old flaky stain. We sanded them all back an varnished with a high quality varnish and they stood the test of time for over 12 years through 2 young boys too. They actually lasted better than an oak engineered floor we had in the living room. I'm a great fan of Bona floor products which are called a "Bona floor" in Sweden and are so easy to lay as you can re-coat in about 2 hours and have the floor complete within 1.5 days with 3 coats although it does take up to 7 days to fully cure so no covering with rugs etc. until then. We've also used varnish from Lakeland Paints which we were also happy with. 

 

 

[Racheljane]

Thank you SimonD that is really helpful. I will research the products you mentioned. I have no idea what sort of wood these boards are but I will also search and see what they are likely to be.

[Redbeard]

I am a little confused. The normal suspended timber floor consists of boards of some description directly over wooden joists (175 x 50mm is a fairly typical size but they may be smaller if they are supported mid-span).  You say your floor is planks *over floorboards*, and you refer to the possibility of taking up the planks. My first thought/Q is whether a decorative floor has been laid over the original. Is there a 20mm step in the doorway?

 

Pics would be great. Also how do you define 'wonky'. Loose, or far from flat (or both?). Or something else?

 

The more info you can give the more accurate and useful will be the replies.

[Racheljane]

Hi, Yes the planks are laid over the original floorboards. They are not loose. they have been nailed down to within an inch of their life but they are not flat. There are bits that catch when I move furniture around and there are some gaps. I know they are 20mm thick... or just under because we got one up and measured it. I was surprised at the depth of them.Not sure if the pic is useful or not. 

[Conor]

Two options really. One, get them professionally sanded down to eliminate the raised edges (the boards have cupped over time with changes in temperature and humidity) and stained, varnished.

 

Second, and better long term options, is to lift the lot and put down some good quality laminate. Any gaps are trivial to deal with.

[SteamyTea]

Run them through a cheap thicknesser.

Lot quicker than sanding, less mess and a better finish.

[Russdl]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

cheap thicknesser

Is there such a thing that does a decent job?

[SteamyTea]

16 minutes ago, Russdl said:

Is there such a thing that does a decent job?

Yes.

Even a cheap planer/thicknesser, when new, will do a decent job.

 

[Russdl]

£?

[saveasteading]

Would it not be much less disruptive to either hire an insitu sander machine, or get it done? A big push-along one for £50/ day.

Or a specialist would be quicker and better esp around the edges.

 

[Benpointer]

What's under the boards?  If it's a ventilated floor space that's going to be cold, especially so if there's no membrane.  We're renting a cottage with a very similar looking floor: cold, drafty, scratches easily, marks badly...

 

Personally I'd lift it, insulate between the joists, fit an airtight layer, and replace the softwood for a pre-finished engineered or solid hardwood floor of your choice.  You might even be able to sell the softwood floorboards on to offset the cost.

 

(When we did our previous house refurb we picked up some 3/4" solid, tongue and grooved, prefinished American oak flooring for a snip (surplus stock from the US). That proved to be really stable, took 15 years wear and tear and was only just looking like it needed refinishing when we sold up. 

 

(PS Check the floor is cross-ventilated before doing anything and if there's a floor vent in the room make sure you keep it - it will be for the fire / woodburner if you have one.)

Edited July 27 by Benpointer