Refinishing Antique Pine Floors

So you can sand them and still retain that nice old wood look.

Refinishing antique pine floors. It depends on the age of the wood. Often referred to as pumpkin pine because it has aged to a warm amber color this wide board flat sawn flooring was left natural and maintained by regular washing with water and homemade lye. If you want to refinish sanding pine floors is easier than sanding hardwood. You need a floor sander and buffer and the finish of your choice including sealant and or stain.

Sand with the utmost care. The tar in the linseed oil finish brought out the rich grain pattern of the flat sawn ash. Pine is a softwood so an old pine floor is usually distressed which is part of its charm. Refinishing pine floors is no different.

The wood in vintage floors can be harder than in contemporary ones because there is more chance it was obtained from old growth trees and that the boards are quartersawn. To restore the floor we had to sand down a significant amount of the wood. Wood characteristics and floor condition although it s a softwood heart pine has a janka hardness rating of 1225 which is higher than walnut or teak and about the same as carbonized bamboo. One of the most important things to remember when sanding a pine floor is to keep the sander moving.

There are some flooring companies today such as goodwin heart pine that are sending divers to find this wood and reclaim it and mill it into flooring. Now that the floor has been sealed we just have a few coats of finish topcoat to apply some moulding to put into the room some paint to apply a rim lock to restore and a vanity bottom to build beneath the sink top. The sealer truly makes the color of the floor pop and really lets the beauty of heart pine even heart pine that s been discolored beneath layers of old flooring shine through. But once we got through all the wear and damage the floor came out very smooth and looked brand new.

The older the wood the deeper the colour in them goes. This is very much a process in and of itself as opposed to a step or task in a process. When the finish gets dull you can restore it by a screen and recoat. The initial step and the most critical in refinishing any floor is sanding.

These supplies are the largest ones that you need but you may need others depending upon your room.