Refinishing Old Pine Wood Floors

Hardwood floors in high traffic areas in your home may require a deep cleaning by a flooring professional.

Refinishing old pine wood floors. You need a floor sander and buffer and the finish of your choice including sealant and or stain. Sound old wood can be moved to prominent areas and the patches done in dark corners or under rugs and furniture. Sand with the utmost care the initial step and the most critical in refinishing any floor is sanding. Patience refinishing a pine floor is an act of patience.

Method squirt and mop and bona hardwood floor cleaner are two good ones. Most pine flooring and pine steps can be sanded and refinished. This assumes that the pine is solid and thick enough stable enough. Occasionally i have seen floors that have been refinished so many times and it s time to replace them but this the exception to the rule perhaps this occurs in 5 of floors.

That is not to say that is not worth it or that it cannot. Whether you will be happy with a patched floor depends on your compulsive meter if you must have perfection and frankly if you must you shouldn t be living in an old house a patched and. Many finishes take 24 hours to dry. When each coat dries sand the floor lightly with 220 grit paper or 000 steel wool.

If by some chance you should tire of the weathered appearance of your old pine floor you can sand it just as you would a hardwood floor. In fact our contractor said most people rip out their old pine floors and replace them with white oak to get that lighter and not amber look and i was like ahhh my ears are bleeding who rips out gorgeous original hardwood floors. Apply the finish with a lamb s wool applicator in smooth even lines while avoiding drips. The softness of pine will be an advantage and a flight grit on your floor sander 100 or 120 grit will quickly wear off the surface and remove surface blemishes.

Matching wood can be salvaged from closet or attic. But straight pine pics details about achieving a softer lighter just sanded look not so much. Fill countersunk nail holes with hardening putty. Cleaning and sanding the pine floor 1.

Use oil based polyurethane. These supplies are the largest ones that you need but you may need others depending upon your room. Keep in mind steam water vinegar and cleaners like murphy s oil soap that produces suds should never be used to clean wood floors. 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.

The pine flooring should be completely clean of all dust dirt and small. Consider three coats of oil based finish or four coats of water based finish. Too much of course results in a patchwork effect and it will test the skill of the carpenter trying to match new wood to old. Refinishing pine floors is no different.