Is it worth restoring your pine planked floor?
Have you discovered floorboards under your carpet? Perhaps you’re wondering if it’s worth having them sanded and restored to make them your flooring of choice?
There are a few things to consider, we hope this short guide will help you make the right choice.
It may seem obvious but before you do anything ask yourself which type of floor covering you would prefer, soft or hard? Don’t make a decision based on price, we often find that a full restoration can often be cheaper to complete than buying and fitting a mid-range carpet. After all, you have to live in you home so you must have what you want!
Have a professional look at the condition of the floor. On the odd occasion, we have come across floors that are ‘too far gone’ to restore. This may be due to plumbers and electricians cutting and breaking boards, woodworm or dampness. Boards can be replaced with reclaimed timber, these can look different to the original boards when sanded because they will have come from a different tree, from a different forest in a different country. We have also seen floors, which are unsafe due to the beams underneath being weak, this causes much more expense and needs to be taken into consideration. Having a professional inspect the floor will help your decision-making.
The likelihood is your pine floor is in good enough condition to be sanded and restored. Talk to your professional about how to do it, he may be able to hire a machine to you if you fancy having a go yourself. We would always recommend having a professional do the work; in our experience, the result will be far better.
Would you like to have the gaps between the boards filled? There are several advantages to this one being it will help to insulate the room from drafts, the other is it makes the floor look much nicer as you are effectively turning the floor into a solid floor.
The type of finish to use is also important. There are basically two types, polyurethane (varnishes) and oils. Polyurethane is a ‘topical finish’, that is it sits on the top of the wood like any paint providing a resilient clear protective layer which is easy to maintain. Oil is a ‘penetrating finish’, it flows into the pores of the wood protecting it from the inside and if it’s a quality oil like ours it will also form a cross-linking layer on the surface for extra protection.
Both of these finishes can be applied over a color to give you floor even more character.
Whichever way you decide to go get the professional in. Most offer free quotes and advice and after all the more information you have the better.