Need suggestions for protecting damaged pine floor
BeckyPhil
| Posted in General Discussion on
I’ve recently moved into a home with nice pine floors that are in bad condition. I don’t know how they were originally finished or what has been used on them since. They’re 20 years old. I’d like to protect them from further damage now and try to restore them in the future. We heat with wood and must tramp across them to the fireplace with wet or snowy boots throughout the winter now, so until that changes I want just to protect them from further damage, especially from water. I would be glad for suggestions of a product or type of product I could use that would not hinder a future restoration. I’m attaching 3 photos. Many thanks!
Replies
Greetings,
Shovel the snow to the pile of wood so you can use slip on shoes to get to it. Get a big enough mat that doesn’t allow moisture to get to the floor and leave your wet foot ware on it. Stomp the snow and debris on that mat. Heck, get a bench or stool by the door.
The orchid and other plants, keep them on a tray that doesn’t allow moisture through to the floor. It’ll also catch the excess when you over water.
Area rugs to hide the ugly parts and runners to get you to the fireplace.
You probably won’t get the dents out sanding it down, and maybe not lose the water marks from the neglect of time. When comes time, learn to use a floor sander or hire a well respected finisher. Not easy and a bad job finishing can further screw up what you are trying to improve. There are good finishes available, both very low and short lived aroma waterborne as well as strong smelling urethanes if you can seal off and leave while doing it.
Best of luck!
Follow Calvin's suggestions for sure, but why not clean the floor as best you can and throw a coat of whatever clear finish you have on top of it now to protect the wood. When you refinish the floor you will be stripping down to bare wood anyway so the new coat is there just for short term protection. It probably will not be well bonded but it should do the job until you get back for the proper restoration later on.
Thank you, Calvin and Sawdust Steve. Calvin, those are good, practical suggestions. I try, but this is a small, camp-like home, with an unprotected entrance, and the outdoors WILL get in. I'm afraid that rugs would just hold any wetness next to the floor. I need to make the floor waterproof. The appearance doesn't bother me for now. I just don't want it to get any worse. Steve, when I have tried to clean the floor, even gently, there's just bare wood under the dirt. The original protection is gone in those areas. I like your suggestion to apply a clear finish. I don't know what was used originally. As you say, it will be removed when the floor is refinished. But what product could I apply to bare wood? I have another question: when the time comes to sand the floor, will the sander be able to handle the reproduction square nails that fasten the boards down? Thanks again.
4' x 8' x 1/8" masonite. Tape seams with Ramboard tape (4"). Be sure to vacuum floor before laying sheets of masonite down, otherwise any debris will compress into the pine floor.
FYI - Pine floors are VERY soft and a bear to sand because they gum up the paper really fast. Make sure you get someone who refinishes a lot of pine floors to do the refinishing.
Hope this helps,
Frankie
They look like every 20-year-old pine floor I've ever seen. They don't need any protection as anything you do will be canceled out by refinishing in the future. Even refinishing won't make them look perfect and just as soon as you start using them they will look pretty much like they do now.
If you're bound and determined to do something I'd wash them down good with soap, wipe them dry, maybe hit it lightly with a pad sander and 200 grit paper and then brush on a coat of poly. Pine floors are soft but still wear well. Nothing you do will make them look like oak.
Your life will be much easier if you could learn to appreciate the worn "damaged" floor. It's reality, not what wall street has sold us on as what life requires. If you take the suggestion to scuff sand and recoat it will still be easy to clean. Treated as such the floor might have to be replaced in as little as a hundred years, or more. To keep it looking continually new is a life complicating treadmill. IMHOP.
X2 on learning to appreciate the “character”. I would suggest a coat of shellac. I use Zinsser seal coat. It sticks to anything, it’s cheap and it’s easy to apply. Also, it dries in about 10 minutes.
would your suggestions apply to an oak floor? i know that softness is not the same issue as it is with pine.
i live in a 96 year-old bungalow with oak floors. i know that the oak is not very thick and that there is no subfloor. my partner didn't want to refinish the floors until he did the bathroom & kitchen renovation. time went by, and then he died before the renovations. i'm thinking i may get some renovations done next year, but the floor is terrible! did you know that cat vomit will take up whatever remains of an old, old finish?
i had put some polyurethane down on some damaged areas some time ago, so i like the temporary clear coat idea, especially the zinsser seal coat.
thanks for your ideas. what a great service the discussion is!
Shellac will work on any floor. Sometimes our customers can’t afford a full re-sand so we do a buff and coat. We use a blue scotch brite pad on a floor buffer to lightly scuff the floor. We use Seal Coat as a sealer and interface and then top coat with Bona Traffic.
Pine floors need to be treated differently vs the hardwoods. First of all, as suggested by others you have to embrace the wear and not fight it. People pay a lot of $ for the aged look. In my opinion pine is the best option for aged look. Pine is soft and no finish will protect it from scratches, dents etc. I currently run a construction company in Scotland (here for a quick 3 yrs than back to my US company). All the historic homes here (way older than US historic) have pine floors. A lot of new homes here do as well as people here love the aged look of pine. After spending quite a bit of time in the pubs here I’ve fallen in love with old pine floors as well. I will be installing them in my US home when I get back. The only protection you should worry about is protecting from water. For all the floors here we use a hard wax finish. It is more flexible vs other finishes and will not flake or crack over time. Flexibility is key with pine. Although pine is actually one of the most stable woods, it’s so soft that the surface of wood will dent under the finish, the finish needs to bend with the dent. A wax finish is the only finish that will do this. Wax is easy to reapply as well. I would advise you find a good matt for the entry and take off shoes at the door. For protection during construction or hauling use builder board or Masonite sheets to protect the floor. Other than that, let the floor age as it’s going to, don’t fight it.
jlyda- Good suggestion I had not considered a wax. Can it be applied over existing finishes or do you apply it over bare wood?
Bare wood unfortunately, but is easy to touch up and re-apply coats in the future.
Pine isn’t a good species for a floor if you don’t like wear and character. Any finish you find that might have a chance at protecting from dents would be a chore to remove later. If you were to entomb the floor in an 1/8” of epoxy, pine is still too soft to support even that from dents. I’m with the other guys above: own it. Let it get good and trashed, then carefully remove what finish is left and put some nice dark oil on top, followed by a buffed wax. Instant classy antique floor.