Reclaimed fir flooring from a knockdown. Bad idea?
peterfitton
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Hello gang. I have come across a house that is being demolished. There are fir floors available for purchase. The house is 50’s in vintage but it is not clear how the floors are fastened. My question is this; what are the pitfalls of purchasing material in this fashion? For example, will it come up cleanly/without damage? Will it be cost-effective to remove the old fasteners and reinstall the flooring? Aside from the obvious challenges,are there any other less-obvious concerns around purchasing a previously-installed fir floor? Thank you in advance for your advice and input. This forum is a wonderful resource. Peter
Replies
Peter
Welcome to Breaktime.
The age of the house (or floor install) will help to fill in the blank-how are they fastened. I've seen fir floors here in Ohio that were still in good shape, from the late 1800's. Those were fastened with cut nails. While they left a large hole when the nail was removed (down on top of the tongue-blind nailed) , the nails came out easily-some pulled through still fastened to the joists.
Later vintage-I've seen from finish nails and 4 penny thin shanked box nails to sprial ardox (very hard to remove the board from the joist).
More recently you'll find flooring cleats and even staples. These hold to the joists very good-removing often damages the tongue.
That you have to buy it and take it up isn't that inviting. Cost effective? often it takes more effort to remove than it did to put down. You'll waste a bit trying out various non damaging methods of removal.
However, if it looks good now and you can get it out cleanly, mess with storing, reuse most..................with what it costs now for the newer model (not old growth) you'd be getting a bargain....................
probably.
How bout some more info on this stuff.
First off, you have to like the "distressed" look. There will be nail holes and dings that won't sand away.
Then question is whether it can be pulled up without too much damage (and without an inordinate investment in time, keeping in mind that more time = less damage). If your time is relatively "free" then it's a better deal. (But of course, if someone else will pull it up and you pay them only for the good lumber rececovered, that's a surer thing, though much more expensive.)
You don't know, until you try, how brittle the flooring is. Softwoods can get quite brittle as they age, and it may be that the flooring will just turn to splinters as you attempt to pry it up. Presumably it's tongue-and-groove, and both tongues and grooves will get damaged as you pry it up, complicating reinstallation. (Try to work from the tongue side.)
When you pull it up, you will no doubt break some nails and the nail heads will remain in the wood. This is only a minor hazard for most tools, but a wayward nail can wreck a planer blade if you have in mind to plane the boards before reinstalling.
At least, in a 50s house, you don't need to worry about the stuff being glued down. If there's any paint on the flooring, though, you do need to worry about lead. (In fact, painted flooring of that vintage is probably a deal-breaker.)
Obviously, recycled, reclaimed materials are the trend today. Although it's making new use of old materials and the cost of the wood is low, the cost of taking it up, cleaning, repairing and reusing can be very high. There are a lot of inexpensive new hardwood floor choices, finished or not. You're not likely to save any money in comparison unless you don't count your time.
Traditional hardwood floors from the 50's are most often installed with cut flooring nails, driven through the tongue. The stringy nature of fir means that the tongues are often split in places by the nails. The nails are hardened and you can't cut them off with a sawzall. Since the nails taper, ones that don't pull up with a pry bar may break the tongues more. If the tongues are even slightly damaged, it's going to be extra work just to get boards to fit together. To minimize damage, you almost have to take it up by removing one nail at a time. The only good part is that tapered nails can be gripped by nail pullers anywhere along the shank. Damaged tongues will also make nailing back down difficult and could lead to loose areas and/or squeaks.You need to figure a high waste factor.
You could probably cut the nails with a Multimaster but it would be slow going and you'd burn through a lot of blades.
Fir is very brittle and splintery. You are likely to lose 30-50% of it.
My opinion - not worth while unless it is free and you have time on your hands
Fir is very brittle and splintery. You are likely to lose 30-50% of it.
My opinion - not worth while unless it is free and you have time on your hands
All of these comments are very helpful. Thank you all for your input. Peter
All of these comments are very helpful. Thank you all for your input. Peter
OK if it's free
Fir is the splittiest wood in all creation. And dry fir shrinks so hard it's like petrified wood. There will be a lot of waste and a lot of sweat getting it up, and then you still have to denail it and stack it for transport. As Piffin says, it's only worth it if it's free. You can offer to remove it and recycle it, but do not offer one red cent in payment.
I think it can be a good idea. First the floor has to be in good condition, and it still has to be "thick." If the floor has been refinished 2 ot more times, their won't be enough wood above the tongue and groove to make it wothwhile. If the floor has gone a long time with no finish the stains will be deep in the wood. Hopefully you can cull the wood before you relay it , avoid using wood from high traffic areas if you can, as this will often be worn thinner, and you will need to sand everything down to that level to have a nice looking floor. To lift the floor use wedges, (I use 2 foot 2X4's cut corner to corner) place a wedge every 12-18 inches and hit them with a big hammer. This is relatively fast, easy, and gentle on the wood. I have re-claimed quartesawn oak floors in 3 rooms in my house with many 12 foot lenghts. I love them, the wood cost me $450, I bought that already removed and de-nailed. I agree with the comments that you should pay little or nothing for the wood. I can often find used flooring for under a dollar a square foot.