The following from a poster that couldn’t get the damn spamware to let her:
We’ve got some pretty severe gouging and wear on our pine plank floors as a result of 2 large dogs. The house is 140 yrs old and I love these floors. We’ve put off fixing them because we figured any fix we did would just get ruined by the dogs. But we’ll be leaving the country for a few years and are planning on selling the house so I’ve got to do something. I’m not looking to make them look brand new again, just presentable.
Our house has settled unevenly so we have quite a prominent crown in the centre of our upstairs hallway that the pine boards cross. Local flooring guys tell me our only option for a new floor up there would be carpeting (not that I want a new floor). But the biggest problem is that the dogs nails have completely worn down large areas on the boards and they are fairly deeply gouged. So I have large light spots in the main traffic areas where the protective coating and patene have been worn away. The boards appear to have been sanded several times in the past and are fairly thin. Also, most of the boards are really loose and have 1/2″ gaps between them.
I’m open to any and all suggestions! Thank you.
Kate.
Replies
Find a different flooring guy -- the right one will know how to preserve most of the floor while patching the bad spots.
But you gotta do something about the dogs or it'll be throwing money down a rat hole.
Poor old dogs
DanH - one of the dogs died earlier this year. The other one's still got a few years. I'd leave the floor as is, but since a move is imminent we've got to do something - and I'll just keep the dog downstairs.
My poor gouged pine floor
Thanks to Calvin for posting that for me and getting me past the overprotective spam filter!
No doubt that my floors are a mess. We haven't done anything about them because we still have the dogs but with a move in the near future, it's time.
All help and suggestions are appreciated.
zee
So, what's the rest of the 140 yo home look like?
An aged floor, but finished "nice" could add to the ambiance.
I've been called upon to work on several homes of that vintage and while some upgrade with new wood floors, often folks just want what they have, refinished. You mention the flooring being gapped and "thin". How thin? I see nails that have been set presumably to get them below snagging and perhaps to allow the previous sanding.
Are these square-edged boards or T&G/shiplapped?
Good floor finishers are not limited to a perfectly flat floor and yes, you can sand but not so far as to remove the scratches and gouges. This leaves it looking clean but certainly doesn't erase 140 yrs.
Rest of the house
Calvin - the rest of the house is OK (using that lightly), although the stairs are a mess (they have a dark stain on them with worn areas from the dogs. If I can, i'll add a pic). Downstairs has a hardwood floor over the old pine plank. The hardwood is also old. We refinished it about 10 years ago with a good sanding and several top coats.
To be honest, the house has a bit of a "rustic" feel about it. Nothing grand. So the worn pine floor upstairs is ok in my opinion. Anyone buying this place will have to accept it as part of the character. I just have this feeling that we should treat it somehow and spruce it up a bit.
The boards are square-edged. Someone took the time at some point to put a sawdust/glue mixture in the gaps which has gradually been falling out. I just looked at a few of the boards and they're thicker than I originally thought. Between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. I can see at one spot along the wall that 3/4 inch has been sanded away.
I think you're right about the nails being set. That was definitely done before we moved in. Now many of the boards are moving (up and down) along the nails.
One thing that can be done is to remove the existing flooring from one room and use the pieces to patch the floors elsewhere. This is often done with closets, when only a few boards are needed.
Wish I could do that
DanH - thanks for the idea. My brother-in-law did that at his old house with great success. Unfortunately we only have one very small closet in our house (sigh!) and I'd say 80% of the floors are in rough shape.
Well, you can pick one room -- eg, a likely "family room" -- and pull up the flooring there, putting down either laminated flooring or just inexpensive carpet. Then use what you removed for repairs.