Identify my floors!

[mmccool719]

We piled back 3 layers of carpet and found these. They don't seem like they are in good enough shape to refinish. There is ALOT of patchwork and old paint drippings. I think we may paint it a light gray color. But curious to know what type of wood you all think it is?

[1918ColonialRevival]

Looks like pine. They may have originally been painted.

[SkipW]

Agree, looks like pine. Depending on what 'look' you are going for....a good cleaning with TSP and fix any major defects and a coat (or 3) of paint and they will look great. Not worth sanding IMHO.

[mmccool719]

What is TSP?

[SkipW]

Trisodiumphosphate - it is a wonderful cleaner prior to painting. It is a degreaser and cleaner that will also slightly etch the surface to give the primer/paint a good surface to adhere to. It is a very strong cleaner and you should be careful as with any chemical. Wear gloves and eye protection to avoid splashes in eyes.

I tend to make a strong mix for very dirty or poor condition paint, but follow directions on the box (or whatever you get it in, it normally comes as a powder you mix in hot water) for the condition of your surface.

I use it for almost every interior and exterior paint job I do.

[Casey]

You have wide heart pine floors. Some consider this the ne plus ultra of antique flooring. They would say that either sanding or painting would be a sin. gentle chemical stripping, then shellac and / or wax being the way to go. And I am in that camp of purist scolds.
Casey

[lovesickest]

Your floors look much better than what we started with. The very dark stain is a little puzzling but from what I can see your boards don't look gouged, split or broken. The patched in parts tell the history of your house - rooms reconfigured or added on to. I don't see this as a deficit, unless you want a very prim, meticulous old house that looks brand new.

Some people like that - it is not to my taste.

I am not opposed to sanding them, though they will never have the patina of an old floor.

[SarahFair]

We have similar floors in the mill and I find them beautiful, flaws and all

[Ober51]

Several of the floor guys I brought in said my fir floors were too old and wouldn't look good. They wanted to lay new floors on top. Needless to say, most things can be salvaged, it is just a matter of a time and money. For a little bit of money and a little more time, we have gorgeous redone floors in our house.

[Texas_Ranger]

Depending on how much patchwork there is I'd carefully sand off the old finish and apply a clear oil finish, then leave the floors to darken naturally. Theory says you really need to saturate the floors with oil so they can't soak up any water or dirt.

Check for splinters along the grain though - IMO pine floors that are already separating along the grain lines aren't worth bothering, they ought to be replaced or at least covered. That's from a perspective though where already around 1900 pine was a budget floor, usually the nastiest, cheapest timber they could find, cut to narrow strips and haphazardly nailed down without proper drying. Old-growth timber was gone by the 15th century around here, prior to the discovery of coal in Silesia and the construction of a railway line in the early 19th century all industry and heating was wood. Systematic foresting was introduced in the early 15th century because the salines were running out of wood for salt production. I suppose that's one reason why we have so many brick and stone houses here.
The late 19th century saw the advent of industrial sawmills that could cut and mill oak to precise, narrow strips and from that point onward (well into the 1950s) anyone who could afford it had solid (1" thick) oak herringbone, except in servants bedrooms (sometimes even there).