Identify my floors!

[mmccool719]

Interesting. So, I'm pretty handy. How would I go about refinishing these? Mostly just getting off the paint drippings (there's a lot of them), sanding off old carpet glue and applying some sort of clear coat? (They don't need to be perfect). I am guessing it's just as easy to refinish them as it would be to paint them! It's just 3 small bedrooms, maybe 10x12 each.

[Kashka-Kat]

so-called "distressed" wood is highly fashionable these days - in fact many of the laminates and fake woods these days try to replicate that look. I think it would sand down beautifully if the rest is like the wood in the pic - just dont make the mistake I did with my front porch and sand down too much - leave some of the "character" . If your floor guy balks or insists it wont look good - well what can I say, they are just hopelessly behind the times!

That dark color looks to me like old varnish, not paint - back in the day they used this stain/varnish product on lots of stuff.

[mmccool719]

How would I remove all the paint spots without sanding the hell out of them? They are non-negotiable and must come off according to my hubby.

[1918ColonialRevival]

How would I remove all the paint spots without sanding the hell out of them? They are non-negotiable and must come off according to my hubby.

#000 steel wool and naphtha

[phil]

try a rag wet with acetone on that finish. it'll probably just wash off. If not try paint stripper or you can sand it , if you search for some of my older posts I have described my process pretty thoroughly. the limits for sanding are basically that you can't sand down so far as to expose the tongue and groove and even if you get too close it might crack there , but I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you can't sand them and the sanding machines would eat through what's on there pretty quickly if you chose that route. so long as the floor is solid and the majority of the boards are OK , cracks, gaps or the odd missing board or plywood patch won't stop you these are just extra steps.

there are other ways to approach it than commercilal sanding machines , lke if you wanted to just sand or scrape it to bare wood and refinish and retain some patina it's possible. I don't' see what evidence there is of not being able to sand what you have there. look near the walls, if it's previously sanded the evidence will show as you can't easily sand right up to a wall so there is usually evidence. you might need to remove a baseboard to see properly.

they were cutting down old growth fir here like mad in the 20's and 30's and I am pretty sure some got on the trains so I wouldn't be too surprised to see it exported and used in flooring out east and certainly for things like doors and molding where you don't want knots and you want the dimensional stability. the most common size of flooring is 3 1/4 wide by 3/4 thick.

Yours indeed may be pine but I'd take some finish off to see the grain better before deciding. It likely is pine though as the boards are quite wide. It might not be T and G, perhaps they were pretty thick planks and not T and G and then you;d have more to work with. the other thing is the nail heads, if they used nails with flat heads you have that to contend with. any nails need to be driven below the sandpaper before sanding. If you pull a nail and the shank is square that is generally a hand made nail and that would prove an earlier date than commercially made round nails.

Aside from the species how it is cut IE is it edgegrain (AKA vertical grain) or is it flat grain? higher end lumber is edge grain and it's more dimensionally stable than flat grain but any species can be cut either was as long as the trees are large enough. Edge grain will appear like straight lines , flat grain will show the pattern as an example, like most plywood where the grain forms circles and wavy patterns. that's what the wide side of a plank of flat grain wood looks like.
generally it is easier to cut wood as flat grain and it's cheaper. Most of the fir flooring around here is edge grain but I would think that if it is a really old house and then the sawmills would have been small and they may have produced more flat grain flooring with the more primitive handling techniques. they can cut it either way and generally most floors are cut one way or the other. you could find a mixture. if you need more old boards to complete the floor this is as important as the species.

if you took a log and sliced it , it would be mostly flat grain or something near it, except the board through the center, that one would look like edge grain. all the other slices would tend to warp( cup) Ha but the board from the center isn't perfect either as it contains heartwood and softwood.
the wood would be best if it was trimmed so it didnt' contain both heartwood and sapwood and then you need a bigger tree for that. the heartwood is the center of the trunk and often it's a different color. it may react to drying differently than the sapwood so that can cause issues with warping as well. with fir you often see areas that are quite red ( the heartwood) and areas that are more white( the sapwood) the heartwood is dead when the tree grows and it increases in diameter with the trunk. it's common to see all of this in your lumber. if you pay more for higher grades of lumber it is sorted in the manufacturing process. stuff like studs aren't' as critical as flooring so they'd use the best where it shows. a smaller mill would have less tendency to sort this out but in larger modern mills they will try to separate out the nicer boards and knot free edge grain fir is expensive. the same rules will apply to other species.

If you sliced the log as if it were a pie and trimmed all the pie shaped pieces square it would all look like edge grain. that's over simplified because that would also create a huge amount of waste. there are techniques for producing quarter sawn lumber and you;ll see that in oak furniture. it produces a very pleasing look when oak is quarter sawn.

if you look at the end of a board youll see the rings of the tree. If you imagine it as straightening these rings as it dries that's a good way to remember which way it's going to cup. If you used that board as a stair tread you'd probably rather the cup wasn't like a dish or it would hold water and roll and pull it's own nails. if you lay that board with the heart side up then as it dries itll cup downward thus making the rolling action less problematic.

in some cases you can flip boards to show a nicer side. if it isn't T and G maybe that's possible but in most cases flipping a floor isn't very practical.

[Kashka-Kat]

Looks like paint is on the surface - if its latex scrubbing with hot water may soften it enought that it comes off easily - or try carbide blade scraper (that is, if you're going to be sanding/stripping, since obviously that could scratch the finish.)

[Kashka-Kat]

Google reclaimed wood floors or plank floors (images) - this is something you could be creative with and have fun - and rustic imho is entirely appropriate for a cottage. I wouldnt try for any fake saw marks though, that's a little extreme LOL.

What I had in mind by "sanding" was not to take off a lot and get down to pure unblemished wood - but just to brighten and reveal the grain. IMHO, this type of old vintage wood looks best when its not completely obscured by crud, but still retains its history and visible signs of age and use and abuse. So its like having to find a happy medium - therein lies the skill and the art of refinishing old wood in a way that's eshetically pleasing. And knowing when to stop! Like pruning a shrub- how many times Im pruning away, and then .... uh oh, should have stopped before I made that last cut.

[mmccool719]

Well, I picked up a can of CitriStripper at the advice of Home Depot. Worked pretty good but the job was still tedious. It left behind a sticky residue on the floor. How can I clean that off before I seal the floor? Otherwise I'm really happy with the look so far!!

[phil]

maybe try alcohol or methyl hydrate to remove the residue? Im not familiar with that spray can product you could check if there are any manufacturers recommendations on their website. and test first. If that won't do it you could try lacquer thinner but that might remove too much of the stain and change the look? They certainly look old and rustic and if that's a look that pleases you that's what's important. If they were sanded they would be a lot lighter and more uniform and you'd see more of the grain that's hidden under the dark stain but that may not be at all the look you wish to achieve.

I once tried one of the green alternatie paint removers. I found it didn't bubble the paint much and everything turned into this sticky goo. I was doing a handrail so I took it in the back yard and washed it with soap and water and hosed it off. it still seemed kind of greasy so then used alcohol or lacquer thinner. .
I get mine from Mohawk in 5 gallon pails and its about 100 bucks. it comes either gel or liquid. I usually get the gel one , its very similar to the circa 1886 stuff you see in the big box places but maybe a little stronger. in some cases I can use lacquer thinner instead, especially if it's lacquer finish. alcohol will dissolve shellac. and Ive been using acetone to remove remnants of my shellac after stripping paint because I was lucky and that was originally shellac and someone painted it the shellac layer makes stripping much easier as it has a low melting temp.

careful about ignition sources you don't want to get these products down on your floor and then have a fire, and don't pile up your rags or they can spontaneously combust into a fire. Instead put them in water or lay them outside and let the wind dry them out. or lay them on the grass and then discard later. be aware that something like a tack in your shoe or the spark from a light switch or your pilot light can spark a fire and if you've soaked the floor in flammables it could make for a really big and sudden fire. or if you got the magic air/ fuel concentration right it could blow the walls of your house across the street.

I was measuring along a wall with a metal tape measure and the tape dropped along the wall. It hit a plug that was plugged in. the tape measure fell between the plug and the outlet and shorted both prongs. It went pow! blackened the outlet. I was lucky I didn't' get a shock. I was surprised and didn't' think measuring the wall was dangerous or anything. the plug was pushed right into its socket but you know how thin a tape measure is, it fell right between.

i thought later it was so unexpected and I bet I'm not the only one that's managed the same thing. Its pretty common to drop the tape to the floor and let it recoil itself after completing a measurement. stuff happens !

[Texas_Ranger]

Now you know one main reason why Europeans don't consider US plugs awfully safe... almost all other systems in the world have either recessed outlets or partially sleeved pins on the plugs to prevent that from happening (although the primary reason for introducing those features was fear of fingers touching exposed live metal rather than short-circuits).