Zebra
Member
- Messages
- 2,924
- Location
- St Albans, Hertfordshire
The upstairs room of my house has old original wide floorboards, which were covered with new pine boards in the 60s or possibly before. I took those newer boards up a long time ago, but kept them. The original floor was dirty and damaged, and all along my plan has been to relay the newer pine boards to cover up the old originals again. But I've sanded a small patch of the old floor, just to get it flat to lay the bannister base rail, and underneath all the dirt the patina on the old boards is beautiful. I'd always thought they were oak, but they're not, they look like pine. I'm so tempted to try to restore them.
However, the main drawback is the fragility of the originals. They are quite damaged already. If they were exposed and retored then there is the risk of further damage. Even if I'm careful, I might not always be here to look after the house, future owners could damage them. They'd also be difficult to keep clean, as there are large gaps between them where dirt will gather.
Covering them up means they are still there, but I won't have to worry about them all the time.
I don't know. I had already made the decision to go ahead with relaying the new floor over the top, and now I'm not sure. Thoughts?
Also, how would you fill holes and gaps in very old boards?
However, the main drawback is the fragility of the originals. They are quite damaged already. If they were exposed and retored then there is the risk of further damage. Even if I'm careful, I might not always be here to look after the house, future owners could damage them. They'd also be difficult to keep clean, as there are large gaps between them where dirt will gather.
Covering them up means they are still there, but I won't have to worry about them all the time.
I don't know. I had already made the decision to go ahead with relaying the new floor over the top, and now I'm not sure. Thoughts?
Also, how would you fill holes and gaps in very old boards?