Which finish for reclaimed wooden flooring

[Dianne]

HI all,

Wre have just taken delivery of some reclaimed pine flooring and would appreciate any advice on how to make it look good.

It's need sanding and oiling etc.

Appreciate any advice you can offer as to the best oil/varnish to use etc.

It cost a lot and I don't want to mess it up!

Thanks, Dianne

 

[Zebra]

I've laid reclaimed pine, and am laying reclaimed oak. Toby, our resident flooring expert, will no doubt be along in a minute and give you a totally different answer, but I'm using Osmo Polyx. The one I'm using has a matt finish, as I feel that with no other shiny surfaces in the house, I didn't want shiny. It looks really good, but isn't so perfect a sheen that I'm afraid to go upstairs in my work boots.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I don't think Toby likes Osmo as it's just polyurethane under another name!

 

[LadyArowana]

I'm another fan of Osmo polyx, used it on engineered oak boards and it gave a nice finish, easy to apply and touch up as well. I was a little bit concerned it might make rugs a bit slippy, but it doesn't seem to, although all the rugs and carpets are currently rolled up and sealed in with anti-moth stuff :evil: but that's a whole other story.

 

[skier-hughes]

and if they did slip on putting them back down........... don't worry JML have just the thing!!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/rug-grip

 

[LadyArowana]

and if they did slip on putting them back down........... don't worry JML have just the thing!!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/rug-grip

:lol: I have some underlay type thing in the hallway, the sisal mat there isn't exactly slippy, it just likes to try and walk into the living room.

 

[davidbrac]

Dianne,

That is one of the $6 mill questions, you need to think about colour and durability. I have a friend who has gone from one extreme to another. He did not want to use a water based varnish as they do not last long, an he thought an oil based varnish would wear better but get too yellow. So he went for coating his hallway boards with shellac. He was initially happy with this but that lasted a week or two as it didn't stop spills from staining and wore very quickly. It was defiantly the wrong choice and the reason why he was the only one l know whoever did it.

He has just recoated the floor with an epoxy resin floor coating, l haven't spoke to him since he did this and l know of know one else who has done it but it sounds as if it should be hard wearing. However l should also warn that my friend goes from one extreme to another in everything he does and quite often gets it wrong. :shock: Anyone else have any experience of this product?

 

[88v8]

It depends.... where you're going to use it. Less need of durability in bedroom or drawing room. More need in hall or kitchen.
We used Osmo Polyox in our library, it took for ever to go off but that was applied in winter. From the literature, I think it will need touching in and maintenance quite regularly. I say 'think' because we moved house 6 months later.

In the bathroom, oak floor, I used a gloss epoxy two-pack, was perfect 21 years later.
In the bedroom, oak floor, I used gloss polyurethane, was perfect 18 years later.

Gloss is more durable than satin.

If you don't want to be fiddling around with it, I'd use a two-pack, like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sadolin-PV67-two-pack-floor-varnish-1-ltr-/221402010585?pt=UK_DIY_Material_Paint_Varnish_MJ&hash=item338c9693d9

Before staining it, stain some samples and leave them a day, then coat them with the final finish before deciding, as the final finish tends to darken the stain and obscure the grain.
You might want different stains in different rooms.
Staining is pretty irreversible. Don't go too dark.

How are you going to fasten it down? If there is possible need for future service access, use brass screws perhaps so it can be taken up locally without damage.

Ivor

 

[Zebra]

He has just recoated the floor with an epoxy resin floor coating, l haven't spoke to him since he did this

I think that was a bit of an over-reaction on your part David..... :wink:

 

[Toby Newell]

Short answer. Try different finishes and see which you like. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Long answer. See below...

http://www.floorsanding-uk.com/guide%20to%20wood%20finishing.html

Modern oils are modified varnishes, not very durable, require regular maintenance and give very low build on softwoods. They also yellow a lot. They are easier to apply, cheaper and can be spot repaired (to an extent) funnily enough I am using Osmo tomorrow and next week but only to existing areas!

So oils do have some advantages.

As regards mechanical properties, on pine the most durable by far are water based lacquers. A well sanded and applied lacquer should last (all my floors do) 10 years before a recoat and never require sanding back.

I finish around 50 to 100 pine floors per year. 98% shellac seal plus water based lacquer. 2% full shellac and beeswax/carnauba wax.

Thats my top tip. Coat with shellac before the water based lacquer. See my article above. Shellac gives the clarity, chattoyancy, depth and warmth of a solvent finish and good adhesion for the water based lacquer. Water based lacquers on their own applied directly to the wood to my mind can look anaemic and plasticky and patinate much worse (can go cloudy after a few years)

That's the way I do mine. Whatever you do I am sure will be fine. Some materiaks and methods just will not be as durable as others, that's all.

 

[Toby Newell]

PS

Sorry. I am one of the top anoraks in the UK regarding this

PV67. Not an epoxy (which is two part PMMA or liquid perpex)

I just chucked all my old PV67.

Very durable as 88v8 says. Just awful to use. Will be banned shortly for site use.

It is a two part acid catalysed melamine/cellulose polymer. If you do use it wear at least a half-face EN:149:1991 cartridge organic fume respirator and ventilate well. Keep young children clear for 24hrs.

Modern isocyanate cured 100% polyurethane water based lacquers like Bona Traffic HD are just as strong.

A/C cured and two part and moisture cured polyurethanes like PV67 are probably slightly harder, slightly more brittle and yellow more. Their only advantage is they are normally more chemically resistant.

88v8 is right. PV67 is super tough stuff but for the love of god. Don't use it.

Unless you have an excess of braincells you want to kill. PV67 was the reason I moved over to water based lacquers 14 years ago.

And I am sure 88v8 won't mind me adding that there is virtually no difference between sheen levels in durability. Matt is just as strong as gloss with regard to wear resistance.

88v8 must have done a very competant job for the finish to last that long!

 

[livias]

Everyone else seems to be talking about varnishes and laquers and finishes so I would like to talk about sanding

In my first house I sanded all the floors. It was a horrendously noisy job and the neighbours loved me :evil: but never mind it only took a couple of days. At the time I assumed it was the only thing to do. They were nice thick pine boards and I expect I removed a couple of mm and they ended up looking like new boards. Well that isn't quite true but they no longer had the old flat surface and patina which they had when I bought the house.

In my current house I went for the conservation option and didn't sand the floorboards, just attacked them with soapy water and a scrubbing brush and I am a lot happier with the finish. It is far too easy to start with a lovely old house and then spend lots of time and money making it into a faux new house. Here, the floorboards still look like old floorboards, plus it was EASIER and CHEAPER than the sanding option. Win win ...

 

[88v8]

PS

Sorry. I am one of the top anoraks in the UK regarding this

PV67. Not an epoxy (which is two part PMMA or liquid perpex)

I just chucked all my old PV67.

Very durable as 88v8 says. Just awful to use. Will be banned shortly for site use.

It is a two part acid catalysed melamine/cellulose polymer. If you do use it wear at least a half-face EN:149:1991 cartridge organic fume respirator and ventilate well. Keep young children clear for 24hrs.

So that's where my brain cells went. What with that, and boiling lead on the stove to make sash weights....

Yes, I do recall that the fumes were pretty strong. The bathroom room was about 12' x 15' - really really wish we'd been able to take it with us boohoo - and another problem with this stuff is keeping a wet edge so I had to work quickly, but I would dearly have liked to take some breaks to get out of the fumes. With a beard, masks are pretty much useless....
I should have had the windows open before I started, but by the time I realised that the windows were out of reach.
It did last jolly well though.

Ivor

 

[Toby Newell]

Yes. Probably equivalent to a round with Tyson or a few drinks benders ie ok once in a while...

AC lacquer as we call it is still great for table tops, window cills and stairs, primarily because of its short open time which reduces dust inclusions and avoids runs on risers. I have French polishing colleagues that swear by it still.

Maybe I am a wimp?

I still use shellac on all my floors underneath my water based lacquer, applied with a one inch brush, which is quite fruity, so maybe I am only a partial wimp.

I think maybe if you were doing a 131sqm floor like I was last week a mask may have been slightly imperative.

As lying unconscious spreadeagled with streaming eyes on the floor does not assist with the keeping of wet edges.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Shellac is the choice of the discerning solvent abuser.

 

[88v8]

Everyone else seems to be talking about varnishes and laquers and finishes so I would like to talk about sanding

It is far too easy to start with a lovely old house and then spend lots of time and money making it into a faux new house. ...

Hear hear.
Do the minimum. An excellent general rule.
Sometimes hard to restrain oneself from going the extra yard.
One can only destroy originality and patina once.

Patina.... my excuse for never washing the Landrover.

Ivor

 

[Toby Newell]

@livias

Here here.

The cardinal rule in antique restoration is to do as little as possible. I undertake all my work within this ethos.

Having said that. In a weird Zen like way.

Sometimes doing the 'least' takes the longest.

With my 27 years of experience and £30K of machines it would have possibly taken me 10 man days to have sanded your floors.

It is also possible that taking such care may have resulted in slightly more patina retention and maybe a more pleasant aesthetic.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Sometimes a surgeons scalpel gives better results than a chainsaw!

I heartily advise everyone to try and have a go themselves if they have the time, confidence and stamina as in most cases common sense and care is more important than technical skill.

The problem with washed floors is function. Without sanding, contaminants cannot be removed and good adhesion cannot be guaranteed for the applied coating.

If one does not require a durable, washable surface then the only requisite is an aesthetic one.

In these cases a clean and a wax are totally appropriate.

I have sanded 600 year old timber that looks amazing and very 'un-new'.

I think, like anything, it is how you do it that counts.

 

[steveb]

We laid reclaimed oak. That was it.

Wouldn't suit everyone I guess as there are gaps, stains and allsorts but we love it. Also neatly coincidss with the 'least work ' option..

 

[LadyArowana]

If anyone needs some nice parquet....... http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/...2757&sid=8110929b-b3e3-4a3a-8df2-2820f7dc4d85

 

[Toby Newell]

Meh.

Unimpressed.

My floorlayer makes better.

Cannot see pegs. Cannot see much quarter grain figure. Christies sell a lot of naff stuff.

Needs hot soda stripping, bleaching and re button polishing and waxing.

Not for me.

150 to 200sqm guide price bang on tho.

If its not too water damaged, is earlier 19th, the figure looks more interesting on inspection and goes for 150 then bargain.

Well spotted.