Floorin help.

[TheOriginalJames]

So I bought these little 'sample' packets of stain and decided to try them out. I hand sanded one panel by hand with 60 grit for about 20 minutes... then rubbed the stain on with some clean shop rags I had... soooo it's not of the best quality.

I picked three kinds;

On the Left is Pickled Oak
On the Mid. is Natural Wood
On the Right is Golden Peacon




I personally like the Pickled Oak, it's a lighter color that will make the house look a little more "open". I'm thinking of doing that for the main floors and the stairs up to the landing, and then a darker color for the upstairs floors at a later time.


Here is a picture with lines between the three to help you differentiate between them, with this you can probably tell the lighter lines between the stains in the first picture.


If you can't really tell, it goes from light - dark - darkest in that direction.

But yeah other than that I spent an hour taking up all the quarter round on the landing and upstairs in the hallway, so I got a little bit done since Greg never bothers to call me back.

Yeah, it's dirty, and the wood isn't originally stained under the quarter-round, so I'll be buying some new Q.R. since I broke a few pieces by accident.

 

[Criminal Mastermind]

Damn bruh get some carpeting in there, dirt doesnt damage it too badly.

 

[TheOriginalJames]

Damn bruh get some carpeting in there, dirt doesnt damage it too badly.

Damn bruh, I just ripped out mounds and mounds of cat & dog piss soaked carpet.

lol

Sanding and restaining it is going to be a HELL of a lot cheaper... besides, why the fook would you wanna carpet over REAL, 1927 hardwood floors?

The people that lived here before were frikken insane...

 

[Criminal Mastermind]

carpet is more kid friendly, if my dog ever pisses in the carpet, sheese getting her ass beat ya heard. Wood gets surface dirt

 

[TheOriginalJames]

Carpet holds dirt and hides it a lot better than wood floors will.

When we cut up the carpet in the family room, you should have seen the dust flying out of it. I grew up in a house with real hardwood floors. It's not less 'kid' friendly than carpet. Carpet gives off static shocks.

Carpet is not superior to real hardwood floors. I will not get carpet, I do not want to carpet over real hard wood... Sooo... choose which stain you like best.

 

[Tim]

Be very careful trying to pickle softwoods, it has got to be one of the hardest finishes to get even. The floors you have there were intended to be a subfloor with carpet over it. This was the most comon type of flooring used from the late 1800's to the late 60's. It has only only been for the last 30-40 years that we started uncovering the wood floors again.
The type you have there is Fir, it's a softwood that was never intended to be uncovered. BUT, I have sanded and refinished 100's of floors and the older and more beat up the subfloor is, the more beautiful it is when it's refinished. I would stay away from any stain and go with 2 heavy coats of polyurethane 3 would be better. Also stay away from the water borne finishes since they will only hold up for about half the time as urethane. Besides, when you use urethane it gives a great amber color that the water borne finishes don't seem to have (they look anemic). Plus, over time old fir flooring once refinished and sealed will darken slightly on their own. Not even close to where they are now, but a great warm color.

I say Natural urethane all the way for the hardest finish and the warmest color.

 

[Tim]

The general rule of thumb for a durable finish is 2 coats of urathane for normal wear and tear, 3 coats if you have kids/dogs. 3-4 coats for water borne finishes

 

[lemon]

if your gonna show off wood, do it natural.

bish/bruh

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

wow sounds like tim knows his flooring! id take his advice if i were you.

 

[TheOriginalJames]

wait... they carpeted in the 1800s? I guess I don't know much about carpeting.

 

[sharpies]

I tend to agree with Lemon that a natural colour is a great choice & requires little or no maintenance. I also agree with Tim that you should use a polyurethane sealer - it will make it easier to keep it looking good.

Allan

 

[Tim]

wait... they carpeted in the 1800s? I guess I don't know much about carpeting.

http://www.carpet-rug.org/drill_down_2.cfm?page=10&sub=4

The carpet industry in the United States began in 1791 when William Sprague started the first woven carpet mill in Philadelphia. Others opened during the early 1800s in New England. Included in that area was Beattie Manufacturing Company in Little Falls, New Jersey, a company that operated until 1979. In 1839, Erastus Bigelow permanently reshaped the industry with the invention of the power loom for weaving carpets. Bigelow's loom, which doubled carpet production the first year after its creation and tripled it by 1850, is now part of the Smithsonian Institution's collections. He continued to devote his life to innovation -- 35 separate patents were issued to him between 1839 and 1876. Bigelow introduced the first broadloom carpet in 1877...

It was a sign of wealth and prosperity to have carpets and rugs back then. Now it's having hardwood floors that signifies wealth...

I worked for a hardwood refinishing company while I was in high school and for the next 6 years. Like I said, I have refinished hundreds of floors. I finished Peter Benchley's floors in Princeton, NJ. I worked on the floors at Albert Einstein's house which is part of the historical society, also in Princeton, plus many more very high end houses. The company I worked for was one of the best on the east coast, so we got to see some pretty cool shit.

 

[alleycat]

Love all of them. I personally prefer the darker stains myself. I love your house James. I really really do! Congrats!

Carpet sucks IMO! Traps dirt, dust, allergens, etc. You can never get it clean. My parents pulled out the carpet they had and there were piles and piles of dirt and grime under them. They even had a Dyson. The amount of time you spend cleaning the carpets, they will never be clean. My mom had horrible allergies till they replaced the floor with wood laminate. She's great now. So easy to clean too. She cleans every day now because she knows it's clean. With the carpet, she knew it was futile.

Oh are you going to do the trim in the house to match or leave it dark?

 

[TheOriginalJames]

I'm going to leave it dark unless it looks like complete shit... then i'll have to see how to go about changing it.

 

[Veronica]

I would suggest following tims advice.. It would look much better.

As for the finish.. Natural or the darker one looks good to me.

 

[Jersey]

natural wood FTW-