Dinks Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 So, I have Googled until I am blue in the face and no combination of search words has brought up a result which will assist in our endeavours to restore/renovate/protect the beautiful old original hardwood (chestnut I think) floorboards (1" or so in thickness and of varying widths) in our 200-300 yr old mountain farmhouse (pics available). Some of the boards on the first floor appear to be particularly friable and need lots of TLC (wood hardener?). The worst thing is that the previous (British) owners of the house made a bit of a patchwork of the bedroom area, painting a square here white, staining a section there with merisier lasure and leaving other whole swathes of boards untreated! So, if you have restored similar original flooring over here, can you give me your best advice please for a sympathetic restoration?! Covering the whole lot with parquet is not an option ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex H Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Don't sand them!!!!!Have a look here - lots of experts in old building renovation http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poolguy Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 [quote user="Dinks"]So, I have Googled until I am blue in the face and no combination of search words has brought up a result which will assist in our endeavours to restore/renovate/protect the beautiful old original hardwood (chestnut I think) floorboards (1" or so in thickness and of varying widths) in our 200-300 yr old mountain farmhouse (pics available). Some of the boards on the first floor appear to be particularly friable and need lots of TLC (wood hardener?). The worst thing is that the previous (British) owners of the house made a bit of a patchwork of the bedroom area, painting a square here white, staining a section there with merisier lasure and leaving other whole swathes of boards untreated! So, if you have restored similar original flooring over here, can you give me your best advice please for a sympathetic restoration?! Covering the whole lot with parquet is not an option ;-)[/quote] Sand the whole back to raw wood and burnish with Tung oil.Burnish every year afterwards to restore the patinaAndrewhttp://my.fotopic.net/photo/0010985167/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex H Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 [quote user="Poolguy"]http://my.fotopic.net/photo/0010985167/[/quote]Whats that then Andrew? I get a blank page in Firefox and IE just wants to close the page [:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poolguy Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I tried to up load a pic but it didn't work.... Don't know how to do it exaclty, if anyone has an idea and could let me know. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex H Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 [quote user="Poolguy"]I tried to up load a pic but it didn't work.... Don't know how to do it exaclty, if anyone has an idea and could let me know. Andrew[/quote]this may help - http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/819635/ShowPost.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex H Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Now that I have a bit more time........[:)]It all depends on what you have and what you want.1. If you have floorboards that have woodworm holes in - don't sand - you will end up seeing the worm tracks within the wood and it will not look good [:(]2. If you want to retain the current colour - don't sand - try and clean the boards using mild detergent (washing up liquid is good) and water only.3. If you want a clean and shiny look, then by all means sand, but beware of 1 above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
water rat Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I cleaned ours with soda crystals disolved in hot water and scrubbed, then rinsed. This brings them up beautifully without losing the patina. It's a secret hint from a furniture restorer friend of mine and makes it look like they've been cleaned professionaly. Afterwards you can decide on a finish. I used a clear satin varnish as I didn't want continuous treating with wax ,oil etc.It's also a cheap and safe method and called cristeaux de soude over here.I agree, don't sand ,you'll ruin them.W Rat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil & Pat Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 [quote user="Tandem_Pilot"]... - you will end up seeing the worm tracks within the wood and it will not look good [:(][/quote]and possibly bright shiny nail heads too... [:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Hi I am in the process of re-juvenating a hundred yr old wooden floor and I am using a metal scub called 'Paille de Fer' which was recommended by my French friend and is available from bricos and some supermarkets. I have found it brings the old worn in dirt etc off (including paint and plaster) without damaging the wood (being carefull not to scrub too hard) and then I am going to brush on an oil for wooden floors that is non slip and will protect the wood. The first floor I did, I sanded and then rubbed in 'cire'. Took ages, burnt out three sanders and was very dirty, dusty and smelly!! I much prefer the paille de fer method, it's hard work but quicker and cleaner!! Happy renovating[:)]Jetlag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinks Posted March 16, 2009 Author Share Posted March 16, 2009 Thanks 'Jetlag' - that is just the kind of reply I was hoping to get! I will look for the Paille de Fer next time we are anywhere near some shops. What oil are you going to use to protect the wood? Have you had to treat any damaged boards, where, for instance, edges have been worn away/woodworm damage in the past etc? Here are some images of what we are dealing with here.[IMG]http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww212/dinkypen/floorboards.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww212/dinkypen/floorboards2.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww212/dinkypen/floorboards3.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poolguy Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Ahhh Yes..... Pitch Pine.... only the very best. And 30+cm wide too ...nice.Superb!Andrew(for me its got to be tung oil!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinks Posted March 16, 2009 Author Share Posted March 16, 2009 I'm interested as to why you think they are pitch pine? They certainly don't behave like softwood boards - we are under the impression that they are either oak and chestnut (very common in the old mountain houses down here in the Ariege). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poolguy Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 No not Oak of Chestnut.... definately Pitch PineIts classed as a softwood but its anything but soft scoring 0.52 - 0.6 on the timber harness indexcomparet to Oak which scores 0.55 - 0.72 (both scores depend on the origin). Pitch pine has been atraditional choice for the best quality floors because it is very stable and it is very hard. You will be able to feel the wieght of the timber if you can get a piece up. When you cut it you get an absolutly wonderful sweet turpentine smell, its marvellous and unmistakable. I can recognise it as I've milled thousands of board feet in my days and I've got it in my house which I cut from Beams recovered from Belfast Warf - 7m long and 28cm wide, it has to be Pitch pine as nothing else can do that and stay down without moving. When the neighbors saw it going in they all scoffed that it would cup and distort, but it hasn't moved more than a millimeter (hasn't dried much either) in 2 years.[IMG]http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/ss285/andrewhenderson/PitchFloorSm/[IMG]Hope that you get the finish you want but don't be afraid to sand it as it will take all you can send and more... the finish will be a picture 5punch all the nails before hand of course).Send me the pics after as I cannot get enough of that sort of thing. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex H Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Andrew Your picture link needs a / in the trailing IMG like this [/IMG] and was missing the .jpg suffix as well [:D][IMG]http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/ss285/andrewhenderson/PitchFloorSm.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinks Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Hmm, Poolguy, you obviously know your pitch pine, but according to my research, it is not a native species of this region, being grown primarily in North America/Canada. These boards are over 200 yrs old and I can't imagine them using anything other than local wood in the house construction of this remote area, as access from the other side of the Col would probably have consisted solely of mule tracks at that time! My research will continue [;-)] I will however post pics when the project is completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poolguy Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Yes you are right.Most of the Pitch pine was an import from trading ships that went from France/UK Ireland to the Americas loaded with all the trappings of the modern world and returning with Sugar cane, furs and Timber. The reason it was used in Warf construction is the sane reason its great for floors. Im on the look out for more, if anyone has any wide boards like that. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hi DinksHave sent you a PMJetlag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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