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Hello! We recently purchased our first home, a 100+ year old cozy little town house with great wide plank pine floors. A local restored wood place from which we ordered a few replacement planks told us it is white pine. The living room floor is in pretty rough shape compared to the rest of the house and we want to have it refinished. I've had two floor guys come take a look and they've both suggested polyurethane, seems like that's the standard. I'd love to hear suggestions as to how to go about refinishing the floor and what products to use. I don't want anyone to damage these beautiful old floors! We also want them to look as close to the rest of the house as possible after they're refinished. Here is a picture of the living room floor now, this is the section we're going to repair with the restored wood planks.
are u sure it's "white pine"? it might be southern yellow pine which would make more sense.
as to refinishing: have a competent pro do it using a lo-voc water-based clear, top coat
poly gives off gas for many days even after it has dried and the finish tends to look like what it is-plastic
if you do it yourself, here's trick in case you have to literally paint yourself into a corner- you can put down sandpaper, grit side down, to walk across a wet refinished floor; the grit side will not leave marks on the floor after you remove them (immediately after walking on them)
good luck
Location: Splitting time between Dayton, NJ and Needmore, PA
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As a member of a Historical Preservation Commission or HPC, I would suggest that you start with your local HPC and see what recommendations they can offer in terms of a professional whom they have worked with. I generally do not suggest trying to do it yourself unless you have past experience in doing refinishing.
If your town or community does not have a HPC, I would suggest talking to PreservationNJ to find out more information on this topic.
are u sure it's "white pine"? it might be southern yellow pine which would make more sense.
as to refinishing: have a competent pro do it using a lo-voc water-based clear, top coat
poly gives off gas for many days even after it has dried and the finish tends to look like what it is-plastic
if you do it yourself, here's trick in case you have to literally paint yourself into a corner- you can put down sandpaper, grit side down, to walk across a wet refinished floor; the grit side will not leave marks on the floor after you remove them (immediately after walking on them)
good luck
I took a piece of the floor to a local reclaimed wood place and the guy told me its white pine. I hope he's right because it wasn't cheap ordering the planks. Thanks for the suggestions, most people suggest an oil based finish though. I'm not living in the house yet so the fumes wouldn't be a problem. However, like you a lot of people seem to not like the plastic look of poly, but I've had two floor guys come over and both have said that they'd use oil based poly. I have another one coming on the weekend and I have a feeling he'll say the same. I'm just trying to feel these guys out and see what they know. I don't want anyone to damage these old floors. I've read a lot of good things about Waterlox and I have yet to have a floor guy suggest it.
As a member of a Historical Preservation Commission or HPC, I would suggest that you start with your local HPC and see what recommendations they can offer in terms of a professional whom they have worked with. I generally do not suggest trying to do it yourself unless you have past experience in doing refinishing.
If your town or community does not have a HPC, I would suggest talking to PreservationNJ to find out more information on this topic.
Thanks, I'll look into it. I'm in Jersey City btw.
Traditional would be some sort of varnish rather than polyurethane, since polyurethane wasn't around 100 years ago. Polyurethane is IMO pretty much better in all respects, but it's definitely not "authentic" if that's what you're looking for. Personally I don't think polyurethane looks plastic unless you use the really high gloss stuff.
Southern yellow pine has a more prominent grain than your picture.
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