Varnishing floorboards, or putting in a wooden floor?

[Unwind]

I'd be grateful for any advice or experience as I dither about what to do.

Varnishing existing floorboards is a lot cheaper, and arguably looks better. However, I can't help but think it is unhygenic as dirt accumulates between the boards, and the floor is harder to clean, and not as comfortable to sit on. When the house next door had it done, the fumes from the varnish made our house unbearable for nearly a week, and that is putting me off more than anything.

Otherwise we could put in a wooden floor, which would inevitably cause us grief when it gets scratched/stained, and will probably look dated as fashions change. We are hoping to build an extension in a couple of years, so the floor would probably have to be uniclic or similar, so it could be lifted and moved. It is so expensive, and seems silly, given that there are wooden floor boards there already. But it would be easier to clean, and provide better insulation...

I think you should put down something temporary until the extension is done and then lay wood throughout.

When we moved to our house in the UK we kept the original floor boards, because they were wonderful. We had them sanded and filled the gaps between the boards. They used an eco varnish, but can't remember what it was, as it was ages ago!

As franca says, definitely fill the gaps in between - stops drafts/draughts(?) and dust balls. Plenty of perfectly good acrylic, low odour varnishes available I think. I'd got the floorboard route.

I'd go...

i'd go with filled floorboards - they never go out of style.

They were very easy to clean (sadly we don't live there anymore) and always looked nice, even when they needed to be washed! (lazy)

It depends on what state your original floor boards are in, if there are many that have been lifted for whatever reason then it might be worth putting a floor down. And are you doing one room or the whole ground floor? We did our back room ourselves a few years ago and its a bit drafty/dirty/splintery although we didn't fill the gaps in (would have made sense!) Also some of them needed replacing for various reasons and the wood being newer is a little noticeable.

The laminate that was down in the other rooms when we bought the house is now falling apart so we are planning on having oak flooring throughout as we are expecting a baby and I wouldn't want her crawling on it the way it is. You can get engineered oak flooring which 'floats' and would be easy to take up when you have the extension, although it doesn't look quite as authentic as solid oak. Yes its more expensive but sanding the whole ground floor is going to make a terrible mess, be time consuming or if you are going to get a professional to do it I'm not sure how much cheaper is would actually be. That said, If they are in really good nick then it would be worth it!

If you do fancy flooring then the cheapest place i found it online is here I also think if you go for something that is classic and similar to your existing floorboards then it won't date.

Thanks for the advice. We are thinking of doing the whole ground floor, and maybe even the first floor too, if budget and time allow.

There is carpet throughout at the moment - it is not in great nick, and I don't like the idea of carpet in the dining room etc.

Some engineered wood flooring, and the click style bamboo is supposedly so easy to take up, that you can bring it with you when you move house. I like the idea of that, not just because of the intended extension, but because if we do damage the floor, it should be possible to replace a bit relatively easily. It would also save money because we may be able to lay it ourselves (optimistically imagining it as a giant jigsaw!).

The dust and fumes of sanding down existing floors worries me. From what I've read, there is a tradeoff between durability and toxicity of the fumes - so the eco ones need to be done much more often. Also, we had them in a previous house, and friends have them - the filling always seems to lift over time, creating dust traps and sometimes splinters.

Yes carpet in rooms that involve food or water is a bit rank IMO. Just ordered our oak and it's arriving next week, so I am very excited! It won't be fitted fir a week or two as apparently it's best to let it aclimatise for a while before laying. You wouldn't have that problem with engineered oak though.

In theory you can lift it - but it can snap so you would need to buy quite a bit more to allow for this. Also most floors will change colour - getting darker in daylight, adding on doesn't work because even though it may have come from the same place and they will look like different wood within 2 years.

I'd either paint the floorboards or leave the whole thing till you do your extension.

I'm overhauling our front room and had the same thoughts as you about sanding/varnishing, as the original boards were in good nick. But my builder talked me out of it because it would be cold, drafty, dusty - Edwardian house. He's about to lay engineered oak with a commercial grade insulated underlay. I think it's the best solution and wasn't too expensive.

Got a very good deal on this glueless one.

We lifted our boards and insulated underneath with Celotex, then re-laid the boards closer together and filled any gaps. Nice and toasty