Give up repairing and restoring original wood floor?

[Sabee]

Hi!

We have original wood flooring in our dining area. There are a few broken boards which have been cut and put back (probably to access pipes etc), and there are a few gaps in places.

We thought perhaps we could get someone in to have a look, to get it sanded and replace some of the boards, but he came and tutted a bit, and didn't seem interested in the job.

He said it would be better to get a new floor, and that the look I was going for would only work in a country cottage!

I dont mind it looking rustic, and we may get a second opinion - but has anyone ever attempted to repair and restore original flooring - and faced a reluctance to do the job?

I asked whether we could source boards locally, from reclamation yards etc and he just gave more reasons it would be a bad idea.

Disappointed but I guess I am looking for a tradesman who actually likes doing this job, rather than someone who just goes and sands and finishes (although the website did say they did repairs)

Thank you

Sanding them yourself wouldn't be that hard, we did ours and then varnished them. It was easy although messy, we hired the stuff from hss. We haven't done any repairs though, we just live with the creaky bits. If it was all a bit "cut and shut" patchwork I would lay a new wood floor though or paint it at the least.

Yes I've done several floors, some myself entirely and others I've had tradesmen do the replacing boards bit and I've done the sanding/finishing,

Can you post a photo of the worst bit?

What type of boards are they? If they are pine the usually very easy to match, you need to take one up so you can check the width and depth measurements (if the depth is wrong then you will have lots of sanding to do to make the floor level) and take the board with you to local reclamation yards.

One thing to note is that often (not always but often!) when you take up old boards you discover that some of the joists are rotten and then they need to be replaced too which often means all the boards need to come up. That does mean that you can insulate between the joists (with celotex/kingspan) which makes a big difference to heat loss.

Replacing boards is pretty easy you just need to cut the rotten/broken board back to a joist (look for the nail holes) and then cut a replacement board to fit. Try not to have too many 'cuts' in one place as it doesn't look good. Sanding is messy but perfectly doable yourself, hire a floor sander & edger, just be careful that you don't leave the floor sander in one place too long as you will get gouges.

If you're not v diy orientated then definitely get a second opinion. Restoration is often more work and fiddler than new so some tradesmen try to put you off it.

IMO nothing beats a nice original wooden floor.

Thank you for your replies!

Rangerlady we were thinking of trying to do some of the sanding ourself but we have just moved in and there are so many other things to do in the house with our kids running around, we will have to think about whether we can take it on ourselves.

There is also a concrete heart that needs addressing, which we thought a person who does floors would be able to address, so thats why together with the other issues, we would have wanted a professional/tradesman.

whitemarble

I'll try to message you the photos of the issues.

I believe they are pine, and they look like they have some kind of varnish on them.

Sorry, I forgot to mention yesterday, there is a hearth where a chimney was removed and it looks like concrete has been (very very poorly) laid and it goes above the level of the floor - so it would need to be chipped away at and some new joists and boards laid there too. I looked this up and its called a 'fireplace concrete hearth restitch'.

Again, these issues don't really bother us (paying to get it fixed) as we prefer the look of the original floor, but we would need a tradesman of some sort to sort the concrete issue out - and then put joists etc in

There was a company I saw in London that did this (the whole job), but we are in the East Midlands, and I can only find companies that sand and finish.

So not sure what to do, feeling a bit despondent to be honest!

I'm currently restoring and replacing the floors in my house.

A reclamation yard machined matching boards for me out of old factory beams. The grain's lovely, matches the original boards and shouldn't shrink.

We replaced all of the bathroom boards because they had been cut to pieces and it was easier to start over... but in other rooms it's just the simple case or replacing the odd butchered board or inserting wedge strips where the original boards have shrunk.

Can you give it a go yourself or find someone more enthusiastic -- the guy you mentioned sounds humdrum.

Ill put these up on the thread temporarily, can't seem to message photos:

millstone yes we may try to give it a go ourselves - we are happy to source boards ourselves, but I dont know if I can take the concrete part on myself?

What you are saying about replacing the odd butchered board - yes, thats exactly what I thought we could do - the guy who came seemed uninterested, and said a lot of negative things - we are trying to find another company.

I mean, I don't even mind if its not perfect, i still like how it looks now! But it needs to be addressed as there seem to be a lot of thin spaces between boards and i'm unsure how cold it will be come winter!

Sounds like he just was making excuses not to take on the job. Just ask someone else over to look.

They look good! Just those 3 or 4 boards need replacing. I know what you mean about not looking perfect, it's character.

The concrete hearth is easy enough to take up, then as you say you can either baton below and board over it, or lay a new stone hearth. I'm doing the later.

Do you have a crawl space under the house big enough to access the boards from below? If so you could insulate underneath.

They look fine! We also had the concrete hearth and just laid a new one over it in one room and carpeted over it in bedroom. I wouldn't want to sand with kids about, so much dust. We did ours pre children

The floor boards look like sanding would help even up the colour and worn areas but they have been varnished (or sealed) and it’s worn off. Sanding should help even it up. The boards look in ok condition but they are pine and have quite a few knots. I think a builder should be able to do this for you and replace a few boards if needed. The floor guy just wanted to sell you a new floor!

They look like a bit of sanding will make them look great. We did the same for our house. I painted the concrete with black floor paint and it looks much better.

HumptyNumptyNooNoo yes it seems so! But why advertise on your website you do repairs and then make excuses! Wasted our time a bit!

MillStone didn't think of insulating! will have a look when we start the job hopefully!

RangerLady yes, it will be difficult to do with kids, will need to time it - and hopefully find someone else to do it if possible so they can stay out of the way.

BubblesBuddy he did recommend a new floor and later messaged to recommend someone he knew!

Sabulous thank you - i am really looking forward to how they will look :)

Thank you everyone for your replies.. I do feel reassured and although I am happy in my choices, the comments by that tradesman still irritate me!

They look gorgeous, get a few more people in if you don't want to do it yourself. I have found tradespeople often want to put in new stuff as it's easier and more lucrative for them than restoring old.