Floorboards

[Tiddlesem]

In between minds about whether to keep the floorboards in our living room as is and have them sanded and varnished or have them replaced. There are gaps in places and some boards need repairing. This is our first home so I'm a bit clueless really. Any advice greatly appreciated!

You can only sand so many times.
What would you replace them with? Could be a good opportunity to insulate under the floor.

Keep them. They look like they are in good condition.

How cold is the room? I think I would sand and varnish those ones as they would come up lovely.

If the gaps are between boards, they can be filled when they're refinished.

As has been said, they’re in really good condition, won’t take much sanding to bring them up to a lovely finish, could almost do it with a normal hand sander.

All depends on if you want wooden floors or carpet I guess.

The floors I’ve done, I’ve used Dulux diamond glaze varnish, it’s a relatively Matt finish, almost like it’s not there, but still very hard wearing. For filling the gaps I used a product called Lecol 7500 (google it), you mix it with the dust from the sanding and use a scraper to push it into the gap, sand again once set. This only works upto about a 2-3mm gap, anything bigger you’ll need a different method.

Join this House restoration group on facebook, lots of really good information on restoring floorboards without sanding.

They look like solid floor boards so can be sanded as much as you want! It looks like the coating applied previously is coming off. It looks patchy. So get it sanded and then investigate what protective layer you want to apply. We have matte finish lacquer.

Talking of protective layers, I think varnish is a bit dated and wears away (as you can see!). I would investigate lacquers which are used commercially. They are more stable in areas of heavy traffic. These are used by companies who pre-finish their flooring products. Oils are now popular but need more maintenance.

We have a Victorian house and I've done many floors.

It's hard work but we hire a sander Sand back to wood.

Wash floor. Dry
Apply 3/4 coats colour stain of choice

If a water based room bath kitchen. Apply a seal coat of boat clear varnish
This really has
Helped maintain the look of the floor and helped with water resistance. We have two bathrooms with wooden floors and they look amazing.

Don't varnish use osmo oil, over time varnish flakes/wears off and you have t sand again and revarnish, osmo will eventually wear but you just top it up you don't need to save back again

Those are fabulous. Keep them.

Lovely as they are. Quality solid wood with a homely patina - what's not to like

Keep!! We have tongue and groove floorboards (they’re original) which the previous owners sanded and varnished. They are repaired in places, worn in others but honestly I love that about them. I like the character they give against a high spec finish elsewhere.

Solid wood floors with signs of aging are gorgeous. Don't bother filling. Sand and use several coats of clear Matt varnish for most satisfying results. Yes the oiled look is gorgeous but requires lots of maintenance.
You will be so pleased with the results. Go for it!