Reporting some green news! Extra, extra, read all about it!
D and I started the reclaimed fir flooring yesterday. Regular readers will recall that I have collected about 5 batches of beautiful used fir flooring that I found on Craigslist. I think it should be enough to finish the whole main floor (about 1200 sq. ft.), but if it isn’t, I’ll haunt CL for some more.
When we built our first house in 1980, we did learn that re-using old fixtures and building materials has its attendant problems. Our experiences with used building materials this time around confirms our past experience. For instance, even though this tongue & groove fir flooring is purported to be 3.25 inches wide and .75″ thick, it varies by 1/8″ in both dimensions. That means it’s challenging/impossible to produce a flat, crack-free surface.
Here’s our process:
Ends are trimmed clean, and broken edges cut off. I'm trying to organize the prepared pieces by length, but my boss didn't let me get very far ahead of him.
Most of the board tongues and grooves are covered with dirt/gunge/paint/insect husks, which will impede their ability to fit tightly together. I scrape the gunge off. To me, the wood smells like old churches. I don't know why.
How-to web sites recommend laying down building paper ("15 pound felt"). The purpose is to help prevent creaks and movement of dust through the layers. Makes sense to us.
D framed the heating vents with a fir box.
A long strip is temporarily nailed on to guide the first two strips to keep them parallel to the wall. A 1/2" expansion space is allowed next to the wall.
The first strip is face-nailed. Holes will be filled during re-finishing.
D then uses his fancy-schmancy floor nailer to shoot 2" L-shaped (heads) nails into the top of the tongue. He nails near every joist, but not on the joist, because he might hit the screws that hold the plywood onto the joists. If he hits a screw or nail, the nail gun could jam. Flooring must run at right angles to the joists, to prevent flex. Any joins in the flooring need to fall at a joist, for the same reason.
This is how much we got done in a day-and-a-half. You can see the dramatic variations in colour. Some of that will remain after refinishing, but much will sand off. The scuffs and gouges will be smoothed out some, but we appreciate the fact that it has been used, and think that it adds to the charm and warmth of the floor. What you can't see very well here are the variations in the strips' widths and thickness. And, in spite of our precautions and trimming, one board squeaks, likely because the bottom groove was missing, so there is flex. No board is perfect when you're using reclaimed flooring. We will screw this board from the top, and cover the screw head with a plug.
With the belt sander, I decided to see how easy it is to sand the edges (these will be partly covered by a huge cupboard unit tomorrow). You can more easily see the variations in thickness when the sanding highlights them. It was not too time-consuming to sand this much. The industrial sander should level out the floor better.
My feet are in a bucket of water. Just checking to see if you’re reading to the end!
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I was surprised to see the photo of feet in sandals…so is that why your feet were in a bucket of water at the end?! It seems to me that closed toe shoes, if not boots, would have been in order!
Regardless, the floor looks lovely! I think the variation in colour will be fine. We refinished our fir floors about 14 years ago, and used a finish that has stood up really well. The floor has kept its yellow colour rather than turning orange as fir usually does.
I think the flooring looks fantastic! It will most certainly give the house some instant character.
Agreed, Liam: instant character.
Janet, do you remember what finish you used on your floor 14 years ago? Regarding sandals: I was thinking how foolish it was to wear sandals, but it was soooo hot. My feet were in a bucket of water to cool me down after my work day.
Nice work! What’s the industrial sander, and what’s it like to work with?
The floor looks great! I love that you guys are using reclaimed flooring, it will add so much character to the already unique house. I also really appreciate your use of the word “fancy-schmancy”
Chris, an industrial sander is the kind that professional floor refinishers use. I imagine it’s the kind you rented when you refinished your floors.
Annemarie, you’ll have to come up to see the house with that bad boy son of ours one day.
Hi Gail,
I’ve checked with Lloyd and the name of the finish that we used was Benjamin Moore’s “Stay Clear”. It’s water-based so clean up is easy too. We’ve been very happy with it, also using it to finish our kitchen cabinets.
Looks like we won’t be able to visit tomorrow, but maybe next week…