Redoing a Floor With Free Pallet Wood

6 Materials
$100
2 Weeks
Medium

We turned a bizarre little room with no clear purpose into a pantry. Unfortunately the pantry came with some cheap, awful carpet that had to come out, and come out fast.


Omg, this is the world's most embarrassing, most awful....aw man. Here's one "before" view. And ugh, it was horrifying. So embarrassed! Yes, I totally have my hand over my eyes right now.


But here's a close up of the finished floor.


I began by collecting pre-cut wood pieces from a pallet rehabber nearby. He has bins set out and I'd swing by every few days.


The wood collection in progress. It's hard to tell but there are two different types of underfloor here (half old porch boards plus half particle board -- see photo above this above one) so I had to cover the floor with something.


After collecting pieces for several weeks, it was time to fill in all the small areas left over.


Next up was a simple foam underlayment, mostly because the area beneath the floor is open and we don't know what's going on under there.


It was time to tack everything down with a nail gun, including the smaller, thinner pieces of wood I collected for the step.


Next up was the sawdust grout. I detail this step pretty well in my blog, so please come visit to read all about this and a zillion other fun stories at Flipping the Flip. This step was tricky. And messy.


A grouted section close up.


The next day, the floor was a disaster area. I spent three hours scraping all the dried bits off, paranoid I ruined the floor.


Last up was sealing it with polyurethane which I did by hand to flood small gaps and to control the poly better.


And here it is, complete! Finally.


A finished floor at last! Come check out the whole process on my blog, Flipping the Flip!

Suggested materials:
  • Nail Gun   (Amazon)
  • Polyurethane   (Amazon)
  • Sawdust grout   (DIY)
See all materials
Becky at Flipping the Flip
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Don22264392 Don22264392 on Mar 30, 2017
    what do you make the grout from?
  • Rob29348746 Rob29348746 on Oct 30, 2017

    I’d be a little Leary of using pallets as it is cheap uncured wood. Are there worries of twisting ad warping?


  • Barbara Baldwin Barbara Baldwin on Oct 30, 2017

    I don't understand. Did you lay the foam on top of the boards?

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