Need Input with Some Flooring

by CK

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Have any of you DIYers or professional flooring installers ever put in solid plank pine floors? The floor is all above grade.The concept is to use 1" x 6" ordinary, lumber yard pine planks. I was told the wider the planks, the more ' seasonal movement' there will be, thereby having times of the year when the gap between planks might be very large. Supposedly the intention is to finish them by using a light gray or white stain or paint and then poly over top. Any first hand information will be appreciated, especially for installation methods. Thanks :-)

Wide plank pine board floor

5 answers

MaryStLouis on May 07, 2015
While I don't have any experience with this I was intrigued with your question since we're in floor hunting mode. This blog entry might help you: http://creeklinehouse.com/2013/11/how-to-install-beautiful-wood-floors.html

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- CK on May 08, 2015
  @MaryStLouis Yup! Saw it when I was researching too. Great link! However they used tongue in groove pine boards..... a bit different than plain old boards.
  
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Beth H. Makemeprettyagain.blogspot on May 07, 2015
You do realize that pine is super soft right? I hope you don't have dogs or small kids.

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- MaryStLouis on May 07, 2015
  @Beth H. Makemeprettyagain.blogspot Seeing that you live in Diamond Bar made me homesick for a moment. I used to live in Walnut, overlooking Mt. SAC. :)
  
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- CK on May 08, 2015
  @Beth H. Makemeprettyagain.blogspot Yes, I realize pine is soft. We actually made end tables and a coffee table out of plain old pine boards 38 years ago. Still have them. They've held up extremely well. Of course they didn't get the use a floor would but they did go through 2 kids and numerous dogs..and a cat or two here and there ;-) In our former house we had oak hardwood throughout most of the main level. It wore better than pine obviously. However wearing high heeled shoes left little divots all over the floor. It might be a toss up in a way: Rustic look from the beginning with pine or rustic look that happened with an "ooops" (wearing high heels) over time. -)
  
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Kristin Topping on May 08, 2015
All your hard work is beautiful and impressive! Love the flooring services. Its look awesome. A certified Flooring Services can bring unrivaled value to your future projects. Thanks for nice view.

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- CK on May 08, 2015
  @Kristin Topping This is not a photo of my work. I'm showing this for an idea/example.
  
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D & K on May 08, 2015
Connie, I've done this twice in old home restoration projects. We applied stain and poly to the first example and because of later temp and humidity changes the floor begin to develop problems. On the second project I tried something different. We applied a very very thinned mixture of a casting resin, a polyester resin to the wood. Allowed it to soak in and harden for a couple of days then applied the stain and poly. The second floor has never demonstrated the problems of the first and the casting resin also hardened and stabilized the wood. Movement was reduced dramatically and I was so impressed with the results I've begun stabilizing other woods using the same method.

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- CK on May 08, 2015
  @D & K I think I understand the process your describing. But I'd like to have a VERY light appearance...as in an off white or possibly gray color. Will this method work that way? Can you tell me the name of the casting resin you used? This would be fantastic if we could get this method to work. The thing is I like wood floors but the budget does not allow for hardwood. I've seen old pine floors (like 100 years old) and they're wonderful. Yes, I understand the pine boards today aren't like they used to be. ;-) So if you've done this method, I'm all ears! :-)
  
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- D & K on May 08, 2015
  @CK The first house I did this to was built in the early 1900s and we installed a 1x8 shiplap style floor made from southern yellow pine. While it looked good for a few months, it wasn't long before the characteristics of the wood began to show through, i.e. warping, gaps and gaps around dead knots. The second attempt was a farm house built in 1870 where we used an exterior siding. I believe it's called 107 siding otherwise known as car siding. It's a 1x6 tongue and groove siding made from southern yellow pine with v grooves cut on the edges where the lumber joins. I was determined to come up with something to make this work. A good friend of mine works in fiberglass so during one of our discussions I learned how he had previously worked for a restoration company restoring old court houses. His job was using polyester resin to strengthen and stabilize the original oak moldings, oak doors and so forth that had deteriorated from time and weather. Polyester resin unless it's had color added is water clear. What we did was actually very simply. We prepped the floor as we would any other floor. I purchased a gallon container of Evercoat polyester resin and a gallon of lacquer thinner. We created a 60% lacquer thinner to 40% resin mixture then added the recommended amount of MEKP hardener (it comes with the resin) for the actual amount of resin in the mix. Do not mix with the hardener until you're ready to apply. Next we simply used a cheap sponge mop and mopped in on the floor as quickly as possible. The bare wood soaked it up quickly which is part of the reason I thinned it as I did. We applied 2 coats back to back with no time spent waiting for it to set. I wanted the mixture to soak into the wood as deeply as possible and not lay on the surface. Afterwards I purposely let it sit for 2 days before I did anything else to the floor. I then proceeded to apply a Minwax golden oak stain to give it a natural aged look and the following day we began applying an amber tinted poly. That was 2 years ago and I saw the flooring again a few months back. It still looks great. The polyester resin stabilized the wood from changes in moisture and temps. No gaps, loose knots or warping. Since that time I've also used a similar mixture on exterior railings, moldings and decking that I know will crack and split over time. Nowadays exterior moldings and decking are manufactured so quickly and weather treated so soon after the tree was cut that they're literally still "green". When they do eventually dry out they warp, wane, split, crack and so on. By using this polyester mixture on them it has stopped virtually all of this from happening. Not to mention on decking, it acts like a permanent coat of Thompson Water Seal. I hope this info helps and good luck with your project.
  
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- D & K on May 10, 2015
  @Creatress You're very welcome. I try not to leave out any details only because sometimes it's the little details that will sometimes make or break a project.
  
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- CK on May 14, 2015
  @D & K Thanks so much for your detailed information. I've read several blogs where people are using plain old pine planks from their lumber yard and they say after 3 years they still haven't had any cupping, etc. Here's what they do: 1) screw pine planks (6"-8" wide) directly to the subfloor (some people glue them down then screw or nail them on) 2) stain or whitewash planks in place 3) seal with polyurethane or polycrylic What do you think of this? I want my floors to last but all that resin sounds like it's reallllly gonna stink, off-gas, and take away some of the rustic qualities of the wood. I'm asking a lot of questions because this is not an area of expertise for me. Not trying to disregard your expert advice, just wondering what you think of those other people's methods. One lady says she's used it throughout their house even in kitchen and bathroom. Hmmmmm........gotta wonder. Isn't polyester resin the same stuff used on surfboards? I really don't want that "hard shell" high gloss look on my floor.......
  
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- D & K on May 14, 2015
  @CK I've never screwed a floor down and that sounds like a method that would certainly cure some of the problems I had in the past. And, much of these problems were caused by the quality of the lumber. Here in the south, yellow pine is predominant with a heavy grain and large area of softer wood between the grain. It's very prone to warping and waning once it dries and exposed to extreme humidity changes. While there are several varieties of pine used to make lumber, yellow pine is one of the hardest which makes it a good choice in flooring. However, in most cases only yellow pine specifically cut and dried for flooring is relatively stable. Using any other type of pine lumber as flooring can be a gamble. The resin does gas-off as you say and you're correct in that polyester resin is used to make surfboards and boats, i.e. fiberglass. Had I applied this mixture straight from the can so to speak to the floor, the high gloss associated with fiberglass boats and surfboards is exactly what I would have achieved. My goal was not to coat it but rather to get the lumber to absorb it before curing and stabilize the lumber much in the way high end lumber used in turnings and carvings is stabilized. By thinning the mixture and allowing it to soak in, the wood would take stain and color. Had this not been the case it would have defeated the purpose of trying to recreate an "historic" look both in color and feel. I have known a few homeowners who on their own attempted to install a similar floor and maybe because of the materials used, high humidity (a real problem in the south) or seasonal movement of the home, they ran into the same problems I did on my first attempt. I considered using a thinned polyurethane instead of polyester and had I had access to someone with more knowledge than I, I may have gone this route. However having a friend in the fiberglass business who previously worked for an company that restores historic buildings and courthouses, this was a method he used. The beauty of this method is that it did in fact "harden and stabilize" the flooring but it didn't create a "hard shell" on the surface. I'm very pleased with the way it's held up after 2 years but I will say I'm always open to new ideas and changes from anyone who has had "similar" experiences as I've had. The day I stop trying to learn something new or a better method is the day before I close the doors and find another occupation!
  
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- CK on May 18, 2015
  @D & K I truly do appreciate your input. Now the question is "Do we go ahead and put in the pine floors?" -) LOL! We currently have carpeting that's not in such bad shape, and me being a 'conservationist' of sorts (i.e. don't get rid of it, if it still has value) I'm taking my time trying to find as much input, information as possible before we attempt this. Of course worst case scenario would be it's a complete failure and we have to remove it, then carpet again...or some other flooring. I suspect if I happen to find something that's comparable in price to pine plank floors (example some on-sale laminate) we may go that route. It's just that even pine floors have the sound of real wood compared to laminate. Sometimes that's just what ya need ;-) Thanks again so much for all your help!
  
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- D & K on May 18, 2015
  Speaking of laminate flooring...one thing I failed to mention about the my last installation. Although we did a nail down through the tongue on each plank, we also installed the same padding used under laminate floors. Since the installation was in two upstairs bedrooms and a den, I thought this might help keep the floors quiet. The result was negligible and according to the home owner, there's been no squeaking.
  
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- CK on May 20, 2015
  @D & K I was wondering about that too, the underlayment. Some people who've screwed down planks have also used Liquid Nails. I suppose that may negate the use of underlayment(?) We'll figure out something.....one of these days. ;-)
  
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- D & K on Jun 09, 2015
  @CK sorry for the delay but too much rain here in Texas has led to too much work. The polyester resin was made by Evercoat and provided it's mixed thin enough with lacquer so that it soaks into the wood and not simply lays on the surface you can stain any color afterwards.
  
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Kristin Topping on Jun 17, 2015
Thanks for great ideas for floors décor and I can see how this décor would add a classy touch to your house that can bring a tranquil feeling of your space. The ideas that you have used can bring an outstanding touch. I think commercial flooring company can give you more suitable advice for this project. Really, you have done an unbelievable job. Nice post.

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