Identification of antique flooring

[dude]

I bought a Condo in a building that use to be a Lake side Hotel from 1910. I pulled up the carpets and discovered wood floors. I am looking for some opinions on what kind of floors I have and weather they are worth refinishing. They are stained just on the outside perimeter.

 

[hardsurfaceguy]

Looks like fir.

 

[dude]

Are they worth refinishing and how easy are they to refinish....what can I expect for look...anyone have pics of antique floors made of fir. They are 2 1/4" planks 3/4 thick fir.

 

[eric248]

Looks fir to me as we'll , I have to say 90% of the time people go natural, love to see the grain

 

[Ken]

Nothing drives me crazier than when people ask "is this worth refinishing?" OF COURSE IT IS!!!! Its beautiful hardwood! Seriously though, you can sand those bad boys down to the fasteners! Just make sure you hire a pro!

 

[DarisMulkin]

Do you know why the floor is stained like that? They probably had old linoleum rugs in the center. Or rugs of carpet could have been also.
As for the type of wood I was going to say yellow pine. I guess that is a type of fir isn't it.

Daris

 

[havasu]

That is going to be a beautiful floor once it is refinished!

 

[Ken]

I actually just saw a house with the same type of coloration except the perimeter was actually painted and the center was bare. I can't imagine someone painting around a rug but I suppose anything is possible. Around here 2 1/2" x 3/4" strip flooring was actually installed as the subfloor right to the joists in some of these older beach houses. Sometimes it amazes me that these floors have been installed this way with no vapor barrier for this long without any problems. I wish I could take a time machine back and learn from the old timers. If only I could fix that damn flux capacator! Ok, now everyone knows how old I am.

 

[Floorist]

Ken, I see a lot of those floors too. And most are just over a crawlspace. There is no cupping or gapping and they are around 100 years old. Don't know why it worked.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Why paint you ask. All they had to do was throw the edge of the rug back and paint the floor for an upgrade. They also had a lino runner that was about 27" that had a wood grain to it that would border the rooms tacked down with a small tack.
Now you know how old I am.

Daris

 

[Ernesto]

Lots of meat left on that wood.

 

[dude]

okay, well that wall you see in the top picture has been built right over the hardwood! If not, I would have ripped up the floor last week. How do they fix the gaping in the floor that is over 1/8" in some spots. There is no cupping but some damage from a skill saw in a spot too. Also, the second picture that shows the thickness is between the two rooms, it appear that the wall was originally solid but they cut in a door and filled that gap with 3/4" plywood to level for carpet. What are the options for that?

 

[Floorist]

Put in a wood threshold in the doorway. Many old houses had them between rooms.

 

[Ernesto]

Your sand and finish guy can fill the gaps with a mixture of sawdust from sanding and glue or use a filler made for it. Some people that know wood do not mind some insignificant gaps. Especially when it comes to antique flooring.

Besides those gaps may close up in the summer and pop out any filler. Just learn to love it.

 

[dude]

The boarder stain around the walls, can a good sand guy, sand it so you will not be able to tell it had a stained boarder and unstained center?

 

[Ernesto]

Yuuuuuup!!

 

[dude]

Next question...is that a stain or a paint..it is hard for me to tell. I am worried about the lead in it if it is paint....If I can see the grain is it most likely not paint? Anyone have any opinons?

 

[highup]

Next question...is that a stain or a paint..it is hard for me to tell. I am worried about the lead in it if it is paint....If I can see the grain is it most likely not paint? Anyone have any opinons?

The grain might have been raised before the floor was painted.
Most paint store sell lead test kits that are easy to use.

 

[dude]

Ok new twist...the look I want for the condo, isn't going to be realized with this fir floor....can I float an engineering hardwood over this floor and leave the future of the fir floor to some other time and maybe the next owner?

 

[dude]

Any answers to the above question?