Investigating options to redo the flooring in some of the house, I
came across what seem to be traditional style tongue and groove
floorboards - but made of spruce which I believe is a rather soft wood
for a flooring application.

See http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/124419

Now on the package for these boards it specifically says not to use
this as a finished floor surface, but more for replacing existing
floorboards.

My question is - is there not a reasonable way to finish this sort of
wood so that it could be used as the finished flooring? It could
certainly look very nice and I don't mind trading effort to save some
money if that's what it would take. But is this a false economy
somehow?

Any ideas if this is a realistic prospect?

Thanks,
David

On 2007-07-05 00:00:40 +0100, said:

Investigating options to redo the flooring in some of the house, I
came across what seem to be traditional style tongue and groove
floorboards - but made of spruce which I believe is a rather soft wood
for a flooring application.

See http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/124419

Now on the package for these boards it specifically says not to use
this as a finished floor surface, but more for replacing existing
floorboards.

My question is - is there not a reasonable way to finish this sort of
wood so that it could be used as the finished flooring? It could
certainly look very nice and I don't mind trading effort to save some
money if that's what it would take. But is this a false economy
somehow?

Any ideas if this is a realistic prospect?

Thanks,
David

Wickes is not really a good source of timber. With the number of
banana shaped pieces they have, they would be better off being in the
greengrocery business.

One thing not to do with finish is to use anything that attempts to
make the wood what it is not. For example, oak stains and varnishes
on these kinds of softwood look dreadful because of the different rate
of absorbency.

Even the antique pine stains don't work that well and many stains and
varnishes just result in an unnatural orangey mess.

The most reasonable solution I've seen if you want to leave the boards
exposed is to use a satin or matt water based clear varnish - one of
the hard ones. Initially, this won't alter the colour very much at
all, but the wood will tend to gradually darken a little.

Waxing is another approach. I've used that on shelves etc. but not a
softwood floor. It works well on a hardwood floor.

To be honest, it isn't ideal at all.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Investigating options to redo the flooring in some of the house, I
came across what seem to be traditional style tongue and groove
floorboards - but made of spruce which I believe is a rather soft wood
for a flooring application.

See http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/124419

Now on the package for these boards it specifically says not to use
this as a finished floor surface, but more for replacing existing
floorboards.

My question is - is there not a reasonable way to finish this sort of
wood so that it could be used as the finished flooring? It could
certainly look very nice and I don't mind trading effort to save some
money if that's what it would take. But is this a false economy
somehow?

Any ideas if this is a realistic prospect?

Thanks,
David


Surely even if finished with a hard coating because it is so soft won't it
dent and scratch with foot traffic and look poor very quickly?

Just my tuppence worth.

HLAH wrote:

wrote in message
ups.com...
Investigating options to redo the flooring in some of the house, I
came across what seem to be traditional style tongue and groove
floorboards - but made of spruce which I believe is a rather soft wood
for a flooring application.

See http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/124419

Now on the package for these boards it specifically says not to use
this as a finished floor surface, but more for replacing existing
floorboards.

My question is - is there not a reasonable way to finish this sort of
wood so that it could be used as the finished flooring? It could
certainly look very nice and I don't mind trading effort to save some
money if that's what it would take. But is this a false economy
somehow?

Any ideas if this is a realistic prospect?

Thanks,
David


Surely even if finished with a hard coating because it is so soft won't
it dent and scratch with foot traffic and look poor very quickly?

yes...

Just my tuppence worth.

Wickes do Bordeaux Pine floor boards which i've used successfully in
bedrooms and a bathroom.

On 5 Jul, 00:00, wrote:
Investigating options to redo the flooring in some of the house, I
came across what seem to be traditional style tongue and groove
floorboards - but made of spruce which I believe is a rather soft wood
for a flooring application.

Seehttp://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/124419

Now on the package for these boards it specifically says not to use
this as a finished floor surface, but more for replacing existing
floorboards.

My question is - is there not a reasonable way to finish this sort of
wood so that it could be used as the finished flooring? It could
certainly look very nice and I don't mind trading effort to save some
money if that's what it would take. But is this a false economy
somehow?

Any ideas if this is a realistic prospect?

Thanks,
David

I would definitely not use those or similar boards for a finished
floor. They are extremely soft and easy to dent. They are nothing like
floorboards of old!

T

wrote:
On 5 Jul, 00:00, wrote:
Investigating options to redo the flooring in some of the house, I
came across what seem to be traditional style tongue and groove
floorboards - but made of spruce which I believe is a rather soft wood
for a flooring application.

Seehttp://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/124419

Now on the package for these boards it specifically says not to use
this as a finished floor surface, but more for replacing existing
floorboards.

My question is - is there not a reasonable way to finish this sort of
wood so that it could be used as the finished flooring? It could
certainly look very nice and I don't mind trading effort to save some
money if that's what it would take. But is this a false economy
somehow?

Any ideas if this is a realistic prospect?

Thanks,
David

I would definitely not use those or similar boards for a finished
floor. They are extremely soft and easy to dent. They are nothing like
floorboards of old!

T


Jewsons used to do some rather nice 6" x 1" whitewood flooring ("spruce"
aka Norwegian Xmas tree). Compared to the usual redwood, it's cheaper,
more bland in appearance (probably an advantage over a large area), more
stable, and takes a stain better. The disadvantages are that the planed
finish is not as smooth (it tends to tear as it's machined), the knots
are few but may fall out as it dries, and it's a much soft timber.
You may overcome the latter with a hard coating such as Rustins 2 part
floor varnish. It certainly looks better than redwood IMO, but only you
know how much traffic the floor will take.
I would advise finishing the boards before you lay the floor and, if
using the above varnish, doing it outdoors.

I would advise finishing the boards before you lay the floor and, if
using the above varnish, doing it outdoors.

You you explain the reason for pre-finishing (other than being able to
do it outside)? I would have thought it would be more efficient to to
it all at once after laying it down.

Thanks

Dave wrote:
I would advise finishing the boards before you lay the floor and, if
using the above varnish, doing it outdoors.

You you explain the reason for pre-finishing (other than being able to
do it outside)? I would have thought it would be more efficient to to
it all at once after laying it down.

Thanks


I would certainly advise colouring the boards prior to laying,
especially t&g. Boards shrink, white edges etc

On 5 Jul, 00:00, wrote:
Investigating options to redo the flooring in some of the house, I
came across what seem to be traditional style tongue and groove
floorboards - but made of spruce which I believe is a rather soft wood
for a flooring application.

Seehttp://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/124419

Now on the package for these boards it specifically says not to use
this as a finished floor surface, but more for replacing existing
floorboards.

My question is - is there not a reasonable way to finish this sort of
wood so that it could be used as the finished flooring? It could
certainly look very nice and I don't mind trading effort to save some
money if that's what it would take. But is this a false economy
somehow?

Any ideas if this is a realistic prospect?

Thanks,
David

Dear David
If Wikes, the supplier, are unprepared to recommend their products for
a purpose you can be pretty sure it is not fit for that purpose!
Whitewood is a pretty unsatisfactory building timber. Cheapskates
tried to use it for windows in the mid sixties and most of them had to
be replaced 10 to 20 years later. It has next to no permeability to
take up preservatives (unlike redwood - Scots pine). I have seen
whitewood floor boards but would personally use it for all the reasons
given by others and the fact that it cannot easily be treated, is
classified as perishable (but as it contains much sapwood that is not
relevant) and becuase I simply don't like the look. BS 8201 1987 (or
its CEN equivalent as I have yet to catch up) provides data on
suitabity of timbers for flooring wrt species. Sheet 46 of the TRADA
flooring leaflet does "allow" European whitewood (Spruce) as a
possible flooring timber as does the general sheets on timber uses!
Chris