Pine Hardwood Flooring

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• Pine Hardwood Flooring

Pine Hardwood Flooring

One of the best ways to upgrade your home by adding both beauty and value is to install new hardwood floors. With regard to wooden floors, we tend to think of the hardest woods such as oak or maple, and these have become the most popular choices in recent years. However, in the United States, pine was a popular choice for wooden flooring decades and centuries ago, because the eastern United States was filled with expansive pine forests and the wood was readily available.

If you have an old house that you purchased with installed floor coverings such as wall-to-wall carpeting or vinyl, you might want to see what's underneath. When wall-to-wall carpeting became popular in the 1960s, many beautiful wooden floors were covered up, and if you're lucky you may already have a usable wooden floor, probably heart pine, a popular choice in decades past. And it's possible that your "buried" hardwood floor was made from high-quality old growth or quarter-sawn boards. Fifty or eighty years ago, pine trees harvested for floorboards tended to be much older than trees that are milled today, and because of its age and the number of growth rings, older pinewood shows a much tighter grain pattern.

If you find such a treasure under your old carpeting, it's likely that you can restore it to its original beauty. Determine the "wear layer" of your floorboards, which would give some indication of how many times the floor has been refinished. The wear layer is the thickness of the wood above the tongue and groove. You can look for holes in the floor -- around heating register vents, for instance -- to see the wear layer and determine whether your pine floor can be refinished again.

Hopefully, the carpeting was stretched into place rather than glued down; nevertheless, your pine boards may be littered with staples, screws and nails, adhesives, carpet tack strip, and enormous amounts of dirt that has sifted through the carpeting over the decades. Before tackling the job of restoration on your own, you may wish to consult with a professional to see whether restoration is possible or worthwhile; you should also do a thorough assessment of the subfloor, as there may be some rotting.

If you are installing a new wooden floor, bear in mind that pinewood is softer than many other wooden floorboards and dents more easily, and thus it may not be appropriate for high-traffic areas. However, pine is much cheaper than, for instance, maple or oak -- perhaps half the cost -- and you may find that the occasional dents that will appear in your floor add character to its appearance.

Pine flooring grades display a wider range of characteristics. #1 and #2 grades are considered "finish" grades; these display a small number of small knots. Common #3 grade contains more knots, and bigger knots. The most costly grade is "D and Better Select," which contains only minor imperfections. Any of these grades are suitable for flooring, but take a close look at samples to see which best suits your purposes.

Pine is also available in many species and varieties. One of the most common is longleaf heart pine; because it is heartwood, it is the most dense of the pine floor choices, and doesn't damage as easily as sapwoods. This wood is rich in gold, red, and amber tones, and displays a dense grain pattern; it is perfect for formal settings.

Another popular choice is southern yellow pine flooring, because of its reasonable price and resistance to damage; this may be either heartwood or sapwood, or a combination. Southern yellow pine has historically been one of the most prevalent trees in the American South, and was preferred for construction in the 19th century and earlier for everything from ship masts to warehouse timbers to flooring; it remains one of the least expensive and most traditional flooring materials on the market. Southern yellow pine has a wide grain, which reveals the natural knots of the pine tree, adding character to your floor. This variety comes in shades of reddish brown, yellow-orange, and yellowish white.

Also, many people select vertical grain pine flooring, which is cut so the growth rings are perpendicular to the wear surface. Due to this manufacturing process, vertical grain pine is more expensive than other varieties. This floor is stronger and less susceptible to damage than other pine varieties, and is better for high-traffic areas, as well as commercial and institutional flooring.

Some dealers offer reclaimed heart pine. These floorboards were originally harvested from southern longleaf pine trees a century or more ago, and used to build warehouses, textile mills, and other structures in the American South and elsewhere. These boards are strong and durable, and beautifully aged. Other specialty dealers may also offer "river reclaimed heart pine." Early Americans cut and cleared southern longleaf pine trees, and transported them to sawmills by floating them on nearby rivers. However, many of these giant timbers were lost on river bottoms, and have only recently been retrieved and milled. These floorboards, recovered from river bottoms, display a unique and time-enhanced patina.

Once you have installed your pine floor, it is important to maintain it properly. Most important, keep your floor clean; dirt and grit will eat into your floor like sandpaper. But don’t pour water directly onto the floor; water will cloud the finish, stripping away the varnish. Use a cleaning product recommended by your dealer that is designed exclusively for pine floors.

Use area rugs and throw rugs to protect high-traffic areas, and add further character to your living spaces. If you place heavy furniture on your pine floor, apply felt pads under the furniture legs. Never drag heavy furniture across your floor; get some help and lift the pieces, or use rubber stoppers that will protect your floor from scratching. And do not wear high heels on your pine floor; the tips will dent your floor. In fact, get into the habit of removing your street shoes as you enter your home, and wear just stockings or slippers inside.

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