Me: Hello Mr. Floor Refinisher, I'd like to get a price on refinishing these floors.
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Which floors?
Me: The pine in the living room, the maple in the foyer and the oak in the dining room.
Mr. Floor Refinisher: I see you've revealed some pine under the foyer floor.
Me: Yes. I can't decide whether to go down as far as the pine. It's a dilemma.
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Well if you do, you might as well go down to the pine in the dining room too.
Me: Huh??!!!!
And that is where this particular story began. An innocent enough call to a local floor refinisher which subsequently had me Googling DIY recipes for Ativan.
I'd asked him to give me a price on sanding the 3 different floors on the main floor of my house. You may remember (because it was only a week ago), I discovered an original pine floor under the maple floor which was under a new pine floor in my foyer. You can read about that fiasco here.
When Mr. Floor Refinisher walked around my house inspecting the floors to see how they'd react to another sanding he squatted down in the dining room and declared the oak flooring had probably been sanded by a DIYer because it was uneven and had sanding marks all over it.
He told me the oak in the dining room *might* not be able to be sanded again. It was already very close to the level of the tongue and groove. He could try to sand it but because it was so thin, the wood might splinter and break apart.
That's when he pulled out my heat register, looked inside it and said that pine was running under the dining room too.
Oh shit.
Ohshitohshitohshitohshit.
Why would he tell me that? I mean why would he say out loud, ever so casually that "there's pine under those floors"?
This poor guy obviously had no idea the meltdown that sentence would lead to.
Mr. Floor Refinisher: So, I'm not sure I'd recommend the pine either because it ...
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
Me: WAIT. STOP, HOLD ON. SHUT UP AND STOP TALKING. THERE'S PINE UNDER **THIS** FLOOR???
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Well, yeah. I thought you'd know that.
Me: No. I did not know that. THAT IS NOT SOMETHING I KNEW.
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Are you O.K.? You're twitching. You weren't twitching when I walked in. Did your eyeball just fall out?? Listen, I'll get back to you with a price, I should be going ...
Me: STOP RIGHT THERE. O.K. Hold on. Don't you move. You're telling me there's pine under this floor like the pine in the foyer and the living room. How do you know that? I mean just because it's over there under the heat register doesn't mean it's through this whole room does it? This house is old, it's been added onto, things are wonky, there could be anything under this dining room floor.
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Well yeah, there's probably a lot of bugs under it.
Me: We need to rip some of this floor out. Now. Right now. I'm going to rip it out right now so you need to get out of my way. Do you think I can just smash it?? I'm going to just smash it. With an axe. There's an axe in the backyard. Can you Google if there's any way I can make my own Ativan?
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Yup. I'm sure your eyeball just fell out. That's it rolling under the dining room table right now. It has cat hair on it.
Me: Whatever. I need to rip this floor up now so - if you could just ...
Mr. Floor Refinisher: I can take up a piece if you like right now. Then we can see if it runs the whole length of the dining room.
Me: Do you want to use my axe?
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Thanks very kind of you to offer, but no, I have my own way.
Me: O.K. But I have an axe. It might be faster.
Mr. Floor Refinisher: Done. Take a look and see what you think.
And here I've sat for the past 4 days. Unmoving. Holding a piece of oak flooring, searching fruiltlessly for my hair covered eyeball under the dining room table.
Still no decision. But I'm leaning towards a simple mixture of aspirin, catnip and cough syrup.
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Jan
Well the pine might *sound* like a good idea but... I once lived in an old house with old plank floors. Wood shrinks. Gaps open. Whatever is in the cellar comes upstairs. Spiders, bugs, drafts, mice... Just FYI.
Heather Sykora
Hmmmm, I would want to just sit there, still and do nothing for a long time.....
One experience I can add: my husband and I rented a floor buffer from Home Depot and applied Rubio Monicoat to the white oak flooring we installed ourselves. It is a one time application, traditional hard wax, zero VOC product that has held up amazingly well. I cook a lot and 4 kids and friends run all over and it still looks great after 5 + years
Karen
That's good to know. I tested Rubio at some point on my upstairs pine floors. I cant' remember what I thought of it, lol. Yours look perfect. ~ karen!
Nancy
My first gut reaction was...go for it... but then I got this little tickle at the back of my mind. Why were the pine floors covered in the first place? Worn out? Heavily stained? An upgrade for the time perhaps? Then a full blown, Forest Gump line made it's way to the foreground, "You nevah know what you gonna get" (find)
I wholeheartedly empathize with your dilemma.
Brandi
Did you ever find out why he wasn't sure he’d recommend the pine either? Not that it matters! Just curious.
Karen
Yes. Just because removing a layer of floor and going down to the pine subfloor provides less insulation from cold and hot air as well as ... creepy crawlies from the crawl space underneath. :/ ~ karen!
Jan in Waterdown
So my wood worker guy said, if she likes the old pine subfloor, bearing in mind that much of the pine used way back then was much harder than the current stuff, she should take it up too, install a plywood subfloor then lay the old pine back on top. That could also address the issue with the builtin bookcases. Heckuva lot of work!
Brandi
That's what I was thinking. That way you get the awesome old, heavy and hard pine floors (that look to have a nice wide plank), and the plywood subfloor which should help keep creepy crawlies out and help to insulate. A lot of work of course, but Karen is clearly not one to shy away from that.
Lynn
I am sure that you will figure it out Karen. You know living in a old house that no job is simple or straight forward. They truly can be a can jigsaw of pieces sometimes they are even missing pieces. Squeaky floors are usually due to (a) dust between the boards (b) loose boards.
I can tell you one thing Pine Floors are not a floor that stands the test of time, they are to soft. If you go ahead and rip up all your floors down to the Pine an just sand the Pine , i just want to let you know that you will end up covering it up in the end.
Please find and keep in safe spot your eyeball you might need it later scare pink tool belt.
Karen
The rest of my floors are actually the original pine floors from 1840 and I love them, so I'm used to living with them. Only the foyer and dining room haven't been exposed. . Yes, they mark if you drag a heavy chair across them, but I don't mind those marks. ~ karen!
Mary W
I love you, hairy eyeball girl.
judy
Here's my half a$$ed take on this dilemma. I have remodeled all of our houses with all of our moves. Is it the same effort we invest with the way we dress,makeup, snazzy car etc. I "fix" the houses. I spent so much on one house we had to sell it. It's all a matter of pride versus shame or at least a bit of discomfort in the eye of neighbors,friends,relatives etc. We present who we are-neat and clean,organized, sophisticated,educated ,friendly,cozy,cool and minimalist and the neighbor who doesn't live up to the neighborhood standard is a juicy topic of "what is wrong with those people?" Our house is our home but it is also our submission to the world of our worth. It seems we have really become invested in this as much as the Victorians with their opulence and splendor. I am 78 and tired but I get a chuckle out of the foibles of humans. We are so dear and complicated and I still love ripping the house apart but now I sit and watch while my sons do it with much muttering,I'm sure it's how much they love their Mom. Leave the floors and take a trip to Paris and see the sights.
Megan
Oh man the dilemma! If you rip it all out and the pine is no good then you have no old floors and regret it forever. But, if you don't rip out those floors down to the pine, you will always regret not doing it because, I mean, THERE COULD BE GREAT ORIGINAL FLOORS DOWN THERE! There's only one possible outcome to this that would leave you satisfied. Rip it all up. Floor refinisher, if you can convince him to return when you have found that eye and picked up your adivan prescription, can hopefully work miracles if he needs to. If you have to replace a few boards, its better than not doing it and having to be heavily medicated forever. But this is coming from someone with perfect condition - original pine floors. So maybe my advice isn't the best.
Linda Moore
Our house has pine floors and I say....go with the oak, or some other hardwood. Our floors scratch and gouge with the dropping of a pin. Pine is too soft for flooring IMHO.
Karen
The rest of my house is actually already the original pine flooring so I do know how soft it is. I don't mind the scrapes and gouges actually because it isn't meant to be perfect looking. But I also like that my butcher block countertop has cuts and scratches in it from working on it too. Definitely isn't the choice for anyone who wants it to always look perfect because it definitely won't unless you put several layers of polyurethane on it. And even then the poly scratches. ~ karen!
Heather
I suggest you set up a Go Fund Me for your floors. ($10,000 is a hefty chunk of change!) There are plenty of interested folks following you, and we'd probably all pitch just to give you something back for all the fun you give to us. I certainly would. Whad-ya-say, folks? Can we help Karen out? :)
Karen
LOL! Well if that's the case I'd also like to put on a small addition to use as a studio for a lot of my work. ;) ~ karen!
Marilyn Meagher
It has cat hair on it. Lol sounds like my house.
Lindy
We can tell that this is an end of the world situation for you because you are always precise picking and spelling the exact word that suits each sentence. When I saw "fruiltlessly" I immediately realized that the padded wagon was on the way. Oh, my dear Karen, what a pickle to be in and I am so freaking happy that it is not me that my day just became beautiful. Yes, I am snickering away but in a kind way if there is such a thing, bwahahahha.
with love because you need some in this situation,
Lindy
Stephanie Burris
Your ceilings will be taller by 3/4". The addition of a base board at the bottom of the bookcases would be lovely and add another layer of "custom" look! You'd also have the continuity of one floor running through the rooms which is NICE!
I'd be ripping them out without thinking about the consequences--which I have done many times--and never have regretted it. What I do regret is NOT acting on gut instincts, over thinking, and then not doing. I just know curiosity would get the better of me--cat hair and all--and I bet it will for you too.
GO FOR IT. . .
p
I can't keep watchingggg....somebody holler when she gets it all up and finished :D Wide planks for the win!
Jack Ledger, she MULCH do this!
Jen
I completely understand the paralysis. I found the original clapboard under hideous vinyl on my 100 year old farmhouse. So now I can do any thing to the outside because I can't decide whether to rip off the vinyl and go broke restoring the clapboard or not! All I wanted to do was paint my shutters.
whitequeen96
Sometimes it's better to back away from the project, and realize that, for now, good-enough is good-enough!
After all, tomorrow IS another day!
linda in Illinois
if there are three layers of wood stacked on top of one another, how far down is the first layer. will the two on top make it so high that it just looks silly with your book case, etc. so high above the floor.?? Seems like it would look odd to me but you will figure that out I am sure. Also, Is the first layer of pine floor, sturdy enough for living on and why was it covered up two times??
Maryann Diederich
Love, love, LOVE! Your posts!
Jill Witlin
Would this mean you would also have to do something to the bottom of the shelves in the dining room? I still think you should do it!
Margaret Mohan
Thanks for the Hilarious post! I particularly enjoy the image of your eyeball rolling on the floor and then with cat hair on it-so funny. What ever you decide to do it will look amazing-You have great Style and an eye for creating beautiful environments.