Hi,
We're redoing the kitchen in our 1890 Victorian farmhouse. We took out the carpet, linoleum and plywood layers of floor to discover 2" wide maple floors. Lucky as this may seem, they really are not in good shape. They have serious nail bleeds and gaps between them (1/4-3/8"). We are trying to decide what is best to do on a shoestring budget. Our options are: a)try to fix, sand and refinish the floors as they are; b) cover them over with new flooring; c) sand, fill gaps and paint them. My concern over covering them with new flooring is: will it hurt the integrity of the floors to stick new floor tiling to them? How bad is trying to live with a painted old floor? Is there any remedy for nail bleeds? Any advice would be so much appreciated!
Thank you,
Avery in CT
COMMUNITY FORUM
- Forum >
- Flooring & Stairs >
- Kitchen floor advice
We did a good sized repair on a kitchen (and the floor) a year or two ago. Our house is 24 years ago and has oak floors in the kitchen/dining.
I replaced a number of the oak strips and did a good bit of flooring repair myself. Then we had a hardwood company come in to refinish. This was (surprisingly!) not all that much more expensive than re-finishing ourselves. They come in with all the equipment, materials and knowledge. Money well spent.
If you don't consider your floor anomalies to be "character" (and it sounds like it might be too far-gone for that, you might consider covering with another material. Depending on the area's size, it might be possible to tile or use remnants of resilient vinyl (either of these will require a smooth and strong subsurface).
If it were me, I wouldn't worry about hurting the integrity of your old floors to recover them. You should consider that any new flooring you put down will be there for at least 10 years. In other words, worry about making your NEW floor last that long!
Painted floor? A lot of people like that look. It certainly is affordable. I have even seen nifty patterns, etc., painted onto them. And you can still always cover them later.
Anyway, just a few ideas. Perhaps it'll get the creative juices going. And don't forget to look at some good tile stores for discount tile! You'll get more help than the big box stores, and probably get a better deal as well. Good luck!
Regards,
-k2 in CO
Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum
http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous
I replaced a number of the oak strips and did a good bit of flooring repair myself. Then we had a hardwood company come in to refinish. This was (surprisingly!) not all that much more expensive than re-finishing ourselves. They come in with all the equipment, materials and knowledge. Money well spent.
If you don't consider your floor anomalies to be "character" (and it sounds like it might be too far-gone for that, you might consider covering with another material. Depending on the area's size, it might be possible to tile or use remnants of resilient vinyl (either of these will require a smooth and strong subsurface).
If it were me, I wouldn't worry about hurting the integrity of your old floors to recover them. You should consider that any new flooring you put down will be there for at least 10 years. In other words, worry about making your NEW floor last that long!
Painted floor? A lot of people like that look. It certainly is affordable. I have even seen nifty patterns, etc., painted onto them. And you can still always cover them later.
Anyway, just a few ideas. Perhaps it'll get the creative juices going. And don't forget to look at some good tile stores for discount tile! You'll get more help than the big box stores, and probably get a better deal as well. Good luck!
Regards,
-k2 in CO
Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum
http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous
