Help with old damaged T&G floor

[Pat Barry]

Well, if you google Plywood floors, you will find tons of picture. I used one of them to add the pic to my post. The choices are infinite. I have seen 1/4 maple plywood and sand pine underlayment ply in different projects. I actually used some underlayment (very well sanded by the factory) to try and I really like it but it was too thin for my project. You can check: http://centsationalgirl.com/2014/02/...rs/#more-39345 and http://littlegreennotebook.com/2014/...-plywood.html/ as example. I have nothing to do with both websites. I hope it helps.
Laura

I don't think you'd really meant / want to use plywood. I thought your picture was of some engineered flooring - I liked the way it looked there but was wondering if it was clik-lok or tongue and groove floating etc.

[Brian Williamson]

You are right about the BLO, MS is mineral spirits.

Here is a pic i could grab of how the floor turned out.

IMG_4509.jpg

[Mel Fulks]

I'm sure the floor is not dangerous. Since this is a looks thing there are many fixes. What I would do is patch and seal where needed for quiet, safety, and temperature. Then cover some areas with "floor clothes", which are durable and thin enough to hug the floor and show the slightest undulations of the old boards. We have a floor cloth in our living room that has been in constant use for at least 35 years.

[Jeff Duncan]

There's a place in Cambridge called Longleaf that sells reclaimed wood and may possibly have something close enough. It's not inexpensive at all so whether or not it's worth it only you can decide.

In terms of practicality it looks in the pics like the original "flooring" which would have been sub-flooring on lower levels of the house, later covered with another wood. Sub floors are not the easiest in terms of cleaning and working with for an office, so I would really think about how it will be used and how practical it will be before moving forward.

good luck,
JeffD

[laura vianello]

Brian, This is way more than what I am hoping for. It is very beautiful! My floor is rustic but I kind of like it. The room will be a modern home office. The visible floor is about 12'x16'. I have some planks in the eaves that I can remove and replace with new (they will be hidden in the slopped cabs) and use the removed ones to patch and repair. It might be hard not to break them while pulling the nails. The other question is about the gaps. Some are about 3/8"-1/4" wide.

[Brian Williamson]

There were some spots of my floor that were more heavily damaged. I wound up filling those spots with epoxy (you can color that if desired), leveling it out with the surrounding floor, coating the epoxy with some dewaxed shellac, and then completing the finishing schedule over that.

In the below pic the rows of dots are round head nails that are driven beneath the surface of the floor. I put dots of epoxy there to help prevent splinters. I don't have any close ups handy or pics of other repairs. I could take some if it helps.

0721011757.jpg

[laura vianello]

I actually mean plywood. I saw it in one shop in Lincoln NH just yesterday and love it. It was a shop with tons of traffic but it looked very nice. Considering how cheap it is, it looks like a good option for me. If I cannot repair the floor I have I might try that path.

[Frank Pratt]

A plywood surface will quickly be destroyed by heavy traffic or especially the wheels on an office chair. Baltic birch, which has a thicker face veneer would stand up better than most.