How should I finish the wide-plank, unfinished wood floor in my attic?

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Permalink Reply by Phil on October 17, 2009 at 12:24pm

If you repair and sand, I would never paint. Painted floors chip in a way that clear finishes don't. Paint, though, can be applied without as much fuss as clear finishes, which is why people shift over to it. Looking at your floors, I think that they would look pretty good in a clear finish. I use oil satin poly myself and have no regrets, although I know that some people do not like that look, and I respect that.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Keen on October 17, 2009 at 12:48pm

Thanks, Phil. I am leaning toward that. I'll post the 'after' pics. BTW, love your house...great colors.
Kathy

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Permalink Reply by John Leeke on October 17, 2009 at 2:22pm

Do you really need to apply a finish to the attic floor? I've been in many attics that have had unfinished floors for more that a century and they are doing just fine.

The one reason I can think of to finish an attic floor is to make it more cleanable. How often will you actually clean the attic floor?

Shellac might be good on a low-traffic floor like the attic.

John (less is more) Leeke
www.HistoricHomeWorks.com

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Keen on October 17, 2009 at 4:35pm

I'm honored to get advice from John Leeke himself! Thanks for taking the time. I assume you saw the pictures. I wanted to sand the floors after I have them repaired in spots. Do you recommend this? Can I apply shellac on the bare wood after sanding? The attic doesn't get much use. I'm setting it up as a grandchildren's playroom.

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Permalink Reply by John Leeke on October 17, 2009 at 7:45pm

Sticking with 'less is more," I would not sand this floor, and I might not apply any finish at all. A simple, thorough and aggressive cleaning might be enough.

- Scrape off the few paint drips spot-by-spot

- Dry abrasive scrub with a 3M DoodleBug and brown abrasive pad, or a power rotary floor scrubber with a round brown abrasive pad. If this does not give an even enough appearance due to stains you can do a wet scrub with water-bleach-detergent, but why bother? This is the attic not the front parlor.

- Vacuum

- tack cloth up remaining dust

- If you decide on oil, I would not use linseed. I would use pure tung oil, not "tung oil finish product" (who knows what's in that stuff if they have to keep it a secret.) Apply the oil, rub it in, let it penetrate, wipe off any extra, let it dry, rub it some more, apply a little more, rub it in, wipe up extra, let dry, rub some more, keep rubbing, rub, rub, rub a dub dub. After a month rub in some more. rub rub rub. With all this attention the floor will look so fabulous you will not want to let anyone walk on it with shoes--that's OK, stocking feet will give it more rubbing and and after a year you can rub in a little more oil, it will look spectacular. (put your oily rags in a metal can of water so you don't burn down the house by spontaneous combustion)

- If you decide on shellac, apply shellac. Using shellac could be an article or whole book, but here are some tips: Buy fresh (6 months) shellac or mix you own from shellac flakes and alcohol. Shellac comes in different colors. One or two coats might be enough. Buff lightly with white abrasive pad after each coat is dry, including the last one. Actually it's pretty slick and quick, looks entirely adequate and fits the character of your house and attic. Very easy to repair and renew.

Always test your methods and materials in a 2'x2' area in a closet or the back room. Do back rooms then front rooms.

I would never use poly-urethane varnish on a nice old floor like this. It will look just like what it is, a petro-chemical plastic coating. For an attic floor you do not need extreme resistance to chemicals or abrasion. It will not be easy to maintain with spot repair and overall renewal.

John
www.HistoricHomeWorks.com

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Permalink Reply by Sean Maher on October 18, 2009 at 7:02pm

Is Formby's one of the "bad tung oil finish products?" What is the difference between the tung oil and the "finish?"

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Permalink Reply by jane on October 17, 2009 at 7:52pm

I agree with John: 1) don't sand and 2) less is more:

I have seen too many floors sanded too often. They can't be sanded again. Don't sand if you don't have to.

You may find that an area rug makes an inviting surface for children who like to spread with their projects out on the floor.
An area rug can be picked up and cleaned easily.
If the space is a little chilly a rug will warm it.
On the other hand, if your grandchildren are in love with trains or have a serious Lego project they may want a wood floor.
And next visit they will be older and crazy about something else

Put the space together. Watch how your grandchildren use it. Then adjust.

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Permalink Reply by ruth miller on October 19, 2009 at 5:12am

I looked at the pics of your attic floor. I had a similar floor in the attic of a 100 yr old house. I cleaned it and layed large rugs down on 3/4 of it. My children and their friends found the attic to be the best playroom in the house !

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Keen on November 30, 2009 at 2:21pm

Thanks for the advice about my attic floor. Here's an update: I followed the "less is more" approach. All I did was spray them with Scott's Liquid Gold (love this stuff!). I think they look pretty good. I put rubs down anyway, so only the edges show. I've attached some pictures of the floors and the attic finished as a grandchildren's play room. I'm ready for my town's Candlelight Tour of Homes, which will be on the 13th. I plan to open the whole house. I hate it when you go on a home tour and you can't even go upstairs, let alone up to the attic! I love attics.

Attachments:

• attic floor after Scott's LG.JPG, 1.5 MB
• entrance to attic.JPG, 644 KB
• attic after redecorating.JPG, 741 KB

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Permalink Reply by jane on November 30, 2009 at 6:18pm

great room - ready for children and projects!
The stair to the attic is beautiful - I love how it makes you really see the shapes of the stairs and the balusters.
I agree about open houses and attics - but I want to see the framing! and that's usually not in anyone's tour.

One year on the Oklahoma City downtown fall tour, they had a mansion open for viewing that was under re-construction. It was fun and amazing! There were places roped off and signs about how they planned to use the rooms eventually, but also notes about things like how, when the house was empty, the roof leaked and the rain came down the elevator shaft into the basement and garage - caused massive damage.
Part of the fun was listening to the other people on the tour either horrified because they had expected to see pretty stuff, or enthralled, as I was, at the chance to see the process.

Enjoy the tour! Be anonymous and listen to comments if you can.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Keen on December 3, 2009 at 3:41pm

Thanks for the compliment...and the advice to try to be anonymous and listen to people's comments.

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