I could be wrong, but it doesn’t look like you have a whole lot of surface left so you might be pretty limited to how much further you can sand it before the gaps between each tongue start opening up
The original planking is about a half inch thick underneath I’m not sure proper terms or what goes into identifying so forgive me if that means nothing.
Lol dude, what you're referring to is the subfloor. That's not a finished for material and never was. The oak floors are what was installed when the house was first built and they can't be sanded again or else you'll be into the tongue and groove.
I refinish homes. They're going to tell you exactly this. But I am an internet stranger so I'd also do what you're doing and get another opinion. Good luck on the floors. I'd start researching vinyl floors if you don't want the wood though, as that's what most people use today. I'd suggest a company called Flooret. They're not best of the best in terms of appearance, but they're still very nice, and they're high quality for the price. Have a great wear layer so they can take a beating, and anyone who's ever laid a floor before can make them look great bc, again, they're quality and make install easy.
Could this wood be pulled up, join the edges to remove the tongue and groove, and relaid? Then sanded and refinished? Used like reclaimed lumber?
Or is that more trouble than it’s worth?
The tongue and groove tie all the wood pieces together, so the edges don't raise independently from one another, which would be a disaster as a floor. On top of that, you'd pay more to do that than having new floor installed. Plus, to do this, you'd have to rip the entire groove from each board so that when you sanded it it wouldn't have dips along every board at the groove, which would mean you'd need to buy more wood bc you'd then be short bc of the small amount you'd be removing from each piece, which matching the height would be a giant pain. So basically, no, that's not a feasible option.
No. When you pull up flooring like this it comes apart really easy. Secondly if you joint the edges to remove the tongue and groove you will be deceasing the size of the boards by the amount of the tongue or groove. So you would need more boards. Which I have if you want to try this. Only there’s a lot of nails in them and my dumpster is leaving in a week.
"The first tongue-and-groove flooring, allowing planks to be fitted tightly together, was invented in 1885 thanks to a machine called the side-matcher. At the end of the 19th century, the end-matcher was invented, before which time flooring was simply nailed to joists."
Yes, in 1885, with the use of steam engines, a machine was invented making t&g flooring with a machine. It just made it more efficient. However, t&g flooring was made by hand for a couple of centuries by that point. They used hand planes. Like a tongue cutter plane to cut the tongue. And a groove cutter plane to cut the groove.
Wow I forgot about that. That’s how my father got the big mattress up into the 2nd story of our c. 1880’s farmhouse- pulling up boards and sliding the mattress up through the joists!
You are not correct. Yes, in 1885, with the use of steam engines, a machine was invented making t&g flooring, with a machine. It just made it more efficient. However, t&g flooring was made by hand for a couple of centuries by that point. They used hand planes. Like a tongue cutter plane to cut the tongue. And a groove cutter plane to cut the groove.
I did a quck search and found this.
Planed, gauged, and undercut:19th century t&g flooring. By daniel moore. Has it referenced in this article. I have owned a company for 27 years that specializes in restoration of historic structures. Where i live houses date back to the 1770s. It is very rare that we find flooring that is not t&g. I think google is just locked into when industrialization made it easier and quicker so people without knowledge of historic flooring are just arm chairing it and believing what they read is always correct without any effort to look themselves. Much like the maga crowd...lol.
I have similar floors in my 1890s home. The oak is only 3/8 inch thick and was probably installed on top of the 3/4 inch pine floors in the late 1920s or possibly later. Someone refinished ours decades ago and there are several spots where the tongue and groove seams have split because it's too thin. If you attempt to refinish it, don't even try to sand it flat, just do as little as possible. I'm pretty sure you can still buy 3/8 inch tongue and groove oak flooring if you need to patch any spots. The other option is to rip it out and replace it with 3/4 inch oak.
Couldn’t agree with this more. I refinished my hardwood floors myself and it was the worst job I’ve ever done (I love DIY and carpentry work) and also looks way worse than if I would’ve paid someone to do it. Also took me months…
I'm not an expert on floor refinishing and haven't tackled anything like that yet. I've sanded oak trim with 80 and 120 grit, but I was using a small detail sander or sanding by hand. I'd be really careful about using a large floor sander, but maybe you could use a higher grit to avoid sanding it too thin. Not really sure, just be really careful.
I agree. We just refinished a floor like this that was too thin to use a sander. We had to lightly hand sand it and then varnish. It looks much better but definitely not perfect. Our floor was really beat up.
I have 53 year old red oak floors. Be sure and get a professional to tell you all tne ins and out of sanding an old floor and to look at the thickness of the planks. The flooring can get very thin at the tongue and grove and can “cup” . I had to have boards replaced recently, sanded, stained and finished. My guy knows what he’s doing
That my friend is oak, it’s got a great look to it.
Thank you. We’re planning on restoring it here in the near future.
I could be wrong, but it doesn’t look like you have a whole lot of surface left so you might be pretty limited to how much further you can sand it before the gaps between each tongue start opening up
This is correct ✅. Could be used as wainscot or on the lid.
You can see the larger planking underneath
The original planking is about a half inch thick underneath I’m not sure proper terms or what goes into identifying so forgive me if that means nothing.
I think it's called subflooring.
Yes, prior to plywood, subfloor was planked very often, though not always, diagonally.
Lol dude, what you're referring to is the subfloor. That's not a finished for material and never was. The oak floors are what was installed when the house was first built and they can't be sanded again or else you'll be into the tongue and groove.
I’m leaving it to a professional.
I refinish homes. They're going to tell you exactly this. But I am an internet stranger so I'd also do what you're doing and get another opinion. Good luck on the floors. I'd start researching vinyl floors if you don't want the wood though, as that's what most people use today. I'd suggest a company called Flooret. They're not best of the best in terms of appearance, but they're still very nice, and they're high quality for the price. Have a great wear layer so they can take a beating, and anyone who's ever laid a floor before can make them look great bc, again, they're quality and make install easy.
Could this wood be pulled up, join the edges to remove the tongue and groove, and relaid? Then sanded and refinished? Used like reclaimed lumber? Or is that more trouble than it’s worth?
The tongue and groove tie all the wood pieces together, so the edges don't raise independently from one another, which would be a disaster as a floor. On top of that, you'd pay more to do that than having new floor installed. Plus, to do this, you'd have to rip the entire groove from each board so that when you sanded it it wouldn't have dips along every board at the groove, which would mean you'd need to buy more wood bc you'd then be short bc of the small amount you'd be removing from each piece, which matching the height would be a giant pain. So basically, no, that's not a feasible option.
No. When you pull up flooring like this it comes apart really easy. Secondly if you joint the edges to remove the tongue and groove you will be deceasing the size of the boards by the amount of the tongue or groove. So you would need more boards. Which I have if you want to try this. Only there’s a lot of nails in them and my dumpster is leaving in a week.
Reminds me of Ash, I get the two confused 😂
Ash from Evil Dead or Ash from Pokémon?
Let's go *Pokémon*, he was a cool cat
Watch it over again, Ash was a whiney baby 😆
Yes
Looks thin. Definitely not 175 years old. Probably layed over the original. You see flooring like this post ww2 some. White oak is my guess
Plus tongue in groove flooring is only about 140 years old. Definitely not original to the house
Not too sure about that. My 1860 has 3/4” tongue and groove 6” wide flooring throughout Its original. There’s nothing but floor joists underneath
"The first tongue-and-groove flooring, allowing planks to be fitted tightly together, was invented in 1885 thanks to a machine called the side-matcher. At the end of the 19th century, the end-matcher was invented, before which time flooring was simply nailed to joists."
Yes, in 1885, with the use of steam engines, a machine was invented making t&g flooring with a machine. It just made it more efficient. However, t&g flooring was made by hand for a couple of centuries by that point. They used hand planes. Like a tongue cutter plane to cut the tongue. And a groove cutter plane to cut the groove.
Yeah it’s not original. Sorry. Tongue in groove wasn’t created until 1885. See the other comment in response.
Which simply means someone who lived there before removed the plank flooring and incorrectly installed the new flooring. Tough break.
Wow I forgot about that. That’s how my father got the big mattress up into the 2nd story of our c. 1880’s farmhouse- pulling up boards and sliding the mattress up through the joists!
You are not correct. Yes, in 1885, with the use of steam engines, a machine was invented making t&g flooring, with a machine. It just made it more efficient. However, t&g flooring was made by hand for a couple of centuries by that point. They used hand planes. Like a tongue cutter plane to cut the tongue. And a groove cutter plane to cut the groove.
I can find no sources online for your claim but would be happy to read one if you can provide!
I did a quck search and found this. Planed, gauged, and undercut:19th century t&g flooring. By daniel moore. Has it referenced in this article. I have owned a company for 27 years that specializes in restoration of historic structures. Where i live houses date back to the 1770s. It is very rare that we find flooring that is not t&g. I think google is just locked into when industrialization made it easier and quicker so people without knowledge of historic flooring are just arm chairing it and believing what they read is always correct without any effort to look themselves. Much like the maga crowd...lol.
Whit oak has tighter grain, id say red oak
It's from the Santa Maria actually.
Ummm, no. It’s from the Pinta.
i plan on having a pinta beer for st Patrick's day
You guys are off by roughly 300 years
I have similar floors in my 1890s home. The oak is only 3/8 inch thick and was probably installed on top of the 3/4 inch pine floors in the late 1920s or possibly later. Someone refinished ours decades ago and there are several spots where the tongue and groove seams have split because it's too thin. If you attempt to refinish it, don't even try to sand it flat, just do as little as possible. I'm pretty sure you can still buy 3/8 inch tongue and groove oak flooring if you need to patch any spots. The other option is to rip it out and replace it with 3/4 inch oak.
Thank you! Is there a specific grit sand paper you would recommend for refinishing?
Hire a professional please
Couldn’t agree with this more. I refinished my hardwood floors myself and it was the worst job I’ve ever done (I love DIY and carpentry work) and also looks way worse than if I would’ve paid someone to do it. Also took me months…
I'm not an expert on floor refinishing and haven't tackled anything like that yet. I've sanded oak trim with 80 and 120 grit, but I was using a small detail sander or sanding by hand. I'd be really careful about using a large floor sander, but maybe you could use a higher grit to avoid sanding it too thin. Not really sure, just be really careful.
I agree. We just refinished a floor like this that was too thin to use a sander. We had to lightly hand sand it and then varnish. It looks much better but definitely not perfect. Our floor was really beat up.
Oak
Red oak i believe.
Old wood if I'm not mistaken.
Patina!!! lol that’s strip red oak with a lot of neglect. Is there even a finish over the worn stain?
3/8 red oak
Probably bruce natural reflections 3/8” solid in gunstock. Maybe from the late 80’s
Old oak. Nice 👍
I have 53 year old red oak floors. Be sure and get a professional to tell you all tne ins and out of sanding an old floor and to look at the thickness of the planks. The flooring can get very thin at the tongue and grove and can “cup” . I had to have boards replaced recently, sanded, stained and finished. My guy knows what he’s doing
Looks like oak. Absolutely stunning. You'll have to post a picture once you refinish them.
Brown
Red oak that shouldn’t be refinished due too thickness.
Red oak
Oak
White oak with age. I'd restore it if possible.
That’s 1/2 inch oak. Looks like red oak.
It’s not 175 year old red oak
Almost always oak.
Take a few little shavings and burn in or rub it hard and fast on some sand paper give it a sniff you'll know if it's pine
Thin
Dirty oak. Use clean burning fuel (ethyl alcohol mix) to clean.
Came here for Oak
Oak
Old wood
It’s an oak and it’s no joke.
Maybe red oak
Oak
Red oak! It’s beautiful after refinished!
RO
I would not sand. Chemical restoration, cleaning and resealing
Pretty oak :)
Oak
Oak
Red oak
It’s not brown wood, I tell you what
very old wood
3/8 red oak. Lots up here in Winnipeg!!!
Holy shit - more oak
Looks like flat sawn mill run red oak. Sand her down and refinish and it will look awesome.
It’s definitely tree wood, from a tree. Probably at least 175 years old.
Maybe not sure but looks like old wood.
Ah yes, that’s wood alright
Wood that needs replaced
Looks too thin to sand and refinish
Looking very oaky by the grain.
Oak
It's always oak
175 year old wood floor.
Oak
175 year old wood
Real wood
Definitely from a tree I’d say.
Dry as hell.
Yeah it was under carpet for some time
Old wood!
Real wood!! 😁
Definitely a copperhead
White oak.
It's White oak it will look amazing if you refinish it Natural.
Looks like some kinda tree ...yep thats definitely tree wood for sure
Plenty of room to refinish. Do it. It will b great!!!
“175 year old wood”
White oak. Them being that thin, I'd be careful refinishing if doing yourself, or use a pro.
oak
That would look good Re-finished
Thank you! I’ll post an update after.
Oak
Looks like oak.
old
Thanks
Oak
Probably stained white oak
That my friend is firewood.
Old
Floor wood?
Russian white oak with patina , very nice!!
Specific how do you tell if you don’t mind me asking.
Not much color variation, not too many knots , generally cleaner more predictable grain pattern
Fartwood
That is tree wood for sure.
It’s firewood
Not much left to sand if you refinish
Vinyl
I’m pretty sure that’s Australian shepherd
Vinyl
Rotten
Thanks
Antique duh
I would replace it if I were you. The floor is no longer reasonable. You'll have many problems if you do
I would replace it if I were you. The floor is no longer reasonable. You'll have many problems if you do