Renovation 2007: Recycled floor


New-Old Floor 3
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

Well this is my new floor. Which actually is my old floor. Just that my old floor was covered with carpet, fake wood tiles, and ick.
If I were to buy a new floor I would have gone with a lighter color. But do like the fact that the floor is one of the several things I kept from the original house (besides the toilets, the sink, & radiators). My contractor tells me that the floor is heart pine and it is very pricey. Um, okay, I’m happy it could be reused. There was some cost savings to keeping the floor, storing the floor, cleaning the floor and having it sanded and finished over going out and buying a new-new floor.
My contractor is also keen on pointing out the ‘character’ of these old floors. Honestly, my feelings towards the varied widths, the knots, nail holes, varied shades and other unique features can be summed up as ‘eh’. They’re nice and they do add to the house’s overall character, which I do care greatly about.

10 thoughts on “Renovation 2007: Recycled floor”

  1. those floors are amazing! i used to own a home in georgetown that had VERY similar floors. i sold it, in part, because of the floors. trust me, soon enough you’ll fall in love with them too.

  2. he’s right about the heart pine..floors look gorgeous! nice wall color too, they play well together.

  3. I understand your feelings as one who once made the same choice. Your floors look sooo much better than mine did though. Congratulations on finishing your project on time and on budget.

  4. Wow I just discovered this Amazing resource of a blog! I am considering buying a fixer upper in SE DC right now, and your posts will be so helpful if it all works out!! I look forward to keeping up with this.

  5. Floors are gorgeous. You will learn to love them. Today I was reprimanded by Gallagher and Hughely for walking into their lumberyard without having spoken first with (and emptied my wallet to) a floor mechanic. Then I went to Exotic Lumber in Gaithersburg and was again reminded by the proprieter that our contemporary woods will never match the “old-growth” woods these early homes were built with. All the rings and whorls are from the old trees. Your reusing the old floors is worlds better than taking them to a salvage shop!

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