Installing antique wood flooring is a great way to go green with recycled wood. Old growth timber offers character that is unmatched by anything that you can purchase newly milled.
Reclaimed planks are often as wide as 6 inches and as thick as 5/8 of an inch. This wood can be pre-finished with power tools like a belt sander and some different grit paper belts. Leave some of the scratch marks, nail holes and gouges, as these add the character that really dress up your room.
Most antique wood floor planks will have to be nailed down, so they are really only good for use over a solid plywood subfloor. Once they are installed, they can be sanded down to level and given a nice smooth finish. You can't use most of the newer waterborne finishes on old floors because their original oil finish will 'wick' up and may glaze the surface. Apply a good urethane floor finish with a squeegee and polish it to the desired gloss.
When you use antique lumber, some boards will splinter or not fit together well. To make up for this, buy at least 15 percent more square feet than you are planning to put down. While you may spend more at first, your overall cost savings can be fantastic, and you are re-using a very vital resource!
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