Of all the types of flooring available, wood with the perfect finish is still the most popular. And oak floorboards are gorgeous as well as fashionable. But pine wood flooring is another strong contender in the beauty stakes, a softwood that’s been used to make floorboards for centuries and a feature of many old homes across Britain.
Pine Log Rounds – from antiquewoodnews.com
Vintage Pine Floorboards
We’ve taken several long, detailed looks at oak flooring, furniture and doors. Now it’s time to explore the wonderful world of pine. If you have a pine floor that needs attention, or you’ve been tasked with getting one in apple-pie order for someone else, here’s everything you need to know.
Types of pine
Pine, also sometimes called redwood, is cheaper and more common than traditional hardwoods, ranging from almost white through various yellow shades to a deep, rich red. For a softwood, it’s often remarkably resilient and long-lasting, especially in the context of well-looked-after pine floors.
Pinus is the species we see most in UK and EU plantations. It’s useful for all sorts of utility work, a common wood for beams, flooring and structural purposes. But that’s just the start of it. There are a whole load of different types of pine trees found in the wild, so many in fact that the Wood Database website’s impressively long list is far too detailed to repeat here.
If you’re interested in the similarities and differences between soft pines and hard pines, and those within each group, you can’t beat the Wood Database pine page, an excellent resource.
Horses for courses – The pine flooring aesthetic
There’s a variety of flooring ideas and opinions concerning keeping wooden floors looking good. Some concerns involve floor maintenance, as some floors require little in the way of maintenance, while others require plenty of elbow grease and attention. And the choice is often a matter of aesthetics.
One of the best things about wood flooring is that it changes, going through all sorts of fascinating stages over time, depending on its type and location, with an equally wide range of end results. And every stage of the ageing process has its own beauty.
You might love the hundred-year-old (or much older) patina your old pine boards have acquired through generations of wear. It might be stained and dirty, uneven and bent, sometimes more or less black. But to you it’s perfect – a living piece of history marking decades or even centuries of human use. And that’s fine. If it has lasted this long in one piece, it might well last a great deal longer without falling apart on you.
Eastern White Pine Cabin Interior
Your floor might be reasonably worn, partway between new and aged. You might adore the effect – the real shabby chic ideal – or you may prefer to get rid of the muck and repair any damage, giving it a whole new lease of life as well as a smooth, contemporary look.
A brand-new pine floor, on the other hand, can look pretty raw. The paler it is, the newer and less settled-in it looks. You might want to use a wood dye to create a subtler, less in-your-face effect, calming the brightness down a bit, and if it hasn’t already been protected, you’ll want to add a finishing oil or good-quality varnish.
How pine changes over time
The colour is one thing. The condition of old pine floors is another. Old boards can cup or arch over time, each board curling up at the edges, which means when you try to sand them you tend to get a thin sanded strip down the middle of each board at the high point, which widens on each pass of the sander as the boards are slowly levelled by the sanding process.
When you sand old pine boards back to the wood, they can look very pale, even colourless. But don’t worry. The minute you apply a clear wood finishing product like an oil or varnish, that warm, attractive natural golden colour will come flooding through.
Testing the colour of your floorboards before finishing them
This change in colour is so dramatic that it’s usually best to test how it’ll look finished before choosing an oil or varnish. Luckily it’s easy. All you do is rub the surface with a damp – not wet – cloth and you get the exact same effect as oiling or varnishing – the colour suddenly shines through. Once you know what’s what, you can choose your finish: either something to enhance the natural colour or a colourless product.
What if you want to get rid of that bright orange/gold colour?
Orange or golden pine isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. And that’s the effect you can get from a standard clear oil or varnish – as time passes it can turn a deeper orange/gold, even a nasty brown. If your pine floor has gone a funny colour, you can always sand the old finish off and replace it with a product that won’t change colour as it ages.
If you’re looking to retain the natural appearance of freshly sanded boards, pine or oak, Osmo Polyx Oil Raw and Fiddes Hard Wax Oil Natural are both great products for defusing and countering the gold/orange colour you sometimes get.
- Osmo Polyx Oil Raw (3044) is made with natural oils and waxes, gives excellent protection and durability and is specifically formulated to retain the ‘natural’ look of wood. It counteracts the damp-looking darkening effect and grain enhancement you typically get with standard clear oils or varnishes.
- Fiddes Hard Wax Oil Natural also keeps wood looking as natural and unaltered in colour as possible and dries to a clear, satin-matt finish. It’s perfect for light-coloured woods like pine, spruce and oak.
Osmo Polyx Oil
Pine wood floor refinishing – Varnish or oil?
What’s best, an oil or a varnish? The protective qualities are much the same. But oil and varnish come with different types of maintenance, and to a great extent your choice depends on the amount of wear and tear the floor receives.
- Using a wooden floor varnish tends to provide better durability and less maintenance, but you’ll need to re-sand the entire floor back to bare wood when the varnish eventually gets damaged and worn. How long this takes depends on the type and quality of the varnish and how much wear your floor is subjected to. It could be every year if you have pets, visitors and kids running in and out all the time. It could be five years or more if your home life is a lot quieter or you’ve covered the floor with rugs.
- Using a wooden floor oil, on the other hand, requires maintenance, usually every couple of years, but it won’t flake, crack or peel off. It looks better than varnish as it begins to wear and is very easy to patch repair if it becomes worn in specific areas, unlike varnish. When an oiled floor starts to look like it’s past its best, simply clean with a suitable floor cleaner to remove any marks, scuffs or stains, then reapply a thin coat of oil, and “Voilà!” it’s just like new again. Even bad scuffs, stains, marks and light scratches can be fixed by lightly sanding the area and reapplying a fresh coat of oil.
A tough varnish, by the way, won’t make the flooring itself hard. If you drop something heavy on the floor, the wood will still dent even though the varnish stays intact.
We have put together this handy video helping you to understand the key difference between a varnish and oil, as well as application techniques.
Need help with your pine floorboards?
For more information about interior floor finishes and treatments, contact our team of resident experts who are always on hand to help with project advice and product recommendations.
We love to see before, during and after photos of any wood finishing project. If you would like to share your project pictures with us, you can either send us some photos or share on our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram pages.
217 comments
Hi there,
I wonder if you could help – I chose too dark a stain, it was a very bright day when I chose the colour but now so wish I’d have chosen a lighter colour! It was done nearly a year ago. Original victorian pine floorboards.
Thank you! :-)
Reply to Caz:
Good Morning Caz,
Lightening once a dark colour has been applied will be difficult, and really the best way to achieve this will be to sand back to bare wood and start again. You will find that aged wood will be more likely to absorb more of the product you apply and so in turn more pigment, giving a stronger or darker tone. If you would like to get in touch with our friendly team of advisers via our contact us (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/pages/contact) page, and they will be able to guide you in the right direction.
Kind regards Samantha.
Hi there, we had our pine floors sanded and re-stained two years ago. We are just coming out of winter and have large cracks down the middle of the pine floor boards. Is this normal? What should be done?
Reply to Liz:
Hi Liz,
Can you tell me if the boards were covered previously and you have exposed and treat them? Or any structural changes have occurred with in the property. Temperature and humidity changes over time can cause wood to swell, shrink or crack although if the wood is well established this should not occur generally, unless something has changed to cause it.
Feel free to email me directly at wfd.advice@wood-finishes-direct.com with further details and some photos and I will be happy to take a look, although my knowledge is limited, in structure I may be able to guide you in the right direction.
Kind regards Samantha.
Hi,
We’ve recently moved into a converted Victorian school house which has red pine floorboards. They have been covered by a carpet for years and look to have a few layers of varnish or oil on them but otherwise in a good condition. We’ve sanded back a little section to check what they’re like underneath and they are still a little dark with a red hint.
I’m not after a whitewashed look but wondered what would be the best product to just knock the colour back a little bit to make them a little lighter and less red?
I forgot to say the whole room is red brick so with the red wood floor it’s a bit of a red overload. We’re planning on moving the kitchen into it to do a kitchen/dinning room.
Thank you.
Reply to Jo Murphy:
Good Afternoon Jo,
Its a common request with Pine, to reduce the red or orange that is naturally coming through and I won’t lie this can be difficult, particularly with aged Pine. We have a great range of white products and in another blog “Beautiful White Wood Finishes for Dreamy Interiors” which has some really useful tips for achieving various different levels of white, and there is a list of options for products to consider using.
You can start with oils from the Osmo range including Osmo Polyx Oil Tints (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/osmo-colour-foundation) 3040 that will penetrate the surface of the wood to give a well protected, very subtle white hue to the wood. With all Osmo product only two very thin coats are required and should you require a slightly more intense white, then one coat of the Osmo Wood Wax Finish Transparent (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/osmo-wood-wax-finish-transparent) followed by one coat of the Osmo Tints Oil 3040 for adequate protection. And both of these are available in sample sizes as test areas are very important.
If the wood is well sanded then you may get a good result, however the fact that the wood has been covered for a period of time and if they are original to the age of the property, you may find that the oil enhances those natural tones, even with the white pigment. The best thing to do is try your test area and if they are not what you are looking for feel free to come back to me via our website >>> contact us (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/pages/contact) page for some further advice.
Kind regards Samantha.
Hi
we are just having our pine floors sanded and varnished. although we like a darker oil finish the guy has advised us against this and said to us a natural finish. he said it will scratch too easily and we will quickly end up with lota of marks. is this correct. i am not a great fan of the light pine finish.
thanks
miranda
Reply to Miranda:
Good Afternoon Miranda,
Thank you for getting in touch with your enquiry. It is fair to say that an oiled finish is not as long lasting or perhaps as durable as a varnished finish. That said it is a suitable floor finish and will stand up to everyday use. The benefits of having an oiled floor, apart from the more natural look and feel, is that is it easier to maintain and repair should the need arise.
So as the oil wears over time you are able to apply a refresher coat of oil, with out the need to sand back and start again. If damage is caused to an area this can be lightly sanded and re oiled with out the need to sand the whole floor back, this is far harder with varnish which although more durable can still be marked if for example furniture is scrapped across it.
So there are pros and cons to both finishes and it really depend on what better suits your needs. The finish will vary slightly also, so an oil that penetrates the wood, will darken the wood more than a water based varnish, it will highlight the natural tones of the wood, so can make Pine look orange if you use a clear oil.
To avoid this and still use and oil you are able to consider the Fiddes Hard Wax Oil Natural (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/fiddes-hard-wax-oil-oak-lightening) which has a small amount of white pigment in it to counteract the darkening or consider using a Fiddes Hard Wax Oil Tints which will add colour to the wood.
Two thin coats are all that is required on an oiled finish and test areas are strongly recommended as the wood you are applying to will impact on the finish that will be achieved. And if you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to get in touch via our contact us (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/fiddes-hard-wax-oil-tints) page.
Kind Regards Samantha.
Hello, I have just had my Victorian pine floorboards sanded back and they now look far too pale. I applied two coats of the Osmo Polyx Oil – Raw, however they still look too pale. How do I get them looking more antique pine? Thanks
Reply to Alex:
Good Afternoon Alex,
Thank you for getting in touch with your enquiry. The Osmo Polyx Oil Raw (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/osmo-polyx-oil-raw-3044) is designed to leave the wood as unchanged as possible, if you use a standard clear Osmo Polyx Oil (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/osmo-polyx-oil) this will darken the wood slightly to give what we call the ‘wet look’ and then to add colour there is the Osmo Polyx Oil Tints (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/products/osmo-colour-foundation)
All the above are available in sample sachets or tins and it is always worth carrying out a test area first as the wood that you are applying to will impact on the finish that will be achieved.
As you have now applied two coats of of the Raw the wood may not accept more oil,bu tit is worth trying a test area to see, as the wood is pine and slightly aged it may take a thin third coat of either the clear or tinted oils to achieve the desired finish.
For more advice please feel free to get in touch with one of our friendly advisers via our contact us (https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/pages/contact) page.
Kind regards Samantha.