Pine flooring isn’t as popular today as it was in past centuries, but it is gaining in popularity quickly due to the gorgeous, shabby-chic, and natural look. If you’ve fallen in love with the look of pine flooring, but are afraid of the care involved, rest assured that pine flooring can be a good option for you. Pine is a softer wood than the popular hardwoods used on most floors today (like oak), meaning it shows wear and tear sooner and more readily than some of the other wood flooring options. But that distressed look is increasingly fashionable and, with the right sealer, you can control the level of distress your floor gets.
Get Lowest Price on Quality Pine Flooring
Buying pine flooring can be difficult especially when you are trying to determine the best price.
However, over the past few years there have been a number of companies that have really disrupted the flooring space and now will ship direct to consumers
If you are looking to get Pine Flooring than I suggest checking out Lumber Liquidators and testing their Unbeatable Price Guarantee!
If you are dreaming of installing wood flooring but are afraid of the price, take heed! There is a wood flooring option for you that is not as expensive as the other hardwood flooring choices but that still looks great. The beauty of pine flooring only increases with the added wear and tear of real life use. Pine flooring is an inexpensive softwood that has a classic beauty and appeal. It is not as often the first choice that people consider when choosing wood flooring for their homes, but the rapid increase in popularity recently is due in large part to advancements made in sealant and protection options for this gorgeous flooring. If you’re still in love with the look of pine flooring, but afraid that your lifestyle could cause too much damage to this soft wood, you can investigate laminate options like these at Lumber Liquidators that can have the look of more exotic wood floors with a higher level of scratch and wear resistance.
Comparing Hardwood and Softwood Flooring
Most people only consider hardwood flooring like oak for their home, rather than the softwoods, because of the hardness factor. Softwoods are not generally as well thought of for flooring, even though they are less expensive, because people assume that they are not as sturdy and durable. The usability of pine flooring may surprise you, however.
Hardwood Flooring:
- The most popular hardwood species used for flooring include oak, maple and hickory.
- These hardwoods tend to be on the more expensive end (averages $8-$12 per square foot).
- Holds up over time and can be refinished easily.
- While harvesting hardwoods is not an especially sustainable practice since it takes a long time for the wood to grow to the point of being ready for harvesting, since the hardwoods are built to last, they will not need to be replaced, discarded or even recycled.
- Radiates warmth and comfort in comparison to other flooring options.
- Beautiful and classic choice.
Softwood Flooring:
- Softwood flooring choices include spruce, fir, and pine flooring.
- Softwoods are just as beautiful as the hardwoods for flooring and, in most cases, costs much less (pine flooring averages $5 per square foot.)
- Pine flooring will continue to harden over the years with additional use and the refinishing process is as easy as refining hardwoods floors.
- An ecological choice! Pine grows much faster and takes less space to grow, though with proper maintenance it will last long as the hardwood options.
- Also holds onto warmth and is at least as comfortable as the other wood flooring options.
- On trend but yet still a classic choice-some may even argue it is more of a vintage option.
Living With Pine Flooring
Pine flooring is a great choice for almost any home. Saving money on your wood floors can help you to save money to be spent more important things. These wide pine wood floor planks, like those shown in the video below, have a unique and homey look characteristic of the southeastern United States at a significantly lower budget than other wood flooring options. As they age, they take on additional character, and from the start have more knots and natural blemishes than many hardwoods. If you are looking for fewer knots, a higher grade pine flooring will be less gnarly, though because of the nature of the wood it will always have these beauty marks. If you love the look of wood flooring, but not the price of hardwoods, then this may be just the flooring choice for you.
Selecting Pine Flooring
There are some things that you need to keep in mind before purchasing these softwoods, however.
- When looking for softwood flooring, you will need to learn the names of the wood varieties that you are interested in. The reason is that softwoods are not normally marketed for flooring use and most stores will not offer them as a choice unless you specifically request them. By doing your research beforehand, you will be able to walk into the store with the knowledge that you need to get what you want and desire for your home.
- You need to keep in mind that softwoods are categorized as “soft” for a reason. They are softer than the hardwoods, which means that they are more easily dented and pitted. If pine is the look you are going for, you typically realize that this only helps to make the floors more beautiful and enhances the character of the flooring. But, if you do not think that the look of worn floors is what you are going for, you will probably not want to choose pine flooring.
- To minimize the appearance of dents, you will want to refrain from using a dark stain, because this stain makes them more noticeable. You may enjoy the beauty of the wood so much that you just want to leave it basically the natural color by applying polyurethane to it. It will look beautiful no matter which stain you choose.
- Pine flooring can be found in most stores, but it is usually found unfinished. You can find tongue and groove varieties, which it great for the do-it-yourselfer. By being able to finish it yourself, you are in control of how light or dark you stain it. Sawmills are your best source for the least expensive price, but lumberyards may be another source as well.
Installing Pine Flooring
Installing and finishing unfinished wood flooring takes longer, but the added beauty and value is well worth the additional time and effort. If you choose unfinished pine for your flooring, after installing the unfinished pine flooring, you need to sand the boards to ensure they level and mars are removed. After sanding, vacuum the dust from the floors using a shop-vac, getting them ready for finish. Your finish options are the same as with other hardwood floors, include polyurethane, stain, tung oil, or varnish, to name a few. You may want to really consider staining and sealing the wood yourself in order to get the look you seek.
A good DIY tip if you choose to finish pine flooring yourself, consider using a floodlight to make sure that you get the finish evenly on the floors. It’s also important that you lightly sand the floors between each layer of finish. The last layer of finish does not need to be sanded, but it must be completely dry before allowing people to walk on it. Then all you need to do is enjoy your floors.
Maintaining Pine Flooring
Like with the other hardwood floors, pine flooring is very easy to maintain. Keep the floors free of dust and debris to minimize scratches, use products that are compatible with the wood and are non-abrasive, and do not let spills or liquid of any kind sit on the floors, as water can cause staining. You should consider using rugs at entrance ways or in any especially busy areas of the home since the softer wood is more prone to damage. Every five years or so, you will want to apply another layer of finish to maintain the layer of protection between the floors and all the things that come across them, though five years may even be too frequent if the floors are not in a highly trafficked area of the home. Of course, if damage does occur the floors can be refinished, but you should not need to refinish the floors as any kind of regular maintenance.
Pine flooring is a gorgeous option that you should seriously consider. In comparison to other woods, pine trees are much more plentiful and sustainable than others and if ecological sustainability is an important factor in your flooring consideration, pine can check this off the list for you. Don’t let naysayers discourage you or scare you away from this flooring choice only because pine is on the softer end of hardwoods or may have a MOH that is on the low end. Other floors with a higher MOH, such as bamboo, may actually scratch just as easily as pine. Do your research before committing to any retailer for wood floors, as finding a reputable supplier and installer can make all the difference in your overall happiness with your floors in the long run. Consider reaching out for quotes from multiple agencies and get some professional opinions. Most, like Lumber Liquidators, will provide quotes and in home consultations with no up-front commitments required.
Get Lowest Price on Quality Pine Flooring
Buying pine flooring can be difficult especially when you are trying to determine the best price.
However, over the past few years there have been a number of companies that have really disrupted the flooring space and now will ship direct to consumers
If you are looking to get Pine Flooring than I suggest checking out Lumber Liquidators and testing their Unbeatable Price Guarantee!
Thanks for your input Annie, it’s very much appreciated. I think that Carlyn was trying to imply that the base of the floor now is pressboard (or some sort of plywood at any rate) and that she only has an idea of what she wants to do, nothing’s done and her ideas aren’t finalized as of yet. Hopefully, Carlyn will be back to clarify a little for us.
Hi ladies,
Thank You Very Much for your suggestions and comments!!! It’s wonderful to bounce these ideas off~*
I’m actually talking about a trailer.
It’s all we could afford and have done a lot of transformation work to improve it so it’s more like a cabin: rough cut hemlock siding (cashed in most of the aluminium), closed in porches to make mud room and sunny sewing room on the back porch, all new appliances and fixtures: jacuzzi tub, bowl sink, new toilet, etc. and one big living room and one kitchen/dining/lounge/library/office (melts together in that order) so it feels more like a long house rather than a crappy paneled quick fix. we’ve taken so many trips to the transfer station with old insulation, panelling, carpet, etc!
So, above the axles ;0) the floor is steel beams with 2X6 joists (insulated between with only tar paper stapling them up) with this press board layer and simple linoleum tiles on top, or plywood wherever we replaced water-damaged spots.
we are planning to put 2x3s, 16″ on center, right on top of the pressboard and use 4″ screws to place them. then, between the 2x3s, cut reflective foam to fit snug, notch out grooves for the PEX pipe, and fill with sand. then, nail or staple the pine flooring onto that.
what is engineered pine flooring?
we are planning to buy tounge and groove or some kind of panelling from a local reputable sawmill that they would recommend for a floor. they have a kiln, so we thought that would help with the expansion for radiant heat.
Thanks for the brain teaser, you wonderfull women!!!!
: )
have a fabulous day!!
Carlyn~*
Thanks Carlyn,
Use the search box in the upper right-hand corner and type in engineered pine flooring or engineered hardwood flooring — I think you’ll like the possibilities here! Oooh boy, and just when you think you had it all figured out! The choice is yours of course and getting it at the local lumber mill means that you could finish it how you want. There is unfinished engineered wood flooring too. Both are very good options.
Sounds like you’ve done a really neat renovation – very creative! My husband & I started out in a trailer – basically gutted before we moved in – didn’t do like you did though. Heh. Which is why I wrote that it sounds wonderful – ours certainly wasn’t! I hated our trailer…………. but it was someplace to start out, live cheap & save for a house.
Ooh yeah – smart move on your part, as high as scrap has been.
We have discovered we have unfinished heart pine flooring in our living room and dining room that was installed back in the 1950’s when the house was built. It has been covered with carpet all these years. we want to refinish it but all the stain colors are coming up red. I was hoping to find a stain that would make it look more on the warm browns. Any suggestions?
Hi Kathy,
I don’t understand your comment about “all the stain colors are coming up red”. Could you clarify please?
As a side note, heart pine naturally has reddish or golden tones, unlike sapwood. I’ve read that you can keep heart pine from turning red with an ultra violet inhibitor in the finish, but I don’t know how well this actually works, especially in old wood that has already been exposed to UV so long.
My suggestion? Since these colors are inherent traits in heart pine, I wouldn’t try fighting it and enjoy the beautiful natural warm tones.
Yes, we also have oak in the bedrooms and we tried to match or blend the two floors together. We tried Golden oak, Puritan Pine, Ipswich pine, and gunstock Minwax stains on a sample of the flooring. The golden oak looks real good on the oak (of course) but the heart pine just seems to look red and so did the other colors we have tried. I was hoping to find a stain that would make it look more warm brown (taupe) than red. We also tried Special Walnut but that makes it looks dirty. Now there has been no UV rays on the flooring because it has been covered with carpet for over 40 years. Thanks you for your response.
Hi Kathy,
Looking at the sample photos at MinWax, it looks like the gunstock stain is reddish to start with, the Ipswich pine and Puritan pine are both warm toned as well. Looks like “Driftwood” might be worth a shot. You know, you can always try to dilute the stain too, so it’s not so dark, maybe a color like the special walnut would work better that way. Sometimes combining colors will work too. I think it’s going to be difficult to come up with a color you’ll like because no matter what color stain you use, the base color of the heart pine is still going to be a factor in the final color.
Minwax has a Hickory Gel Stain that looks like it might work too.
Just found a page at MinWax’s site about stain matching – very resourceful and more in depth than what I’ve touched base on.
Even though the floor has had carpet on it for 40 years, it’s still a floor that is at least 50 years old, maybe even closer to 60 — depending on what year it was built and was most likely exposed to sunlight as hardwood floors were very popular then. Now the trend seems to have moved away from carpeting mainly because of the materials they’re made from and how they trap allergens (mold, mildew, dust, etc.).
I have just put in a wide plank pine tongue and groove floor (750+sq ft)…I sanded it 3 times and was told the best finish would be a diamond varathane water-based semi-gloss…well, after I had sanded and cleaned the wood…it was so soft on my bar feet. Now after the first coat of the varathane, it is so rough…I am going to hand sand the entire floor again, but I am hesitant to put the same stuff on. We have a pine armrail going down our stairs which is glossy by soft to the touch. I am sure my feet would like it…should I maybe have used a glossy varathane? And if so, can I put this over the semi-gloss…I am so disappointed right now…anyone have any ideas???
Hi Kay,
Yes, you can use the glossy over over the semi so long as it’s also water-based. Usually you do have to sand between coats to get achieve a nice smoothness no matter what you use.
Hello Flooring Lady.
At this time, subject to change in near future, I’m thrilled about unloading 1300 square feet of pine T&G 4″ flooring into our empty new great room. We picked it up at the sawmill earlier today and have it stacked & spread so it can feel at home in it’s new climate. I’ve never been afraid of hard work and didn’t want to go into debt for oak pre finished floors. So the fun starts in a week or so. Anywho, both sides of the flooring are semi-smooth. However, the side which has the groove between boards is smoother. I assumed I should install the flooring with the ungrooved side which would result in even more sanding. Can I use the grooved side? Do you see any pros or cons to either? Thanks for any input. The sawmill commented that customers have gone either way, but she prefers the flat (ungrooved) side for easier cleaning. Thanks again.
Hi Mary,
I wold think the sawmill knows what it’s talking about. If she prefers the ungrooved side for easier cleaning then I’d go with it.
hi flooring lady,
I have installed prefinished siberian pine in my dining room and am now refinishing my kitchen floor which is southern yellow pine installed in the 50’s. My question is that the siberian pine floors are very light and bright and almost blonde and when the kitchen southern yellow is sanded it looks like the sibirian, now ive done a couple test spots with poly and its turning the floors an amber color (which is the same color it was before i sanded) and i am really trying to get it to match the siberian. HELP!!!
Ryan Wells
[email protected]
Hi Ryan,
It sounds like you’ll need to try staining one to match the other. There may not be a stain that will work perfectly, but you can always mix stains of the same type. Keep in mind too, that there’s really no reason that the two floors ‘have’ to match if you can live with that. Close is good! It’s going to be next to impossible to get them to match exactly. You won’t be able to get the golden color out of the Southern yellow pine.
Hi – we are going to purchase pine flooring for our livingroom and bedrooms. I am still undecided as to what kind of pine – do I stain it – do I use tung oil or wax to finish it???
I really want more of a golden/brown finish instead of a redish finish. So it looks antique like it has been in the house forever.
Any help, insight, suggestions would be much appreciated
Thanks
Mary
Hi Mary,
A lot of pine has reddish tones to it. There are several varieties that have more of a yellowish tone. You just need to explore on the internet a bit to figure out which have the lighter tones that you desire.
You should finish it with a good sealer to protect both the wood and the stain. You should follow up with something along the lines of Diamond Coat Varathane Polyurethane to protect the floor itself. Products like this are available in different sheens, so you can get your new floor as glossy (or not!) as you like.
Hello
I have purchased a reclaimed victorian pine floor and would like it to be a dark finish such as a black-brown or deep brown (with the grain showing) for the Lounge and dining room. The house currently has an original victorian oak floor in the upstairs bedrooms that I would like to match as close as possible to the lounge and dining room (after sanding a oiling the bedroom floors in the same colour). Can you advise of an oil that I will be able to use on both different woods so the floors look as similar as possible?
Thanks in advance
Lee Dobbyn
Hi Lee,
No, I can’t recommend anything. This is one of those situations where you’re going to have to do some experimenting with different products/stains, etc. I hope you have some extra pieces of that reclaimed wood. Hopefully you’ll hit upon a good match. BTW – kudos for using reclaimed wood as it is the “green” thing to do! :~)
Good Evening,
My old house has 12″ wide pine flooring in much of the house. It’s not toungue and groove so in some places there is nearly a 1/4″ between planks,
and its nailed down. Most of the house still has a rather dark stain and maybe varnish, but in the kitchen 95% of the stain and sealer is worn off.
What should I do to the kitchen floor? Now it soaks up every spill or dog pee like a sponge.
It’s so uneven it would have to be removed completely before I could put something else down, and I really would like to save it , cracks full of crumbs and all.
Thanks,
Jean Norton
Hi Jean,
I would rent a sander to remove everything and then stain and seal the floor. I like Diamond Coat Varathane Polyurethane for a finish, it’s very durable. The cracks can actually be filled in with wood putty, sanded, and then stained and finished with the rest of the floor. You might also want to stain the floor and then use a clear epoxy coat coating instead. If you’re interested in going this route, please read up more on it. ;o)
Hi there,
I ran across your pages today. I like what I see, thanks in advance!!
I just took delivery on a thousand feet of 5″ wide white pine. I want it to have a durable finish with a light color, similar to Cabot Limed Oak stain. What is your recomendation for the project? Sealing? Stain? Final finish? Once again, THANKS. Ryan E