Pine Wood Flooring – The Best in Business – TheFlooringlady

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 high quality products at unbeatable prices (guaranteed). 

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 high quality products at unbeatable prices (guaranteed). 

If you are looking to get Pine Flooring than I suggest checking out Lumber Liquidators and testing their Unbeatable Price Guarantee!

79 thoughts on “Pine Wood Flooring – The Best in Business – TheFlooringlady”

  1. Thanks for your reply on 3-31, now for the next question.
    The way the floor is nailed down with big old nails with 1/4″ heads at the surface seems like a problem. Since the wood is soft should I try to sink them before sanding – or what? I thought about pulling them out and putting in screws.
    Thanks again
    Jean Norton

    Reply
  2. Hi Jean,
    You can use screws if you like, obviously being careful not to do any damage, though you may not be happy with how the screws look unless you putty over them. Most people do usually nail the flooring as screws can hold “too well” – is less forgiving when you think about expansion/contraction and even house settling. You can sink them if you like and even use wood putty if you want to – it’s all up to you. Different people prefer different approaches and looks for the finished product. If you like the old “feel” that the nails give, sink them just below the surface.

    Reply
  3. I am restoring a 1916 Florida home. I have been told the floor is yellow pine. It has many colors or shades running through it. Is this still available today. I have run across pine but not yellow pine. Also is this suitable for a kitchen and bathroom?

    Reply
  4. Hi John,
    Yes, there is such a thing as yellow pine. ;~) As far as whether or not it’s suitable for a kitchen and bathroom, most people will tell you that it isn’t. I would disagree though, as I believe it depends upon what the homeowner wants and whether or not the flooring will be maintained properly. I’m not a big fan of wooden bathroom flooring myself, but my reasons are more of a personal nature. :~)

    Reply
  5. My home was built in 1906 and I recently discovered that under lot of old linoleum, there is a wooden floor in the kitchen made of Hemlock. I beleive Hemlock is a softwood but is stronger than pine and most other softwoods. This area takes a lot of traffic. Once I clear the old linoleum and get the Hemlock sanded smooth, what would you recommend for the stain and/or finish that will help this softwood stand up to kitchen traffic?

    Reply
  6. Hi Mike, Hemlock is one of the least hard and durable woods. It does sand pretty well but does marr rather easily in high traffic areas. It does not have much resistance to decay. It’s my understanding that Hemlock takes stain very well and I would recommend as a sealant.

    Reply
  7. Just moved into a 1910 home with pine flooring under layers of linoleum et al. The floors are a bit ‘greyish’ in areas from dirt and perhaps just age, but when sanded in a few test areas where cabinets are going over top, nice blond wood shows up with lots of character – some knots, lots of nailholes from excessive floor nailing, and a few areas with minor damage (wood is flaking up but nothing so bad that we cant sand it down without going to deep).
    I sanded the small 2sq ft test area til the wood’s beautiful colour shows through, cleared out the grooves with a screwdriver (1/8″ or smaller througout) and shopvac’d it all, then wiped it with a damp cloth to pick up dust, let it dry, and put on one coat of oil based poly (minwax).
    Ive read through many sites and all the comments here and have a few questions:
    – water based poly over oil based? why?
    – wood conditioner before the poly?
    – tack cloth, or cloth soaked in ‘mineral spirits’ to clean after initial sanding?
    – fill the gaps then sand? they’re not too wide, and give character (and room to ‘breathe’ – it’s summer here but hasn’t been too much warm/humid weather yet really) – or will the gaps get much wider in winter thus should be filled? (We can vacuum them to keep them clean if they’re not too large so they bother bare feet ;) We’ve been walking on the unsanded floor for a week in bare feet actually, only the slivers from the small area where some wood is coming up bother us :)
    Ive heard of people filling the gaps with twine of a colour that matches the floor..?
    – if we leave the gaps, how much poly should we get into them?
    – sanding – guy at the hardware store who works on wood insisted we should be sanding WITH the grain or we’ll lose it entirely with the clear poly seal – but in applying the poly the wood DOES drink it up really fast, but I can clearly see the grain far more than before the poly – Im wondering if we’ll get TOO much grain – my test area was orbital hand sanded 90% (then the old sander broke), went to the store, got confused by the clerk re orbital vs belt, so came back to test by sanding the last 10% of the test section by hand WITH the grain (all of this with 80 grit), cleaned and poly’d – if we belt sand only with the grain, will the contrast of the grain be even more?
    – hand sanding with a small sander you say can make for uneven sanding (I guess cuz you’re working too close and cant see large areas to compare?) – we only have a 12×10′ room here with kitchen cabinets, so not much space – is a larger standup sander really needed? Obviously a hand sander around the cabinets/edges is required.
    – how many coats of poly? and sand with 200 or 320 between? What are people talking about ‘sealant’ then ‘poly’ on the wood?
    Sorry, lots of questions, thanks for the advice!

    Reply
  8. Ken,
    What a glorious find! I am going to recommend you consult a professional on your questions as they can vary. I would also inquire of a professional in your area that specializes in refinishing vintage flooring. Good Luck Ken!

    Reply
  9. I’m in the final stages of renovating and putting an addition on an 1880 house. The original has pine floors and the subcontractor used new pine in the addition, which I had expected would be stained to be close in color to the original floor. Instead, the sub sanded and coated the old pine and only put poly on the new, with the result that there’s a sharp difference in color between the two. Not at all what I wanted, since otherwise we replicated the details, moldings, fixtures and so on throughout. The flooring sub says the new pine will darken with age, but I worry that could be years and meanwhile I have a two-toned floor. He’s now suggested adding another layer of poly with a tint, but I’m not sure that makes sense. I’d really appreciate any advice.
    Many thanks.
    Marc

    Reply
  10. Marc,
    If you are concerned having your sub contractor use the poly-stain on your floors ask for another opinion!
    As an afterthought here is another issue some face when mixing vintage wood with new wood.
    Is there also a noticeable difference in the wood’s character? Most original old surfaces were hand hewn, hand sawn, hand planed or machine finished. Most wood on the market today has been milled and doesn’t have the hand hewn look. Mixing those 2 types of wood would produce a noticeable difference as the vintage wood would have more character and deeper tones.

    Reply
  11. Hi,
    I have recently refinished my pine floors in the living room and dining room. They look great. Im thinking about doing it in the kitchen too. What is your opinion on pine floors in the kitchen

    Reply
  12. Geoff,
    This would be a choice only you can make! I mention in the article
    “You need to keep in mind that softwoods are categorized that way for a reason. They are softer than the hardwoods, which means that they are more easily dented and pitted. For most people, they think that this only helps to make the floors more beautiful, but if you do not think that worn floors are beautiful, then 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”
    Pine has been used in kitchens and with the proper sealing and installation it can be a great addition to your home.

    Reply
  13. I’m renovating an 1850’s stone barn and have installed some beautiful wide plank (12″-18″) pine from another old barn that we dismantled. We planed everything to a consistent thickness, “ship-lapped” the edges and sanded the exposed side to keep some of the original saw/kerf marks for that rustic, old world character.
    The resulting floors are absolutely beautiful with a perfect natural light to medium brown patina. I’d really like to keep the color just as it is but I need to put a protective finish on them since there will be a fair amount of traffic and wear in certain areas (and I’d like to make everything easy to clean).
    I’ve read great reviews and recommendations about the Zinsser Bulls Eye products, especially their Universal Sanding Sealer (to be used before any actual polyurethane). I tested this on some scrap pieces and the wood darkens dramatically when it’s applied. I really would like to keep the finish as close as possible to the original/current patina. Are there any protective products available that will do that?
    By the way, for grins we applied a small amount of tile grout sealer on another scrap piece(since it repels water and stains well), and the wood did not darken nearly as much.
    Any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations would be very helpful.
    Thanks,
    Steve

    Reply
  14. Hi, it’s been a while since I posted here with my myriad of questions which I’ve reduced here :)
    After a lot of reading on the internet, talking to flooring guys at Home Depot and other Do It Yourself stores, and some experimenting, I thought I’d share my findings, and end with a simpler question.
    First of all my kitchen floor is 100 years old, dented in some place, flaking up in others, has scuffs, and even saw blade marks from old owners removing old flooring and applying new. All of that was removed to reveal soft white pine, which I’ve now sanded.
    Sanding was easy and safe. With all the scuffs and other ‘distressing’ on the floor, making a more noticeable sanding error was nearly impossible. (21″ beltsander with 60 paper, with the grain – my biggest mistake was removing too much ‘patina’ in a couple areas). They’ve gone from a dull grey back to a bright nearly-white (as white as pine gets), though some areas have a bit of light amber and browns and light greys in the grain that isnt removable by sanding (and I dont think I want to remove ALL character :).
    I tried water poly, oil poly, some stains as well in a test area and I liked none of it. Actually the oil poly was the best looking but also the most toxic and sticky/hard to deal with. Water poly looked like a coat of hard plastic on the floor. Really contrasted the ‘old’ historical wood underneath with the ‘new glassy layer’ on top (despite using the satin finish). With more reading I settled on Pure Tung Oil which I got from the local Lee Valley Tools.
    It is real Pure Tung Oil, not a tung-containing finish, and it is not diluted (though I have non-toxic citrius solvent to dilute if need be).
    Talking to the people there behind the desk they suggested PURE tung oil applied to the wood. The wood is very dry after sanding and readily drank up a test application of Circa 1950 diluted tung (toxic due to the mineral spirits used in it, so I didnt continue with it). After it soaked in, even one coat looked great but obviously needs more.
    However, Im not sure if I should dilute my pure tung oil with citrus solvent for ANY of the coats, or for only the first, or second, or subsequent or what. Since it takes long to dry for each coat, which I AM willing to go through ONCE for the whole floor, I cant wait 2 weeks for a test area to be done to figure out how to apply it.
    Do i need to sand (lightly) between coats?
    And finally, how should I apply it? I have a soft ‘rag brush’ on a pole (easier than on hands and knees), but how do I know when i’ve put enough on? How long do I leave it on before wiping off excess? How long before I do a 2nd coat, and until then, what are the rules for walking on it (in socks/bare feet/shoes/moving furniture/etc).
    Oh one slighlty-off-the-wall question – i read that some people used to keep white pine floors au naturel – no finish AT ALL. Just washed with water and lye every so often, and it builds up its own ‘finish’ over time – is that really viable at all? Do people do that? I think the slivers (which seem to be inevitable on my floor, as we’re walking on it in bare feet now) would be too much!
    Thanks!

    Reply
  15. Ken,
    I’ve never finished a floor with tung oil, but
    I have used it on furniture with great success – follow the directions on the container — and be aware that you’ll have to refinish it more
    frequently than if you use Varathane water based Diamond Coat Polyurethane
    Regarding your au naturel white pine floors: I’m sure people do leave their floors unfinished but I don’t recommend it because dirt and grime will
    get ground in — and lye is a harsh product to work with regularly;I prefer more environmentally friendly and simple approaches.

    Reply
  16. Hello I just found your posting and they were useful. I had a question about finishing pine floor with VWBDCP this is a rental, and I think how difficult will to removed this refinish. In the past, I had horror experiences to removed old floors finish on old house. The finish was so sticky after apply the orange finish remover. It will stick on the sand paper in couple minutes then it have to change sand paper again verily used. It got to be so expensive that I ended putting carper. How to work removed old finished is so important has how to do finish that last.
    I will really appreciate your advice.
    Thanks
    Maida Strauss-W

    Reply
  17. Hi there,
    I am about to change my carpet for the whole house. I realised that I have pine timber floor underneath. So now i have a choice for the lounge and hallway, should I reap the carpet and get the floor boards sanded and polished or shall I replace it with carpet. Price is not an issue but what is better? Any help.
    Sarita

    Reply
  18. Maida,
    If a finish remover was applied, in my experience, the way to remove it and the finish is with a scraper. Once the finish is mostly removed then sanding can be used to remove the balance — wear a mask to keep fumes and dust out of lungs, for both aspects of this.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.