Pine flooring

GraceF125

We'd like to install a new wooden floor in a large dining/living room area. At the moment there are old narrow beech(?) 1970/80s era floorboards direct onto joists over an open hard subfloor (it's an early 1800s stone cottage). These boards aren't salvageable unfortunately as they're too damaged, areas missing etc. It was all covered with carpet when we moved in.

I don't like laminate, am not very impressed with engineered wood flooring which we laid in a previous house, and can't afford oak, so we're thinking of just laying pine boards as a cheap, solid wood option. I can see you can buy tongue and groove pine floor boards from Travis Perkins, Wickes etc. Are there any pitfalls we should look out for using and installing these types of floorboards? No one seems to use them anymore, is it just that pine has gone out of fashion?

Any advice appreciated, as I think we may have to DIY this.

maisie_cat

We had new pine floorboards laid in our bedroom because I too wanted to keep floorboards. Unfortunately they shrank so much that the gaps are 5mm, so I think it's important to check the moisture content of the boards, I wish we had.

Thebestmumalive

We used pine on our bedroom floor last year. We went to a local wood merchant and told them what we wanted to do. They supplied lovely quality pine boards which have barely moved at all. Speak to a local wood merchant and see if they can supply what you want. They were a bit more expensive than B&Q etc. but the quality was excellent and we are happy with the result.

keith969

I put pine T&G boards down in a kitchen many years ago. Remember pine is soft, so over time they will become scratched and worn (especially if you have a dog!). You can improve the durability by giving them a finish of epoxy resin.
The other problem is the gaps will expand and contract depending on moisture etc. so you can't fill them. Therefor they end up collecting dirt.
With hindsight I would never have used them - cheap but not durable enough.

aliby21

I'd use pine in a bedroom but would be wary of having a soft wood in a living area. I've just had engineered wood put down, and when I was looking there were solid wood options that were cheaper than the engineered. I also considered bamboo, that is another option you could look at.

System

you can patch in bits of reclaimed floor, then sand the whole lot and put a finish on it, will look much better than a pine floor