restoring old floorboards?

kzzhar0

we have just bought a house and i was looking forward to pulling up all the old carpets and sanding down the floorboards to restore them. Having started to pull them up, it seems they aren't in great condition... In some places there are chunks missing and some areas look almost filled in with concrete. Does anyone know whether there are solutions to this and whether certain trades people are good for this type of work and what the cost can be? or whether it would be a better idea to buy new flooring? i'm up for the diy so this isn't an issue (but also have a young baby so thats my only obstacle really). Any tips on what route to take would be appreciated 

FreeBear

Depending on the age of the house, you may well find the boards are tongue & groove - T&G was a requirement for ground floors for many houses built after the Great War. Upper floors are generally plain old planks.

If you have chunks missing out of the ground floor boards, that would suggest T&G with ham fisted removal in previous years. To effectively lift & replace often means taking skirting boards off and suffering further damage when trying to get the nails out. Old boards are often thicker than modern stuff. Personally, I'd fill the gaps, put down a decent underlay and finish off with carpets or an LVT flooring - The latter can be had with wood grain effect.

Jeepers_Creepers

Would you plan to stain the boards afterwards, kzz, or leave them natural (ie with a clear varnish or wax)? If the former, then any sections you replace should blend in well and not be too noticeable in the scheme of things.

If the latter, tho', then old boards will likely be a different type of pine, such as 'pitch'. Good chance it's more heavily grained with distinct patterns, whereas new, fast-grown timber is quite often very pale. They often don't match very well, and waxing/varnishing might just exacerbate the difference.

Really it's down to how much work you want to do - just how important it is for you to have lovely bare natural floorboards. You may need to take a piece (after having sanded a part of it to reveal it's original finish) to a reclamation yard and ask their thoughts.

For cut, holed or damaged parts, you are best to go to the next joist along, and cut them straight across there - replacing a longer length will look a lot better than a short 2' piece on its own. Sometimes there will be a hatch cut in the floor, so you'll have 3 or 4 planks cut along the same line - if you replace them with that single line across all 4, it'll stick out, so perhaps take every second plank a bit further when replacing it.

Then sand it all at the same time - the levels will blend in if there was a slight difference. (However, if the replacement boards are more than 2mm difference in thickness, then either plane away that 2+mm where they sit on the joists in order to lower them, or add 2+mm shims to the joists first in order to raise them. Glue and nail.

You then need to consider draughts - how large are the T&G gaps between them? If draughty, you should really fill them - not sure on the best solution; it's worth some research. (I used dark brown frame sealant on mine in our previous house, and when the boards were all stained med oak afterwards, it was very effective. But might not if you are keeping them 'natural'.)

Finally, seal between the f'boards and the skirtings - that gap is a draughty hell-hole...

kzzhar0

Thanks for your replies! Lots to think about. We were really hoping they'd be in good condition and would only need a sand and then preferably a varnish or wax coat. 
I'm going to look into reclaimed old parquet flooring as a possible option but obviously that's a whole different ball game!