Floorboard protection

gman

gman

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Graham
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Our floors on the ground level are all exposed floorboards, about 115 years old. I've previously sanded and varnished them with 3 coats of Ronseal Diamond but they are looking worse for wear now and I never recoated periodically so time to sand again.

Can anyone recommend a very hard finish varnish or other protector that will stand up to children, toys, various wheels going over it and a dog?
 
Just a good quality varnish - they don't last forever, just like painted woodwork.

The hardest finish is yacht varnish, which should last longer than normal varnish.

Don't be a lazy bxxxxxx and do it more often! :)
 
are these softwood?( Pine) I presume they are, I would go for a wax instead of a varnish never been a varnish fan myself, been into woodwork for thirty years or more and tried most of the finishes there are out there, there are floor polishers that you could hire to apply the finish., the good thing with waxes is you can reapply them without sanding again.
 
mark richards said:
are these softwood?( Pine) I presume they are, I would go for a wax instead of a varnish never been a varnish fan myself, been into woodwork for thirty years or more and tried most of the finishes there are out there, there are floor polishers that you could hire to apply the finish., the good thing with waxes is you can reapply them without sanding again.
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I'd have to agree to a certain extent - I prefer wax finishes, but a varnish is a harder wearing surface finish for 'children, toys, various wheels going over it and a dog'.
 
Cheers for replies, I remember reading about yacht varnish but forgot about it. Will look into waxes also.

It's difficult to get a suitable time to revarnish floors due to drying time, family around etc. How long does wax take to dry?
 
I can recommend an alternative protector- carpet [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]
 
Jim_Tod said:
I can recommend an alternative protector- carpet [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]
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I have to admit, considering how cheap even good carpet can be had it would seem like the easier option. But with a 5 year spilling things, a 15 month old tot, a dog with muddy paws and inlaws who still seem to be incapable of taking their sodding shoes off I'd be forever cleaning it. A carpet would be a lot nicer for the children to play on but the wife likes floorboards and as it's her nest it's her call, despite it being me who suffers open wallet surgery for it all.
 
gman said:
I have to admit, considering how cheap even good carpet can be had it would seem like the easier option. But with a 5 year spilling things, a 15 month old tot, a dog with muddy paws and inlaws who still seem to be incapable of taking their sodding shoes off I'd be forever cleaning it. A carpet would be a lot nicer for the children to play on but the wife likes floorboards and as it's her nest it's her call, despite it being me who suffers open wallet surgery for it all.
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I feel your pain with other half wants
 
I think it was Ronseal Floor Oil I used on the last floor I sanded and finished, looks good and the biggest advantage is that it dries fast - so recoating isn't quite the exercise in logistics it can be with varnish.
 
gman said:
I have to admit, considering how cheap even good carpet can be had it would seem like the easier option. But with a 5 year spilling things, a 15 month old tot, a dog with muddy paws and inlaws who still seem to be incapable of taking their sodding shoes off I'd be forever cleaning it. A carpet would be a lot nicer for the children to play on but the wife likes floorboards and as it's her nest it's her call, despite it being me who suffers open wallet surgery for it all.
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Why not get cheap carpet that can be washed? Or carpet tiles that can be replaced (or washed)?
As for oil, as noted above, I use oil for wood worktops. It protects against most stains. A rub down with sand paper and reapply for touching up serious stains.

I've used wax on my dining table but my wife spilt some balsamic vinegar on it :) I need to sand the stain out and reapply. (Maybe tomorrow!) Not that I'm bothered - I made the table out of scaffolding boards 20 years ago so it is kind of rustic.
Oil, varnish and wax are all the cheaper options, but it's best to pay a bit more for decent products.
 
There are some great vinyl tiles that look like real wood that are bullet proof. Karndean or Amtico for instance.
Matt
 
Thanks all, never thought of oil, I'll look into it. I put carpet tiles down in the nursery room last year against her wish purely based on experience from babino no.1 and being able to quickly replaced stained or damaged areas easily but it would be quite a big job to do the whole ground floor.

I'll need to properly think about all this.

And Alastair, sorry if I was a little short with you in the other thread, just a little hassled at the time at home whilst posting.
 
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woo floors are designed to be gnarly that is the point it is the old way/
just sand and yaght varnish them, snd the family away for the weekend and have done.
my house in the uk is 125 years old.
wooden floors are so cool.
 
We used to use yacht varnish on bare softwood kitchen floors, and it generally seemed to need re-doing about every 5-7 years. We've just gone to an engineered wood flooring (like laminate, but real wood that can be sanded & refinished) although that's softer than expected despite the 15 year warranty.
 
There's a Yacht store not far from me which I think I'll try, I'm guessing this stuff is fairly expensive though?
 
I don't recall it being especially so - yacht varnish is generally available in wickes, homebase etc (or used to be) and you don't have to go to a chandler for it.
 
Good to hear, will have to ship the family away somewhere now...
 
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