Dolmetscher007 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 I did it guys! Well... finger's crossed that all the paperwork and crap goes through. But I made an offer on a house that the seller has accepted and the house is now "under contract." It has a HUGE two car garage and a carport. i.e. I now have a two car garage sized woodworking shop! I am so excited I can barely sit here. I specifically bought this house because it needs some work. It doesn't need anything major... just lipstick and rouge. The first thing that needs to be done is that I need to refinish the hardwood floors. I've never done that, so I was wondering if anyone here has pro level experience with that? There is one 12" x 12" place that needs some TLC in that one board has 1/8" gaps around it and it a little worn on the edges. It is right in the highest traffic zone of the floor., I will need to fill the cracks etc. The wood appears to be 1.5"-2" oak and are original to the house (built in 1950). I have already watched several YouTube videos, so I don't think I will need a lot of help with technique. I just do not know which products to choose from. For some reason, when it comes to finishes, I feel like if you can buy it at Home Depot, it isn't a very good product. That may just be pretentious thoughts that I got from watching too much YouTube. I dunno. I've used Minwax Oil-based Poly for coffee tables etc, and to be honest, I thought it did a great job. Everyone told me that Arm-R-Seal and the Gel Topcoats by General finishes were aces. So I tried them, and did not like how they went on. They seemed to start curing so quickly that I had a hard time not making a mistake. My point is, I am not experienced enough to know what is the absolute best poly to use on a hardwood floor. A website said that Bona Woodline Poly is the best. Everyone agree? Does anyone have a solid resource for asking about hardwood floor products? Let the games begin! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 I've done a fair amount of research on this guys website. http://www.peteshardwoodfloors.com/Wood-Floor-Techniques-101/sanding-your-floors.html I've finished probably 550 sq ft of hardwood so I'm by no means a pro. For replacement repairs i used a router bit and a chisel to stagger the boards back for an abandoned duct hole repair. My advice is to find boards that are from similar material and era to replace yours with if you go that route. I replaced another repair with new wood and it didn't come out quite the same. The repair with new wood was still better then a hole in the floor. I don't know how 1/8" gaps look but if you really concerned about it replacement is the best way about it imo. If you can't find boards consider stealing from a closet and replace with new wood there. Congrats! on the house hope all the loan and paper work stuff works out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 I have done some flooring repairs and used the old flooring from the closet to repair an area in the living room. Used new flooring in the closet..Congrats on the home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Congratulations! on the house purchase as well. Chances are at this point everything is going to go through and the place will be yours. Since this is your first house I hope you have already seen "The Money Pit" and "Mr Blanding Builds a Dream House". These movies should be required viewing for new home owners -- just to get your expectations in line with your future reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown craftsman Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 I have red oak floors in my house.This house was also built in the 50s.I had my floors professionally done by a friend of mine. For the finish we used Rubio mono coat.Zero Vocs and we were moving our stuff back in the same day he finished. Its a bit expensive but really like the color. I went with mahogany. http://www.rubiomonocoatusa.com/en Aj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown craftsman Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 @MikeYes it's held up very well.The one high traffic area is lighter then the spare bedroom floor. But it been about 10 years. Aj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chud Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 19 hours ago, Dolmetscher007 said: It doesn't need anything major... just lipstick and rouge. Fingers crossed for you - normal thing that happens (even with new builds) is that you scratch the surface and discover new realms of bodges/ineptitude...a few examples from my experience: Electrical ring broken as part of works, not restored leaving socket in kitchen on verge of causing fire (2.5mm² copper twin core and earth cable was melting). While stripping wallpaper a 6' x 4' area of plaster detached from the wall to a depth of about 1" Damp patch on ceiling when it rained...opened up ceiling to find a leak in the roof had been 'fixed' using newspaper painted with PVA or similar.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown craftsman Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 As I mentioned before my house was built in 52. And the surprises keep coming 35 ft of clay sewer pipe needs placing. I hate plumbing. We have been here 18 years it never stops. Aj 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Congrats on the house. Chud's right though...you may not think there's much wrong with the place...or there may not be at this moment...but start peeling back the layers of that onion and you're gonna find...stuff. But that's home ownership. It never ends. Welcome to the club. Also, it's depressing how slowly the house gets filled with handmade furniture. But ya gotta start somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 6 hours ago, Aj3 said: As I mentioned before my house was built in 52. And the surprises keep coming 35 ft of clay sewer pipe needs placing. I hate plumbing. We have been here 18 years it never stops. Aj I know where you are coming from. We had "orangeberg" (read "coated cardboard") sewer line on our '53 house. Tree roots do not let much less than cast iron stop them. Been our house for 46 years. Almost EVERYTHING has been replaced at least once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 9 hours ago, Eric. said: Congrats on the house. Chud's right though...you may not think there's much wrong with the place...or there may not be at this moment...but start peeling back the layers of that onion and you're gonna find...stuff. Or peeling back the wallpaper... We bought our house and the only good room was to become the babies. When peeling the wall paper, I found moldy wet wall boards. Trace that to moldy studs and floor sub floors. Painting that room cost about $10k in work or $5,000 per gallon of paint.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ronn W Posted October 14, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Congratulations. Your to-do list is now infinite. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Congratulations. Despite all the warnings above (which I agree with), I'd still rather be making repairs and upgrades to my own home than wondering when the landlord would get to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattF Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Congrats! We just bought our first house in March and I had the same plan, build all the furniture. The only thing I have built so far is a lower cabinet that is part of a built-in for my wife's office. Upper shelf unit is complete but needs primer and paint before install. I have a long list of things to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chud Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 On 10/14/2016 at 0:59 AM, Brendon_t said: Or peeling back the wallpaper... We bought our house and the only good room was to become the babies. When peeling the wall paper, I found moldy wet wall boards. Trace that to moldy studs and floor sub floors. Painting that room cost about $10k in work or $5,000 per gallon of paint.. Ouch! Although less energy efficient I suppose there's something to be said for the type of construction we tend to get over here - brick/block cavity walls! Fortunately the worst surprise we would've had in our first home I managed to spot when we saw the house and got the owner to rectify before we moved in: there were 5ft wide sash windows at the front that had no lintels fitted to support the brickwork (the windows had originally been divided in two with a brick pillar running top to bottom and two small brick arches above). Effectively those two sash units were supporting the brickwork up to nearly the roof line! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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