Q: I reclaimed 500 square ft of Douglas fir from an abandoned building. It has black grime in the tongue and groove. I’ve tried numerous tools and the best thing I have found so far is a toothbrush and elbow grease! Can I power wash it? If not, what do you suggest?
Installing Used Wood
Kudos to anyone reclaiming wood to use for their flooring. Here are the Qs we’ve answered about this over the years.
Can I salvage a floating wood strip floor?
Q: Can a floating wood strip floor be taken up / salvaged and reinstalled with the adhesive method?
Clean off the varnish from the top side of the tongue of salvaged boards?
Q: We salvaged some 7/8 quarter sawn, hard pine flooring. We would like to know how to clean off the varnish from the top side of the tongue edge of the boards? We have a scraper, however we are wondering if there is any easier way, as it seems that the varnish has turned to cement.
Salvaging a gym floor
Q: I’m salvaging a gym floor. I bought old, damp (kept in carport) gym floor maple. I want to refinish it. Will the painted lines come off easily with sanding? Is drying it indoors a few weeks enough?
I want to install salvaged oak flooring strips
Q: I want to install salvaged oak flooring strips 0.25′ x 1.75′ over existing 0.75′ fir flooring. What procedures should I follow?
Should I use recovered beetle kill pine for flooring?
Q: Should I use recovered beetle kill pine for flooring? What are the potential problems that could arise if I do?
Don’t want to lose the ‘old’ look of the floor by sanding
Q: We installed a 100 year old salvaged floor that is heart pine. Although it is in pretty good shape, we want to clean it up a bit and fill the scratches and gouges. Everyone we have talked to wants to sand and refinish, but we don’t want to lose the ‘old’ look of the floor, since that is the charm.
Glue on back of salvaged wood
Q: I have removed some oak flooring from a renovation job in a house and plan on installing it in my house. I have removed all the nails from the back but there is some glue on the the back which is sometimes hard and sometimes brittle. What is the best method for removing glue?
Installing salvaged old hardwood strip flooring
Q: I took out some old hardwood strip flooring from a renovation job and pulled out the nails from the back and plan on cutting out the damaged wood and re-installing the good wood in my home. I have put down a tongue and grove plywood subfloor and am wondering if finishing nails or using a glue would be the best way to install the old hardwood.
Grit built up in the tongue and groove of salvaged wood
Q: I recently bought about 1200 feet of 2 1/4 birch flooring that was ripped out of a gym. I plan on laying this in my new house. The only problem is that the flooring has a fair bit if grit built up around the tongue and groove area. I need to remove this grit before I lay the floor, so that it will fit tightly together.