Giving Old Floors a Modern Update

One of the many original features at Blackbird Cottage is the timber slab floor. It was in almost perfect condition when we uncovered it. Under the layers of newspaper and lino were thick boards. They had shrunk over time, leaving gaps of up to a centimetre. Other than that they were ripe for a modern update in the form of liming white floors.

Why not Varnish?

While in great physical condition, the floor was stained with years of inground dirt. We still don’t know the kind of timber that was used for the boards. But I knew from the outset I was not going to sand and varnish them with clear varnish. I have a dislike for the way floors go orange over time and I wanted a more modern look. So, after some experimenting with hard wax oil, clear varnish and Feast Watson liming white we decided on the latter. The good thing about this product is the ability to achieve the look you want by building up colour in layers of stain. I thought the floors would look light and airy. And we know how I like a light-coloured floor. I painted the last one to achieve that look. I had many ideas for the floors. Another was to make a checkerboard with stain. But the effort of doing this effect in our dairy renovation was not something I was keen to repeat.

How I Achieved This Look

The first thing we did to achieve the look of limed white floors was to fill the gaps in the boards.

We used three products for this:

• painter’s tape along the edges of the boards so the filler would make a nice straight line
• Selleys Hardwood Gap Filler and
• Moroday Gap Filler Rod. This product was a life and money saver with the really big gaps.

We poked the tubing into the gaps and then filled over the top with the flexible filler. Then we ran a paint scraper over the filler to make aflat edge. Any bits that remained proud were sanded off in the sanding process.

The next step was to sand the floors. We attempted to do this job ourselves as we had experience in other homes. However, these boards were tough! So we engaged a professional to sand them back leaving me to put on the finishing coats of sealer. The sanding process took a few days, and even then the boards did not come out evenly in colour. But that’s ok.

The Staining Process

I won’t lie. Using stain and varnish combined can be problematic. To get an even finish it would be quicker to use a roller and roll along one or two boards at a time from start to finish. This avoids the stain overlap and therefore different depths of colour in the finish.

As I mentioned our floors were patchy, so I chose to brush the varnish/stain on. I worked along two boards at a time, from one side of the room to the other. The hall was trickier and I found I just had to start at on end and go for it. I’d literally paint myself into a corner if I didn’t;

The trick is to ‘feather in’ the overlap where you can so the colour stays consistent. You should also stir the tin regularly so the stain does not sink to the bottom. The first coat looked a bit scary. I was quite worried! But once the second one was on the finish evened out. I love the softness its given to the floor. Once the whole house is done I will roll a clear coat over it all to protect.

I’d love to hear from you… do you like this pale wood look? Would you give it a go in your house?