Baltic v Cypress pine floorboard renovation

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I have a 1920s house with Baltic pine floorboards throughout, yellowed with age to a warm honey colour. During a 1990s renovation the dining room was tiled on top of the floorboards. I would like to return the dining room to floorboards in a way that will look Ok with the existing flooring, I know it will never match exactly. The lounge and dining room are now one open plan area.

The advice I have received is that the existing floorboards under the tiles are unlikely to be reusable, due to staining from the glue or bitumen used to stick them down. I wouldn’t choose the yellow aged look if I was starting from scratch but I don’t mind it and given my limited budget I would prefer not to sand the whole house.

So my choices seem to be to replace the dining room floor with new cypress pine and a natural varnish, or use recycled Baltic pine which costs an extra $1000 and no guarantee it won’t contain borers or termites. I have been advised against trying to colour match using a stain as it would never match exactly.

I prefer the look of the Baltic to Cypress, but am concerned about borers and wondering if it's worth the additional cost. What are your thoughts?

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Comments (3)

Austere Hamlet
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Baltic and cyprus pine look nothing alike. That alone would make me choose the recycled baltic. My own home has spotted gum floorboards, some of them 70yrs old and a patch of them less than a decade old, you can tell it's a new section but only if you study the floor closely. It's where the old bathroom used to be that would have had a suspended concrete slab that section is now front and centre in the middle of the hallway.

Don;'t be scared off by the insects etc. They have to say that, its recycled wood they want you to not expect a perfect board is all. You'll be amazed how many people will expect a perfect board. It's going to have signs of wear. Any infested wood will have been sprayed well before making it to your home. If the floorboards are going to be exposed then you really need to go to the extra expense of using the same material at least. Cyprus pine won't match your existing boards either.

I dare say your builder is keen on the new stuff because old wood is hard wood. It will also take him longer to piece together as recycled timber doesnt always come in nice regular lengths and he might have to do some tricky carpentry to get it to work. Far easier to order regular lengths and just create a massive pile of off cuts.
HU-272914 thanked Austere Hamlet
Kate
3 years ago
The yellow aging is most likely just the polish which goes yellow with age. When you sand back you get to raw wood again and polish both floors the same
HU-272914 thanked Kate
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Go with pine, either some recycled Baltic preferably or the newer one. If it looks 'orange' it may be Cypress Pine. This, if refinished properly looks like a light honey colour. It looks superb if done correctly. Refinishing it all with an oil (we used some European manufactured oil) rather than polyurethane. Poly looks good initially but is difficult to touch up if needed where as the repair using oil can be hidden easier. The poly also essentially 'glues' the boards together rather than allowing some movement. Spotted Gum is very nice indeed, as is Iron Bark but the difference of red brown to the lighter pine will be too much. The two different Pines will be ok.
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HU-272914
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks Austere Hamlet, you have confirmed what I was thinking

Baltic v Cypress pine floorboard renovation

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Austere Hamlet

Kate

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Baltic v Cypress pine floorboard renovation

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Kate

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