White pine floor + kids and dog = Disaster?

11 years ago

We have a not so attractive maple colored wood-laminate floor and I would like to install real wooden flooring. I love the look of distressed wider planks and the budget is a huge concern, so I am thinking of going with the New England Eastern White Pine from Lumber Liquidators. I plan to either use tung oil or Rubio monocoat to finish them.

However, I'm concerned about the pine being a soft wood. I know it will dent and scratch, but with the oil finish at least it won't be the obvious white scratches that you get in a poly finish. I'm still worried though, my kids are pretty tough. We wear our shoes in the house (not stilettos, but regular shoes) and I have a 10 lb doxie. Will my daughter's toy shopping cart leave a trail of deep indentations. Will my son's hotwheels leave gouges? Will we get splinters and will our socks snag? Will they look horrible after a while, or just rustic?

Featured Answer

User

11 years ago

Yes, it will do all of those things. And it will blend into a patina. So, what is your tolerance for all of that? Do you delight in that ding from the Hot Wheel as a mark to be talked about at the dinner table 15 years from now when you're telling your son's new fiance about him as a child? Or will you die a little every time you see a new mark and remember where every one of them is in spite of no one else every saying anything to you?

Comments (6)

olivesmom
Original Author
11 years ago
The dings and scratches won't bother me, but deep gouges all over will. And I don't want to deal with splinters or rough spots that catch on socks- I guess that's my main concern.

We are hard on our floors, and I know that a normal poly coated hardwood would look horrible in no time. An oil finish is the way to go for sure, I just hope the pine isn't so soft that it looks like crap once we start walking on it. I want a patina, I want character but I don't want it to look awful.
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millworkman
11 years ago
If your hard on floors and don't want the gouges that will be inevitable if your hard on floors as you describe. I would stick with a hardwood flooring,
kai615
11 years ago
We are gutting and redoing my in laws old house. We helped them install a pine floor about 10 years ago and it was beautiful. It was great for them, living here alone with just grandchildren and great-grandchildren visiting.

We moved in exactly one year ago this month to continue the remodel while living here and hubby and I said "at least there is one floor in the house we don't have to re-do". Then my 2 and 3 year old spent time on the pine floor. Now, we have decide to pull it out and put in a hardwood. The other option (and we have seriously considered this one and may still do it) is to take a few have duty chains and go to town beating the heck out of the floor until you can't tell what it new damage and what may have been done a hundred years ago. Since the house is 300 years old, we may be able to get away with this. On the bright note, the floor does not splinter and snag, it just dents and gouges.
glennsfc
11 years ago
I don't know...New England Eastern White Pine may be problematical. I finished off such a floor a few years ago, however in that case the flooring was original to the 175 year old historic dwelling, not new material. They have had no problem with the floor regarding splintering, however there are dings, dents and some scratches in the thing at this point. The overall effect of all of that is appropriate character. That particular floor was stained dark and coated with a commercial waterborne polyurethane.
greenacresmama
6 years ago
I wanted to ask the same question as this old thread! Our floor in our stone cottage upstairs is 30 years old and is made of wide pine flooring. It have just simple beams underneath and wondering how this would do compared to oak, maple and hickory for temp change. Our 7" wide hickory board new in downstairs have warped and cupped twice. Now new home with have a true HVAC system but looking into pine.. we have cats and kids and very tough.. the floor is amazing! Not huge knot problems.. very beautiful! Makes me seriously consider it.. if not had been here, I would have been too skeptical to consider it ever. It is a true farmhouse look.