What kind of wood?
 

Are my floors made out of?

I know its not Oak or Maple.. the wood seems a bit soft

House is a 1920's oyster shack on the south shore of Long Island

When they built the place, premium materials were not used...which is funny since there is complicated plaster work and arched doorways and windows...


Southern Yellow Pine?

White Pine?

Also what kind of finish would have been applied 90 years ago? oil? don't think shellac...

TIA for your expertise


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1248652907.jpg


Showing some crazing or map cracking of the existing finish..


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1248652953.jpg

I plan on sanding the floor... Ill hire someone.... though probably end up doing myself, and applying a waterborne poly finish..

I doubt they are, but that's exactly what redwood would look like. I also see some cedar characteristics. But, then again, it wouldn't be cedar.

Look up what looks like those 2. Whatever it is, it's not oak or maple, the 2 most common.

Douglas fir

I know its not Maple or Oak... I can make an impression with a fingernail... and a groove is visible where I moved a couch out from the wall...

I don't think Redwood or Cedar would have been materials of choice in the 1920's in the south shore of Long Island, NY

FWIW In my Vermont house, when I tore the carpeting out... I found beautiful Southern Yellow Pine floors.. A quick sand and those floors look beautiful..

This floor isn't as wide plank, and there is a variety of the way the wood is sawn...

I figure they got rems and installed this floor..

+1

Some kind of fir.

Ok, since we have narrowed it down to a coniferous tree... Doug Fir possibly...

Any ideas what kind of finish would have been applied all those years ago?

Just wondering.... its being sanded down in the next week or so

90 years ago - too long ago for it to be lacquer. To test for shellac - try a little denatured alcohol in a non-conspicuous place. If it dissolves, then it would be shellac. If you're sanding it off, it probably doesn't matter anyway.

Looks like heartpine to me.

In searching Shellac... and (Lac)quer are finishes made from the a resin excreted from a Lac Beetle or similar bug....

In an effort to make this room as presentable as possible before I sand the floors..

I washed the floors with a light TSP solution... The existing finish seems to be soluble in water.. The finish seems soluble in water... i.e. it wets and I can mop it around :confused:

Heart pine. Looks the same as my old place.

Don't use a waterbase finish unless you want to re-do it after 3-5 years.

I would have said the same except I've never seen that dark a color in the variation. Doug fir is seldom dark like that.

yep!

Could have been stained some years ago - in the 50's and 60's many folks stained hardwood floors made of ash or fir. Then again, you would not have such contrast between planks. I don't know but I bet they will look great when cleaned up.

Could be Doug fir, but more likely longleaf pine. Also, the longleaf pine gets considerably harder over the years, approaching qualities of maple. Doug fir will remain pretty soft, actually too soft for flooring, that's why I would be surprised if someone had milled it for that use. Both the pine and the finish will darken considerably over the years given the appearance you have. I have seen in in the decorative millwork of homes over 100 years old. Stuff gets so hard you can't hand drive a nail in it.

Def. a softwood, either a fir or pine possibly.

Here is a picture of the floor where the finish was damaged or removed, probably by an over zealous carpet cleaner

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1248714831.jpg

and a close up showing the grain, also in an area where the finish is gone

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1248714880.jpg

dang it looks a LOT like old growth Douglas Fir (aka, Pseudostuga menziesii).

and it does darken some with age

BUT why would it get shipped such a long distance??

+1
Longuoiland?
Gotta be some sort of southern pine, right?

(But yeah, it sure looks like beautiful straight-grain fir)

I've got douglas fir in several rooms in my house, and it looks identical to what you have posted there.

It's quite common up here as flooring in 70-100 year old homes. Would it have been much rarer on the east coast of the US?

As an aside, I know a guy with a wharehouse full of 1" x 10" x 12' douglas fir planks. I got a couple off him and it is just amazing stuff.

I think it is Doug Fir too. Too hard to tell in the pic. somewhere during those years, someone might have tinted the finish on there. I am almost sure it is not Red Wood.