Inexpensive wood floor that looks like a million dollars – Four years later!
One of the most popular posts on my blog has been (and will probably always be) my DIY inexpensive wood floor. With budget waning back during the renovation in 2014 I needed a solution to cover the 250 square foot front entry of my home. I wanted it flush with my 100 year old kitchen floor and also the very same look. I knew I could never afford to actually match my original hardwoods (if that was even possible!) so I had to get creative!
This portion of the home was actually an added-on screened in porch. After my grandparents’ enclosed it decades ago they built the floor up with plywood and then laid down linoleum.
When I came in the plywood was disintegrating and the linoleum was unrecognizable. After ripping it all off I spent a lot of time just standing here and staring at the original porch floor.
I actually LOVED the original painted porch floor
However, it was painted MANY times and was just enough of a difference from my kitchen floor to make the perfect tripping situation. Also it had a certain amount of water damage.
(In the other portion of my home where the porch was enclosed I repainted the old porch floor and it worked great in that case. You can see it in my guest bedroom.)
What I wanted was my original hardwood to just come all the way throughout my entry.
Problem was, I had no money lol But I had already purchased a truckload of pine 1x4s for trim so I was well acquainted with how cheap they were… I thought: why can’t I just use those?
I purchased 12 foot long 1x4s so they would span the entire width of the room. My room is “roughly” 11 feet wide. This is a 100 year old home, I had to measure and cut almost every board because almost none of them were exactly the same length lol.
I also knew with Minnesota’s changing climate and humidity levels my boards would shrink a ton so, when I put them down with a brad nailer, I put them down as tight as possible together.
It would never perfectly match my original hardwoods so I decided the best course of action would be to put down a threshold board running between the floors.
I think it was a great decision.
It created the separation needed so the floors are not easily comparable side by side. At a glance no one notices that they’re actually very different.
(HOW I KEEP 2,000 SQUARE FEET OF HARDWOOD FLOORS CLEAN WITHOUT TOTALLY LOSING MY MIND!)
It is now four years later!
With the help of my mom I moved all of my furniture out of the room and then I took these close ups so you can see exactly how they’ve worn (and shrunk) over time.
The first pics (and close ups) are before I cleaned or anything and then the next set are after I swept, vacuumed and then I also took pics when the floors were still wet right after I mopped.
(I’m sorry so many of my photos were not taken during the day, my floors are NOT this yellow or green! This was Minnesota in the winter when its just ALWAYS dark outside. You know if I took a single picture using regular day light then it was done on the weekend and the rest I did after my day job during the week lol)
NOTE: I know my walls and ceilings look AWFUL. This is what happens to a home with smoke damage because of the horrible wood stove I used to have. After this I will be fixing and painting out this entire room.
Pretty darned good if you ask me! Remember, this is PINE, and pine is a very soft wood. My dining room chairs have little nubbons for feet and you can see the almost honeycomb effect in some places. Of course, I am the only one who has ever noticed lol.
There are scrapes, scuffs etc. and at the front door the top coat has worn away and the finish has also started to wear.
I may be the only chick in history who decided to use a water based sealer and not an oil based sealer on a floor – and only two coats at that!
Here’s the truth though:
I am delighted with how well they have held up. And I was NOT happy about only getting to do two coats of poly but I was in a serious time crunch and even polycrylic still takes time to dry!
I love however that they do not LOOK like they were covered in polyurethane. I am not a fan of the honeyed yellow sticky look of gym floors in my house. It is simply my preference and I am picky beyond all reason.
(I am told that nowadays the new polyurethanes guarantee a “none-yellowing” effect.)
There are other reasons I chose poly acrylic over an oil based sealer though. Because it is water based it does not off gas nor stink near so bad and it takes A LOT less time to dry. Also it is WAY easier to cleanup, any day I don’t have to wash my hands in mineral spirits is a good day.
Did I feel like I was still kind of taking a risk?
Honestly, I wasn’t real worried about it. Floors are meant to be walked on and “perfect” was the last thing I wanted. One of the most beautiful things about my original hardwoods is that they bear all fifty years of my family living here before me.
But I decided after four years I would give my inexpensive DIY wood floors a little bit of TLC.
With the floors dry after mopping I grabbed my stain: Dark Walnut by Minwax.
I applied it with a cheap black sponge brush. Every twenty minutes or so I went over what I had done with a towel and wiped off the excess stain. The last photo is right after I had wiped all excess stain away. What a BIG difference!
By doing the entire floor (not just “spot” staining) I guaranteed to not miss a single area. Also in the places where the boards separated a little bit, I was able to get the stain right down between them too.
Not only did I make a “dangerous” choice of sealer I also made a very odd choice with the finish of my poly acrylic. I chose a satin finish (matte) and I will stand firm behind that decision.
I did not need my floors so reflective that I could see my face in them!
Or to be slippery in the winter! But my biggest reason was that with a non-shiny finish you cannot tell when it starts wearing down over time.
(My nightmare is being able to see literal PATHS through my house where a shiny finish had worn away in high traffic areas.)
This time I did four coats!
I applied a coat of satin polycrylic (by Minwax) every night before bed and it was dry by morning. I used a large brush to apply it by hand and I definitely need to get myself some knee pads, good grief!
Here are the floors right after the first coat of poly when they were still wet:
I used an ENTIRE GALLON of clear coat on these floors lol and I am really happy I did! These after photos were taken 36 hours after I put the clear coat down. I love how the satin poly makes them almost look velvety.
The fact that I paid less than a $1 per square foot still amazes me to this day!
To revamp them this time it cost me about $70 all together in poly, stain and brushes and I think they’ll give me a good ten years now without my having to do anything besides sweep and mop!
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I’m Tarah!
It’s been a hell of a ride since I started this blog and renovated and moved into this old farm house back in 2015. I got married, divorced, lost my doggo soul mate, spent two years as a single gal, remodeled everything, threw my back out countless times and was even found by an amazing guy in my own backyard! (The story behind Storyhardt Farm.)
Around here we’re totally fearless when it comes to bettering our home. We love to refinish old furniture, re-purpose old pieces, build it from scratch and totally renovate anything that needs it! If we can do it – so can you. We’ve got some serious plans for this old farm and, for first time ever, I have a real partner!
This is gonna be so much fun!
You can also find out more about the amazing Grandma behind this blog who moved in to this old farmhouse with my Grandpa nearly 70 years ago!
The floors look great.
Thank you Amanda!
Well done, Missus!! a big job but a good one. I have two bedrooms in this little house, that have the original wooden floors that I would really like to paint with floor paint in a cream colour. But …. we have been here nearly 17 years now, and we talk about painting those floors every 6 months or so and then we move on to more interesting topics! How d’you fancy a free holiday? Come and do mine, because your floor looks fab! x
Thank you Susan! Floors are such a huge undertaking compared to painting the walls lol. It took me a while to get up the gumption to do this and it was only because I was clearing the room out to paint it anyway! Glad I did it though, a change (or fix) in the flooring makes SUCH a huge difference! Of course now I’m babying them like crazy but their so pretty!
Looks great!
Thank you Nancy! Happy Spring!
Wow! Your floor is beautiful! I love the rustic lived in look of old wood floors and this new area seems to fit right in with the rest of your home.
Love following along on your DIY journey!
Thank you so much Jenny! Happy Spring!
Love your creativity and repurposing. Our grandmother would be so proud of your successes.
Have a HAPPY EASTER🌷💐🌼💐🐇
Thank you Amanda, hope you had a lovely holiday!
Nice job. I have to admit, refinishing the floors would scare me to death. I pulled up the carpeting in my dining room and that is as far as it got. Still looks horrible ten years later. Oh well. Life happens!
lol life DOES happen and doing the floors is an even bigger job then painting out the whole room because you really can’t use it then and you have to get ALL of the furniture out of it! Thanks for coming by 🙂
This was extremely informative. I have five bedroom floors I have to do by myself and with your great instructions I know I can do this!
Your workmanship is exceptional and the floors are beautiful ! I live in Florissant, Colorado with my husband Tom. He is not able to help me physically due to injuries recieve d after a two story fall from our roof. I now can afford this project to do all rooms .The floors downstairs are are cement. Do I need to put anything down before I put the wood and glue down ? I have never done ANYTHING like this before but after the first room I am sure I will feel confident ! Karen Boczkiewicz
Hi Karen! I’ve actually been asked that question a few times now so I’ve done a little research. I was concerned about putting wood directly on concrete because concrete can be acidic and VERY hard on wood. So, what other people have done (and what seems to be the overall recommended option) is to put down a water membrane over the concrete first and then cover it with a 1/2″ (at least) plywood subfloor. Then you can put your regular floor over that 🙂 Of course, though I’m not sure if its to code or if there is a code for this, you could just put your floor right over your water membrane!
Good luck hon, I’m sure its gonna look amazing when you’re done!
I so desperately need to do this. NOW.
Lisa, they were so simple and I still can’t believe how nice they turned out! Thanks for coming by!
I have a huge question…can you do this over tile with out removing the tile?
Hi BJ, yeah you probably could… But it does depend on what’s under the tile. I would definitely put the under floor matting down between the tile and the wood and use REALLY long brads to make sure when you tack the wood down the brad (or finish nail) will go directly through the tile and into the subfloor beneath it. UNLESS the subfloor is concrete in which case a floating wood floor (not this floor) would probably work better. I hope that helps!
Wow…I just inherited my father’s home and yep wood floors. Not sure what kind of wood but,he was a man and they are stained with water and no clue with what else,a few cig burn marks which is funny cause he did not smoke. Anyways I have been researching on how to clean and redo Unfinished wood floors this looks and sounds right up my alley thank you and I will probably have so many questions. As my husband stays so busy with 2 job’s and I get to do alot of this remodeling solo he does help but I do alot by myselfe
Thanks again
Hi Rebecca, I’m so excited for you! Wood floors can be a lot of work to get up to snuff but I would never go back to any other kind of surface. They’re beautiful, easy to keep clean and easy to walk on. Good luck!
Hey Tarahlynn,
This is such a useful post. Wondering if you could feel me in on the effects of mopping on your floor? When I think water and wood, all I picture is swelling. Have you seen any such problems?
Hi Emma. No I’ve never had any problems at all. These are REALLY old and VERY hard wood floors and I put a ton of polycrylic on them. The only thing I’ve seen is if quite a lot of water sits on them there will be a little discoloration in the polycrylic – but that’s it. I mop with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water and it works great!
I love these floors and I have been trying to figure out an affordable way to install flooring on the entire first floor of my 1836 houme. I have 2 dogs and 2 children under 5 so spills and messes are every day occurrences not to mention, I would probably put them in the kitchen as well. Have you noticed any issues with water/fluids leaking between the floor boards? Is that something I should take into consideration or do you think the poly will be enough to prevent this from happening? I don’t want to have a huge issue with wood rot later down the road.
Hi Charlotte honestly anytime you’re dealing with wood water is going to be an issue. However, I have had no problems with these floors and they’ve LOTS of a spills. I think the poly does its job fine as long as you’re not talking about flooding them and making sure to catch the spills pretty quickly when they happen.
I have redone the entire first floor of my house with plywood flooring and am working on second floor. I have had zero problems with the flooring. Yes they do get scratched occasionally but it is a floor and stuff happens. Also went with matte polyurethane and love it. Don’t need shiny shiny floors.
That’s awesome Beth!
You do a great job. It really seems like home with all your magic fingers working on it. I know you are proud and your grandparents would be too. Have some fun time. All the best. I can understand much of how you feel. I live in my dad’s old home and it was his parents old home and their parents old home. I am proud of it, but it takes so much work. It is clearly home and I love it!
Thank you so much Cynthia. So much work is the truth but totally worth it!
Hi! I love the floors! We are comsidering doing this, how does the staining hold up with areas that receive direct sunlight? Also…did you fill your nail holes, or just let the poly fill them?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Ashley unfortunately I really cant comment on the effects of direct sunlight. Because of our tree cover we get very little direct sun inside the house. I did not fill nail holes or anything I just let the poly do its job and let the floors maintain as much character as possible 🙂
These look great! We just got a new little fixer upper and I had this plan of pulling up the outdoor carpet on the sunporch and painting the concrete with this beautiful stencil to make an entry that really pops….now I see its not concrete! Its sticky glue messy subfloors. Did you put your pine lumber floors right over the subfloors? Or add a water barrier/subfloor? I am worried about getting water underneath but I am getting my patterned floors! No money for the tile over here so I’m looking for a flooring to paint. Thanks!
Morgan I did NOT put anything between the subfloor and the new wood floor I put down. HOWEVER, it does squeak in a couple of spots lol so its really up to you, most people would recommend some kind of membrane between the floors. I think these would be ideal for what you’re looking for!
Wow. What an amazing DIY project. My wife and I are looking to buy my grandparent’s old house in Missouri and have to get new floors as they had mostly carpet. We both want hardwood floors that would last a lifetime but the cost is so prohibitive to go with a commercial flooring company. I think this might be something we try instead, so thank you so much for posting your work and progress! It’s now 2022, so 7 full years after your original project and it’s still holding up alright?
Hi Matt, except for the expected dings and scratches that happen with every day life our wood floor still looks great! I would totally recommend it as an inexpensive alternative to hardwood!