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We bought a 1910 house with heart pine floors. The person we hired to sand and refinish them said that since the floors had been finished at one time around the area rugs, he could not get rid of the rug image. Is this true? -Patricia
Hi Patricia,
Most stains and differences from previous finishes should come out if the floors are thoroughly sanded, starting with coarse sandpaper and working up to finer grits. This may not be possible, however, if the stains are too deep or the floors have been sanded several times, leaving the wood above the groove too thin.
Also, keep in mind that heart pine can be difficult to sand, since the pine resin in the wood tends to gum up the sandpaper, particularly when using finer grits.
You can find out more in our video on How to Refinish Wood Floors.
Good luck with your project,
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August 19th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
I HAVE A PROBLEM WE HAVE AN OLDER HOME BUILT 1893 WE HAVE OWNED IT FOR THREE YEARS.IN OUR HALLWAY UPSTAIRS IT HAS YELLOW PINE IN BAD BAD SHAPE.AFTER REMOVING HE NASTY CARPET AND A LAYER OF SOMETHING????IT HAS A LAYER OF MAYBE TAR VERY THICK BLACK STUFF I MEAN TUFF IN SOME PLACES THE WOOD WILL SPLINTER UP BEFORE IT COMES OFF.I DO NOT WANT TO USE A CHEMICAL STRIPPER OR A HEAT GUN CLOGGING UP THE PORES IN THE WOOD.ALSO THE PINE IS LAID SHORT WAYS IN THE HALL WAY ABOUT 48″ IN WIDTH.SANDING WITH A DRUM OR ORBITAL STAND UP SANDER WOULD MEAN GOING AGINST THE GRAIN.WILL THIS HURT THE FLOOR BEFORE FINISHING IT.IT DOES NEED SOME PATHCH WORK IN SOMEPLACES SUCH AS BROKEN,HEAT VENTS(REMOVED)BAD GUMMY SECTIONS.WOULD IT BE BETTER AND CHEAPER TO START OVER.I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THE OLDER FLOOR BUT I ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT PRICE I MAY SPEND MORE IN SUPPLYS THAN NEW FLOORING.