DIY Tips

If you have period floorboards in your home, lucky you. If you don’t, it doesn’t mean you are doomed to be unlucky though - installing wooden flooring is easier than ever before.
Undated Handout Photo of an old wooden floor. See PA Feature HOMES Homes Column. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature HOMES Homes Column.Undated Handout Photo of an old wooden floor. See PA Feature HOMES Homes Column. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature HOMES Homes Column.
Undated Handout Photo of an old wooden floor. See PA Feature HOMES Homes Column. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature HOMES Homes Column.

Period floorboards are often hidden under carpet, tiles or lino, waiting to be discovered and restored to their former glory. This process usually means sanding with an industrial floor sander and edger, which is hard, hot and dusty work. Although more expensive, employing someone to sand them for you is, in my opinion, well worth it. They usually include the cost of the wood stain or varnish in the price and they’ll also be able to do the job quicker than you can.

Original floorboards often have modern boards mixed in where repairs have been done over the years, and painting these boards can disguise them better than using a stain or varnish (although dark stains and varnishes can work well). You can, of course, replace the new boards with old ones, but this can be expensive and time-consuming, with no guarantee they’ll match perfectly when sanded.

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All that said, original floorboards are a fantastic feature in a period house or flat and there’s nothing more satisfying than revealing and enjoying them after years under cover.

What if you don’t have original wooden boards? Laminate flooring, which has a picture of wood printed onto boards, is an inexpensive and easy way to copy the look. It’s not as fashionable as it once was though. Why not opt for wooden flooring boards that click together, with no nails, screws or glue required?