Doug fir floor

10 years ago

The original wood floors in the downstairs of my house have been lost to history. The upstairs are all Doug Fir. I have no reason to believe the original flooring was or was not doug fir.

I know fir is soft.

Would I be throwing money away having a fir floor installed in the living, dining, entry way?

Featured Answer

gregmills_gw

10 years ago

Throwing money away? thats in the eye of the beholder. theres something to be said about puting in the doug fir to restore the house's orginal condition, meaning materials.

You're right that fir is soft, and with that will show damage, but only you will be able to gauge if you produce enough potential traffic on the floor where the damage would over shadow the beauty of the floor.

that being said, i know if my parts, fir is easy to come by, and relatively cheap, but you might consider a white oak or maple floor. depending on the age of the house, both those species would fit into the category of "period correct". unless this was a shack in the woods, or a farm house, both oaks, and maples were commonly used in early 20th century homes.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

User
10 years ago
At least where I live, it's not uncommon to have different floors on the first and second floor. Sometimes it will be White Oak downstairs and Red Oak upstairs or oak downstairs and Pine upstairs.
Related Professionals
Paducah Flooring Contractors · Sedalia Flooring Contractors · Natchez Flooring Contractors · Wenatchee Flooring Contractors · Mount Vernon Tile and Stone Contractors · Springfield Tile and Stone Contractors · Marietta Tile and Stone Contractors · Longview Tile and Stone Contractors · Sugar Land Tile and Stone Contractors · Chula Vista Tile and Stone Contractors · Coos Bay Tile and Stone Contractors · Huntsville Kitchen Remodelers · Vidalia Kitchen Remodelers · Richmond Kitchen Remodelers · Olympia Kitchen Remodelers
L. Evans
10 years ago
I have doug fir in my 1909 bungalow. In 2008, I put in an addition and extended the doug fir floors. They are a mess and did not stand up to the wear and tear at all. I think the newer doug fir is super soft and my Labrador tore it up. The old stuff that I refinished, still looks beautiful. I'm doing another renovation this fall and I'm opting for hickory. If you can get old doug fir, it might be hard enough to withstand modern living, but I wish I would have replaced all the floors when I did my 2008 renovation.
sambah006
Original Author
10 years ago
@ L. Evans.

Thank you. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

The doug fir I have upstairs is in really good shape, and it only has the remnants of some sort of wax/oil finish on it.

The costs of reclaimed doug fir are pretty high. I think for that kind of money, I would be better off white white oak.
johnnyandkate
7 years ago
What type of grain pattern did the new floor you installed have? Was it all matched vertical, cathedral or random?
PRO
Oak & Broad
7 years ago
sambah006 , can you share some pics of the flooring?
sambah006
Original Author
7 years ago
I certainly can.

But before I do, are you wanting to see what fir flooring looks like that's never had more than a wax finish, and then was covered up with asbestos vct tiles for 60 years, and then finally said vct removed and traces of adhesive scrubbed off with hot water?

Or a fully restored fir floor with a modern finish on it?