Floor from 1920s Kansas House

In 1996, my parents still lived in Kansas. My dad had a hobby farm, and we started building a cabin in the woods. We never finished it before my parents moved to Missouri, though, and I figured the frame has been rotting in the woods ever since.

While building the cabin, we had the opportunity to salvage tongue-and-groove pine floors from an old house being torn down. The only cost was our labor. It was a great deal, but we were never able to use it in the cabin. As a result, my parents have stored the wood ever since.

Jump ahead 16 years, and I am in need of flooring for a new project (that I hope I will see completed). When I picked up the floor, I also grabbed some old cabinets my great grandparents put in there house in the 1960s. These will be perfect storage in the shed.



After bringing back a load of solid wood cabinets and flooring with 90 years of built-up dust, I got to work. Using medium steel wool to scrub a mixture of 1-part boiled linseed oil and 2-parts mineral spirits cleaned up the wood beautifully. Then, I rented a pneumatic floor nailer and was able to install the floor in about a day. The rental for the nailer was only $35, but the smallest size of nails/staples I could buy was $70 for 7,200. (Anyone want to buy 6,900 unused ones?)











I'm thrilled with the results. The floor has beautiful character. More is done on the exterior, too. I'll post those pictures soon.


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