The heart pine floors of this 5,000-square-foot newly-built home were sourced from the homeowners’ property over many years—stored away to someday create unique floors for the home they wished to build. When Patrick Russell of Ocala, Fla.-based All American Floor Sanding and Installation came on the job, the boards had already been milled—though not well. “The boards were super sappy and weren’t milled properly,” Russell recalls. He and his crew re-milled each piece and had to recreate every groove. Most of the floors throughout the home were hand-scraped, giving them a worn texture, making them “look super old even though they were brand new.” The real showpiece was the 250-square-foot foyer. The homeowners knew they wanted to incorporate live-edge pieces somewhere, and Russell suggested creating a live-edge border around a basketweave pattern in the foyer. The border “was one of those things where it was meant to be,” Russell says, because the homeowners had just enough pieces in the correct lengths to create the border. To ensure the final product showed off the live-edge boards, clear epoxy was applied over the voids. Continuing with the old-looking theme, Russell sealed the floor using shellac, followed by two coats of amber-colored waterborne finish and a dark-brown tint to give the floor “that rusty, patina look.” As a special touch, Russell placed a wooden cross in one of the border corners: “The owners were really nice, and I just felt like it was blessing the house,” he explains.
SUPPLIERS: Abrasive: Norton | Adhesive, moisture barrier: Wakol | Edger: American Sanders Super 7 | Filler: Woodwise | Finish: Zinsser, Loba | Moisture meter: Wagner Meters | Nailer: Primatech | Router, saws: DeWalt | Sander (Palm): Mirka
