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"This was just one of those projects where you enjoy going to work every day and getting to see it come together," says Chris Traver.
“They were in a real rough condition, but we knew we had something good under all that paint and everything," says Chris Traver, crew leader at Ramsey Hardwood Floors, which is owned by Josh Ramsey.
The reclaimed maple originated from downtown Bozeman’s Rialto Theater, which was built in 1908. As the historic building underwent renovations several years ago, the original maple floor boards were unceremoniously torn out and junked.
"We rescued them,” Traver says. “They were just thrown in a big pile in an alley behind the building. We would come every day and do a pickup truck load of the old flooring to take it back to the shop."
When the flooring was finally rid of its 16-penny nails—courtesy of hammers, pliers and elbow grease—it was remilled and regrooved in their shop.
“Some of the boards were just covered in glue—they had linoleum glued on top of them,” Travers says. “They were also painted with a lot of red, really thick paint on them. I guess the building had burned a few times, as well.”
Ramsey incorporated the unique boards in a number of smaller projects before installing around 2,500 square feet of it in this local restaurant and brewery. The rustic flooring was the perfect fit for the industrial-style location, Traver says.
The layout was given careful consideration to ensure there was a variety of character throughout the floor. Actually installing the finicky old boards posed challenges.
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“Some of the boards were a bit warped and didn't want to click together as well as we thought,” Traver says. "But that regrooving and remilling process made it so at least we knew the tongue and grooves were cleaned out and we would be able to fit them in tight eventually."
Traver and his crew typically use a roller base on their nailers, but because the floorboards were uneven and without a consistent wear layer, the nailers frequently slipped off the tongue. They switched to fixed bases to complete the install.
"It was definitely not flat,” Traver laughs. “That was not the goal. It was a reclaimed, recycled floor, so it's gonna have over-wood, it's gonna have paint, nail holes, all that great stuff."
Sanding that great stuff required a technique of its own in order to maintain the rustic look. Traver started with a 60-grit on the first pass.
"We hit it at a low angle on the rough pass on the big machine,” he says. "Less was more on that one; I would just hit it as light as I could. I didn't want to leave any glue, I knew that; so gluey spots I would rough off with the big machine or we would go around the room and hit certain spots with the edger."
Traver coated it with a water-based sealer, followed by three coats of satin water-based finish to give it extra build.
"We wanted to keep it as clear as possible and keep it so you could also see the character coming out,” he says.
The tedious work that went into saving the historic maple flooring paid off in a big way for the company, which sees its fair share of reclaimed projects around Montana.
“We do a lot of reclaimed oak and fir and stuff like that that's already milled up and nice for us,” Traver says. “So seeing these old floors come back to life—I really appreciate that kind of stuff, saving old things and being able to use them again and have them be beautiful."
Suppliers:
Big machine: Lägler North America | Edger: American Sanders | Finish: Bona US | Nailer: Primatech | Underlayment: Fortifiber
The installation was tricky, as some of the more warped boards had trouble clicking together.
An image of the floor before the strategic sanding took place.
Traver and his crew used a combination of big machine and edger to sand, careful to leave as much of the unique character of the historic maple as possible.
The final product, given a sealer and three coats of satin finish, preserved the maple's rustic character while also giving it a second life.
