- Transfering wood flooring to another house

Dear Shell,

My husband and I would like to remove his grandfather's wood floor. We would like to clean it and then reinstall it into our own house. The flooring is approximately 75 years old and is currently out on a farm. The roof of the house is still intact, therefore there has been no water damage to the floor. We believe that the wood is fir. We are not sure of what to clean the wood with. Should we just sand off the dust and dirt or should we wash it with something first? Any help that you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Bev

Dear Bev,

You have a real find there and yes you can remove and reinstall the wood flooring. Don't do anything special to it until you have it reinstalled. Be careful when you are removing the flooring. Use a flat pry bar and remove all the nails. Place it in the room that it will be installed in for at least one week. Check the moisture level of the wood as well as the subfloor it is to be installed on (using a moisture meter) to ensure that the moisture level is between 5 – 8 %. Apply # 2 tar paper under the flooring when stapling or nailing it down.

It's just that easy.

Article courtesy of: Shell Busey