doing up the floorboards

[annajl]

i want to get rid of the carpet in a cottage living room. the floor underneath is in lovely nick as far as i can tell. No broken boards, and gaps of less than 1mm.

i really, really don't want to take a big belt sander to it. too much hassle, and the ceiling timbers are wiggly, as are the walls, so a pristine "as new" floors would look a bit out of place.

from searching round old posts i've come to this:

knock in any prominent nails that could catch on bare feet
light sand to remove splinters
"wash" with white spirit and wire wool
3 coats of ronseal coloured floor varnish

does this sound sufficient to do the job?
are such small gaps (1mm) still going to need to be filled to prevent drafts?
also am i going to ruin the character of the floor timbers by using such a tough finish?

TIA

Anna

 

[WoodYouLike]

from searching round old posts i've come to this:

knock in any prominent nails that could catch on bare feet
light sand to remove splinters
"wash" with white spirit and wire wool
3 coats of ronseal coloured floor varnish

does this sound sufficient to do the job?
are such small gaps (1mm) still going to need to be filled to prevent drafts?
also am i going to ruin the character of the floor timbers by using such a tough finish?

You're on the right track although I would use the white spirit very carefully and only on 'greasy' spots.

If you fill the small gaps then:
a) you might prevent necessary ventilation
b) will have to re do the job over and over again, because the boards will shrink and expand during the seasons and your filler might fall through

Concerning the finish material: if you would go for HardWaxOil (natural) you will keep the 'old' character of the boards, plus have a tough enough wear and tear layer.