Has anyone got painted floorboards in the kitchen?

[alice]

Just wondering as thinking of sanding them back and painting. Any suggestions / info very welcome

[Sue]

Yes, I have.

Just make sure they are thoroughly dry before anyone walks on them.

I had some truly terrible "builders" doing my kitchen.

Edited May 7 by Sue

[alice]

Oh Thanks can I ask what paints or other products you used and is it long lasting or do you have to keep redoing it?

[Sue]

I used a white floor paint, whether you keep redoing it depends on how bothered you are about scuffs, which I'm not 😂

I just pretend it's supposed to look like that 😂

I hoover it then mop it with Flash or something similar in a bucket.

Some things have stained it in places, but obviously a white floor in a kitchen is liable to get stained.

Sometimes I put rugs down if I want a change.

You need to make sure the floorboards don't have gaps where water could get in and rot them.

In the kitchen I originally had a concrete floor, so tongue and groove was put over it  (so no gaps between the boards, though it looks like floorboards) but my bathroom has actual floorboards which were painted white.

I know people who have just used ordinary paint rather than floor paint, but I imagine it's not so hard-wearing.

You could ask advice in a paint shop.

Edited May 7 by Sue

[alice]

Many thanks for your detailed reply. Our floor was originally concrete too - had the floorboards down for years now and need a change. thanks again

[abanemare]

Bit late so you might already have painted your floor but here goes.  We painted our living room floor a few years back.  Absolute disaster, you end up mopping two or three times a day to keep it looking decent and the draft we got through them from the air-bricks the house had was unbelievable.  Never again, ended up carpeting quite soon

[Sue]

On 01/10/2024 at 16:57, abanemare said:

Bit late so you might already have painted your floor but here goes.  We painted our living room floor a few years back.  Absolute disaster, you end up mopping two or three times a day to keep it looking decent and the draft we got through them from the air-bricks the house had was unbelievable.  Never again, ended up carpeting quite soon

Mopping two or three times a day? What on earth were you doing in there?!

And there are various permanent or temporary ways to deal with the draft between the cracks.

I painted the original floorboards in my living room, and I used a system which is a V shaped roll of brown plastic (comes in other colours) which folds up to push into the cracks.

It just looks like gaps in the cracks once it's in, stops the draughts, and you can just hoover or mop over it.

Can't remember its  name, but it was quick and easy to do, I did it myself.

There are other systems eg using some kind of expanding filler stuff, but what I did was much simpler, and allows for expansion and contraction because the V  just widens by itself  if necessary.

Also, though more expensive and more hassle, you can take up all the floorboards and put in insulating material from above or from below (if accessible).

I'd never go back to carpet, but no doubt fashions will change, because the manufacturers won't  make money otherwise.

I see avocado bathroom suites are coming back 🤢

Edited 11 hours ago by Sue

[HeadNun]

I've spent a fair bit of time living in the Nordics and they simply cannot understand why we use carpet in this country - they think it's unhygienic. I agree, I hate the bloody things (and yes, I have carpets). 

Better to mop three times a day than live with ground in dog / child vomit that, and various other nasty stains that, no matter how many times you scrub them with potions, you know will their remnants will always remain. 

Having said that, the houses are so well built there, they don't need to worry about drafts. I was living in a two hundred year old apartment block, no central heating - just one storage heater and underfloor in the bathroom, and a wee fire in the sitting room and I was toasty all winter long. Happy days. 

[malumbu]

Carpets add both heat and noise insulation, my brother's house in the States was wooden framed with bare floorboards, the whole house squeaked.  And have you lived in a flat with the upstairs having bare floorboards, where you hear every step?  Yes you can insulate between the floors but some owners don't bother.

You may also have lived in a house where they have destroyed the flooring by when central heating has been put in, rewiring, and the like and the builder has hacked them.  I've also seen more conscientious/tidier electricians and plumbers.

No massive issues with bare floorboards, have some myself, but felt I had to stick up for floor coverings!

Oh and for older suspended floors you need a few drafts to ventilate the under floor space, hopefully air bricks are still there.