Things today are vastly different from the way things were back in the 1800s.
Think of it this way: Back then, most people traveled by horse or foot, Florida wasn’t even a state until 1845, and women wore wide, bulky cages under their skirts to make their waists look tiny by comparison.
But one thing that has remained a constant over the past 200 or so years is that we still build things with good, old-fashioned wood.
Yet it seems like contemporary carpentry is taking creations concocted from hickory, maple, and birch and bringing them to a whole new level of leveling. For instance, crafty craftsmen (and, ahem, craftswomen) are making backyard bars, puzzle-like office furniture, and even mysterious holes on the cliffs of mountains completely out of wood.
It’s truly remarkable, but what’s really impressive is when someone can figure out how take something from the 1800s and make something completely new with it.
One imaginative Imgur user, Powercube, figured out just how to do that by scoring some wood from an 1840s cotton mill and making something modern and gorgeous with it…
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Powercube wanted something he couldn’t find at his local big-box store, so he went on Craigslist and found heart pine taken out of an 1840s Cotton Mill. That means it can be anywhere from 250–300 years old!
The first step was to pull up the old, inexpensive laminate "pergo"-style flooring they originally had in their 1960s ranch house. Under the laminate, they found foam padding. They pulled it up and got rid of that, as well.
An added perk was that the laminate was in such good condition, he and his wife were able to sell it on Craigslist.
They decided to keep some of the house’s original flooring as well, which is oak.
Some of the subflooring had rotted, however, so they matched it to the height of the old oak flooring that was still in good condition.
Then they rolled out and stapled roofing felt to the subfloor.
Then he put down the tongue and groove flooring with a flooring nailer, which you can get from a local tool rental store for about $25, or buy one from a retailer like Home Depot for $150. Be careful, though! He warns that this step can be “hard on the back but doesn't take much intelligence.”
One of the reasons why this couple was attracted to this kind of wood was because they found beauty in its imperfections. But that also means that not all the boards fit perfectly. If you want to get all the boards tight, he suggests using “a small block of the flooring placed against the board you are laying to hammer the board tight and get it firmly seated.”
The floors were then sanded. Powercube advises that you let the machine do the work, just guide it.
Then it was time to give the floors a little panache with a more natural finish. They used boiled linseed oil and a paste wax finish called Johnson Paste Wax.
Then they watched their masterpiece dry.
Be forewarned: There will be squeaks due to the age of the wood, but they can be fixed with nails. Some were kept in this house though, for character.
They moved their furniture back in and looked proudly at their hard work.
It’s a beautiful way to connect the old and new world.
Please SHARE this with everyone you know and inspire others to improve their homes in unique and intimate ways!
