Most of the folks that we see in Harlem who have old pine flooring try to replace it because the contractor deems it cheap and poor quality. It is true that regular pine is a soft wood and should not be used for floors, but what one finds in a 100 year-old building is actually Heart of Pine, which is just as valuable as any Brazilian Cherry Wood or any of today's designer wood floors.
Heart of Pine was cut from the core of the oldest, tallest pine trees that no longer exist today. Since these trees were the oldest in the forest, the wood was much harder and more durable than any pine wood that one would find on the market. In fact, all Heart of Pine sold today was either salvaged from old houses or fished from old riverbeds where pine mills used to process the wood. The above shows a close up of the tell-tale, long oval knots and tiger stripes that one finds in the wood. So restore that old pine floor and appreciate its character for it is one of a kind.
The history and deep detail in this post, as in all your others, is fantastic. Such a treat to read and absorb, and such a great diversity of topics!
ReplyDeleteThanks Paula! I had to do some research on my own floors and my neighbors replaced theirs since their contractor mentioned it was cheap pine. Imagine their surprise when they found out how much more valuable the original floor was. Some folks replace their floors with bamboo which is not historically accurate. Although bamboo is renewable, the ultimate way of being green is really by recycling what is already their.
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