Friday, January 30, 2009

Oiling Wood Floors and Knitting Socks

These floors are in our shop and boy, are they ever ever dried out! Believe it or not, the floor on the left is actually clean.... just dry as a bone. They seem to have no finish on them, and a floor man who was here for another part of the building told me I could just oil them. I decided to oil them little by little as I'm rearranging the shop for spring....ufff. What was I thinking?!! Anyway, they are going to look a lot better.


I'm using tung oil and it really isn't too hard, just a little time consuming. I clean the floor first using an all purpose cleaner in water and a microfiber cloth, rinsing often. Those cloths really pick up the dirt. Then I let it dry thouroughly.

Next apply the oil in a small area at a time...this floor is so dry, I pour some on the floor and then spread it around with a rag. Let it soak in for 5 minutes or so, and then buff with a different rag. Move on and do the same to the next patch of floor. I will apply a second coat tomorrow. It makes such a huge difference.

If these floors were in our house I would be trying to get off old paint when I come to it and really make it look more perfect. These floors are in the 100 year old city hall building in our town. I rent space here for our shop...there is a lot of traffic through the building. I just want to bring some life back to them and protect the wood a little. I thought I share the project here, because you could certainly finish the floors in your old home the same way.

eta: I've been reading on the web that this finish, while it says tung oil in the name, does not actually contain tung oil. Fortunately, many people seem to have had good luck using this on their floors even though the label says "not recommended for floors." I was happy to hear this, since I really don't want to put a poly over this wood. Poly can't be renewed without a lot of sanding and I think I can refresh this easier with out having to remove all my stock. I'll let you know how it works out!


I finished my socks and I love the Mountain Colors yarn. I will definitely be buying more of it...it was soft while I was knitting with it...but after I washed it, it is just the softest and warmest pair of socks I have.

Now I've started a new pair of socks for my daughter's best friend Kylie. Those are some pretty wild colors, but take a look at Kylie:

I think she has enough attitude to pull off wearing socks like that.



My friend Dawn passed an award along to me. With this award I'm supposed to tell you 6 things I'm thankful for and pass the award along to 6 other bloggers.

I am so very thankful for...
  • My relationship with Jesus and that I have his word to guide me.
  • My husband and kids and all our extended family.
  • Having my parents living in the same town.
  • Our home
  • My dog
  • My health...including my eyesight and the use of my hands because I love to make things. I don't take this for granted after seeing my grandmother lose both to her battle with rheumatoid arthritis.
I'm awarding:

17 comments:

Renee said...

What a difference, those were thirsty floor boards! Looks great.

Peggy said...

Does the oil make the floors slippery? They look fantastic! When you said you were working on the floors, I was picturing the tiled area, and I thought you were scrubbing the tile.

Kylie will LOVE the socks!

Mindy said...

I love, love, LOVE what is happening wiht the floors! And the socks are just a bonus. ~Mindy

Autum said...

Thank you so much for thinking of me Joyce!
Your floors are looking great! My granny always used tung oil for finishing wood. She would put several coats on and it provided a very durable, beautiful finish.
I wish I could knit, those socks are fabulous. Kylie looks very much like my daughter, Alyssa.

pedalpower said...

Dot, no the floors are not slippery at all. They aren't really shiny either. The shine in the pic is because I just put the oil on and was waiting for it to soak in before I buffed it.

Peggy said...

I'm going to have to come and see it for myself!

A Lovely Thing said...

Hmmmm. Tung Oil? I may have to test that on my parched kitchen cabinets.

Love the color on Kylie's socks!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed perusing your blog, and meeting Hawkeye! It's nice to know other poodle-loving knitters are out there. Our brand of crazy is catching on!

Cami said...

I'm always oiling something around these parts. Just did my countertops this weekend! Love the socks!!! The more colorful the better in my book. Fun post.

karlascottage.typepad.com said...

THose floors are really starting to get their glow back!

Essential Oil Premier University said...

Amazing difference that Tung Oil makes on the floor! Very nice.

Love your socks. Too cute and the new pair, Wild, but a good Wild!

Blessings,

Sher

@wesome@bby said...

what a doll! i love the colors in those socks, and I'm quite sure Kylie can pull them off. I wish I could knit, I wish I could knit...three times of saying that in my ruby slippers will make it come true, right? :)

Judy said...

Thank you so much for the Award.
I love the socks, I have some sock yarn sitting in my stash that after my 3 projects are done I hope to start on next.

Thimbleanna said...

Wow -- what a difference that oil makes. Very nice! And I had to do a double take on your socks -- I currently have mountain colors on the needles. Glad to hear it washes up so well -- I'm loving knitting with it. Oh, and I love the cowls you did a few posts back -- thanks for the pattern!

Jane LaFazio said...

Lovin those socks, the kylie ones are MY colors!
I've used tung oil on a butcher block table and know it makes a huge difference, but tackling a whole floor! yikes! good for you.
Happy Valentines Day!

Anonymous said...

What a very excellent article. I hope that you will post more. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Nice article and very great wood flooring and knitting. Thank you for sharing.