Install a Beautiful, Affordable Wood Floor

Image Gallery Pine wood is beautiful, easy to install and less expensive than most carpet, vinyl or hardwood flooring. STEVE MAXWELL

Pine makes a terrific finished floor. I installed more than 1,000 square feet of pine flooring in my home about 15 years ago. It was easy to put down, the price was better than that of many other types of wood, and the floors still look great.

Many people who want to install wood floors look exclusively at oak and other hardwoods, but softwoods such as pine are usually less expensive. It’s true that pine dents more easily than oak, and that’s why it’s not the best choice for every room. But if you believe that a few dents and dings simply add character to a wood floor, then pine flooring is a great option. In fact, the options for inexpensive wood flooring extend to other softwood species including spruce, fir and larch.

In some regions, you can buy unfinished pine flooring for less than $1 per square foot, especially if you can find a local sawmill instead of going to a lumberyard. By comparison, oak typically is up to twice as expensive as pine. Carpet starts at around $1.20 per square foot, and vinyl starts at $1.50 per square foot.

Softwood is rarely marketed as flooring, so you need to know the technical names of the kind of wood you’re looking for. My favorite floor-grade softwood is standard 1-by-6 pine in No. 1 and No. 2 grades with tongue-and-groove edges. These grades of wood may have a few knots and other imperfections. The tongue and groove edge allows me to install the boards without any visible nails. If you want a floor that’s more rustic and even more economical, then take a look at No. 3 pine in 6 to 10 inch widths, without tongue-and-groove edges. The substantial knots in No. 3 pine look wonderful when the flooring is installed and finished.

Prices vary widely, but near my home in Ontario, No. 1 pine sells for about $1 or more per square foot at sawmills, and for about $2 at lumberyards. No. 3 pine is priced as reasonably as wood can get, from about 60 to 80 cents per square foot from sawmills, and double that at lumberyards.

If spruce is common where you live, it is another good softwood for flooring. Spruce is available in various widths, with or without tongue-and-groove edges. Spruce is harder than pine, and therefore more resistant to denting. But be careful about twists and bends in this wood — spruce sometimes has a mind of its own. It’s fine for floors; just look carefully before you buy a pile of boards. Spruce that is bowed, cupped or bent is difficult to install.

Begin With a Solid Base

Installing a pine floor is surprisingly easy. The instructions below will guide you through the most important steps. Before buying wood, measure your floor area carefully. Divide complex areas into squares, and measure angled areas as if they were square. Don’t forget closets. Round up, and add 5 percent to the total to allow for cutting waste and defective boards.