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I am building a new house and doing a loft with timber frame construction. The beams are 6 X 8 pine beams with 2 X 6 pine flooring. The is the ceiling of the first floor. I am having the flooring guy doing the top side of the floor with high gloss poly. He says he seals the wood with a oil based sealer to get the poly to coat well. What do you think? I am going to do the exposed beams and underside of the flooring with a clear satin finish. Has any one done a similar project or have some much needed advice. What material did you use? Should I add some color to the pine?
Thanks
Tom H
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Tom,
What kind of "pine"? Structural members are usually Douglas Fir, if this is the case in regard to the beams, I would finish them natural using a clear polyurethane or spar varnish. Doug Fir has, IMO, a beautiful grain and ages very well, it is one of my favorite softwoods.
FWIW, it sounds like your flooring guy knows what he is doing. Most guys nowadays wouldn't take that extra step when using polyurethane. Just my 2 cents.
Dano
*The beams are some kind of pine, I asked for Doug fir, but the builder ended up with this, from the mill. It looks OK, and we are trying to keep the cost down as well. I brought a few scraps home to try different finishes. The pine has some grain and some knots, I want to keep it light, as well as see as much of the grain. All of this darkens with age. I will do trim with the same finish as well. Thank for the help Tom
*Tom, If your foor/beams are Monterey pine (Pinus radiata)it, when finished with a clear satin will generally age to a yellowish colour. The time line usually depends on the amount of sunlight it is exposed to. I believe there are products which are supposed to keep pine white (anyone tried them?)but short of liming I think you go with nature.I agree with Dano about your bloke taking the extra step - not common here.Don
*Tom, if the beams are white pine they will age naturally to a medium orangy brown (as opposed to a "deep orangy brown"). Oil based polyurethane will darken the wood immediately, water based will keep it light initially but it will still darken over time. You could use a pickling stain, which is a very thin white stain. A coat of oil (Boiled tung oil, boiled linseed oil, Watco, etc.) will be the easiest to apply, as working over your head is messy, and the result will look satiny. The oil will darken the wood as well. Mike
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