Our attic floors are done and we couldn’t be happier with how they turned out! This attic project started over a year ago, and to say we are exhausted is an understatement BUT getting to this point feels so good!
Now I LOVE wood floors, but all along we had planned to paint the floors because of the huge gaps and areas that needed to be patched. Painting allowed us to seal up the big gaps and repair/smooth out the dangerous spots while giving it a cohesive look. We knew that repairing, sanding, and refinishing them would be a TON of work that we didn’t want to do.
Many of the attic floor boards were so loose (some were just floating on top of the joists!) that it was necessary to secure them. We ended up using over 750 screws to get the job done! After securing it was SO much smoother, sturdier, and safer.
Sharing on Instagram, I got some questions about why we would want to keep the old beat up floors and not lay carpet or replace with new hardwood. The answer to the question is that I love our old house. I love the worn out and beat up floors. I love the character of old things, each imperfection, wear and tear tells a story. We have plenty of new things in this house. All the floors needed was a little love!
Once the floorboards were secured I filled in the big cracks in the floor that we couldn’t caulk with foam backer rod.
To prep the floor for painting, we had to do A LOT of sanding. All the jagged edges and pieces needed to be smoothed out. Derek’s “knee savers” came in clutch as this process was incredibly physical and time consuming. When sanding, the goal was not to get to bare wood, but just to scuff it up for the primer. I had to repeat “It will all be worth it… It will all be worth it…” to myself over and over again because this was such a tedious task. Following the sanding I vacuumed every square inch to make sure there was no remaining dust.
On to priming and painting! I was originally thinking about doing a light-colored floor like our bedroom, but Derek said a darker color would help hide the imperfections, and I agreed. We used a tinted Zinsser Cover Stain Primer. I must admit, it was bittersweet to see the old get covered but I knew it was for the best!
The paint color I chose is Black Beauty by Benjamin Moore, and I couldn’t be more in love!
What do you think?
