We have now been in our home for 7 years and I still really like my pine planks.

What I Love About My Pine Plank Flooring

• Don’t have to worry about scratches – The great thing about pine plank flooring is it is supposed to look distressed and worn. I don’t have to worry about my kids scratching or dinging  the pine because it just adds to the overall style of the flooring. When they get scratched I can just use stain to touch them up.
• Hide dirt – The other part I love is they hide dirt great. I kind of hate mopping my floors so if I don’t for a week, no one can tell.
• Budget friendly – We also put pine planks in our master bedroom and I was shocked at how inexpensive they were. We did our entire bedroom for under $200.

• Easy to install – my husband installed the flooring one Saturday afternoon. They are tongue and groove so they fit together pretty nicely. We used a finish nailer to nail the end and middle of each board. I left the nails exposed to add to the rustic element. After they were installed I stained them with General Finishes Early American stain. The  finishing touch was to apply Old Masters matte top coat to seal everything. I let them dry for a few days and then we moved everything back in.

The Down Side

• Larger cracks -The major down side is pine planks are not designed to fit together seamlessly, leaving cracks in between each board. Our flooring is tongue and groove which allows some of them to fit together tight, but others still have larger gaps allowing crumbs fall down in them. However, most messes can be vacuumed out without much effort.
• Scratch easier – Pine is a much softer wood then Oak so they do scratch easier. But, like I said earlier, it goes with the character of the flooring.
• Slivers – Sometimes the wood will break or crack which can cause slivers. However, when that happens I sand it down slightly, stain it and then seal it. The wood looks same as before.