Can these 120 year old floorboards be reclaimed? 

Laura needs to write her own message somewhere in the house, to be found many decades later.

Do as many floor videos as you want, they're all terrific.

Side note - NOT BORING! Love these funky old house details. And the work is real.

smudo is such a workshop dog. watching him playing with offcuts of wood is just the best! and my cats also love putting themselves where my attention is XD

"if it breaks, we'll fix it" is such a great attitude to have.

I love Laura because she's so chaotic and creative but also she can't help being German and caring about millimeter accurate floor levelling.

Really glad you were able to reuse those original boards and keep that bit of history of the house! It's going to look great.

When a project is as cool as this one, it doesn’t matter how many weeks you spend on one aspect. It’s going to be beautiful when it’s done.

These aren't boring. It shows what it takes to put a house back together. I think the floors look great. Like you said if it breaks you repair it. Doing an amazing job on this house and you have a good crew.

“And if it breaks, we fix it”. My new saying! Love it

"every defect gets respect" I once heard someone say

Merch idea: "and if it breaks, we fix it."

6:56 I love the "spunk" of whoever wrote on that board. You need to highlight that someway. Keep it for posterity ❤

Only just binge watching all your videos now….i think reusing the old floors is a great idea. This charming 120 year old house deserves it. You are doing an excellent job rescuing it. I hope you get to reuse as much original materials as possible!

Felix & Laura have such great synergy, love the intro :D

Growing up country, among a bunch of Great Uncles who did a bit of building... You can fill the gaps using Hemp Oakum, or even just thick Hemp twine along with something like tar, pine resin, two part epoxy and cover it with sawdust and glue. I know they would go on a rant to use wooden pegs for wooden floors so you don't damage the plane iron or gouge out a bare foot. They used to go into old houses and deconstruct them for the wood to make cabinets with and because of where we lived quite a few of those homes were built using old ships wood. So, teak or rosewood floors would get reused a few times.

Dogs are the best. Lovely to see Smudo again. Wow, what huge project.

I don't find these videos about floors boring at all. I love watching someone going thru the process of repairing their home and your videos are especially entertaining.

I'm so glad the original floorboards are getting reused - they have such character that I don't think could come from new boards. Also it's great to see Smudo again - he's such a good boy!

I think you're underestimating how much people like watching floor restoration videos, Laura. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for you to go at this with a floor sander.

I love the new/old floor! It looks absolutely stunning even now! Smudo reacting to "where are mice?" makes me laugh every time too 🤣

I watch a lot of "reno" videos and I'm always surprised and sad seeing how other youtubers simply throw away everything "old". Is there a single scratch on a plank? Is it 100yrs old? Throw it away... What a waste... So it's so great to see how you reclaimed that old floor. I love the fact that you did and I love how it came out. Kudos! Keep up the great work! 😍

I'm betting Laura is going to resin pour those holes. Much like a river table that seems to be all the rage. The difference is, I think the little pops of color on the floor will make for nice accents.

Nice to see Laura finally find some old treasures in the house! That "kiss our asses" board should have pride of place in the living room.

Ich finde es richtig gut die alten Bretter für den Boden wieder zu verwenden. Gibt dem Haus so viel Charakter :) Liebe die Serie, ihr macht richtig gute Arbeit!

Laura, I retire next year and you have inspired me to work on my 120 year old house. Nowhere near as much work as you have had to go through though. 😊 I am so excited! Thanks. The floor looks cool!

I’m so glad you reused the floor boards ! Looks fantastic ! Authentic to the home.

i love the reuse of the floorboards! and don't worry, if it breaks you'll fix it.

Every defect deserves respect. When we built our house we couldn't afford fancy flooring. We bought a unit of D-grade fir. We cut out sections with loose knots, planer snipes, or large cracks. Everything else was used. The end result is that we have a floor that is visually stimulating instead of looking monolithic like a gymnasium floor. Overwhelmingly we get compliments on the floor. Imperfections bring their own pleasure.

Loved that you decided to reuse the old floor. But I think... .... you should definitely treat them for woodworms BEFORE reusing them!!! Unfortunately, I have LOTS of experience (😖!) about this. They may seem dead or under control NOW, but when your house is again warm and cozy, it will be ALSO warm and cozy for these little nasty invasive beasts.

With all these teasers how you will fix the gaps of the floor boards, my guess is: pieces of aluminum boxes with a nice finish. :) you know it would look good.

Mantra for life, "If it breaks, we just fix it."

The messages in the floor boards, that's just proof that the sense of humor of construction workers is universal.

Recycling Repurposing Repairing Reconstructing Rejoicing Recreating !!! What else can you ask? The floors are looking great! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💖💖💖💖👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

"I'm excited because this work sucks but it's almost done" are words to live by.

That was so satisfying. Also, Smudo was working at peak cuteness in the video. 😂

When we are working on the shell and the front door is already installed, we often build a temporary protective frame. When carrying the material in, you can briefly cover the door, especially the sill and everything stays intact

I love it when people find little messages hidden in walls of old homes.

"If it breaks, We fix it" needs to be on merch. I'd love it on a small tool pouch or tool roll.

Your "Perfect comment reminded me of a story. The calibration technician says, "That's near enough." Standing behind him, the supervisor says, "Near enough, is not good enough." After some more adjustment, the calibration technician says, "That's near enough." The Supervisor repeats his statement, but more firmly, "Near enough, is not good enough!" After a lot more careful adjustments the calibration technician finally says, "Perfect." The Supervisor smiles, and says, "That's near enough." and walks away.

I suggest you take all of the floorboards back to the shop. Any splits or cracks, glue them back together. Thickness plane the floorboards all to the same thickness. Joint one edge of the board just to remove the paint/stain/soiling. Run the second long edge through your precision table saw with a slight back bevel (94 to 96 degrees) WHen installing, the relief cut will allow the faces to come together nicely. Switch your screws to finish head and make sure they are counter bored for finish sanding.

This series might just prove that you can in fact make a silk purse out of a sows ear. I admire your perseverance

I love this video! After decades of experience, here’s a quick tip: use a very large screwdriver for prying the boards tight to the previous row instead of risking damaging a fine chisel. You get great leverage with a big screwdriver. - Rick, USMC

15:51 Felix films himself driving in one screw so it looks like he's helped :)

That's really awesome that people wrote messages like that on the wood back then, especially in the collective. Very cool.

I think it ain't about renovations, creations or else. It has to do with your crazy positive attitude, the way you solve problems, and your entourage, you seem very lucky to have so many and caring friends, and they are as lucky to have you. I'd watch you mow the lawn, and I'm sure you'd still make it entertaining. Stay who you are, please.

I thought wood floor needed room to expand if humidity raises by end of summer, start of the fall ?? Are you sure that screwing will let expansion happen?

It is a delight to watch Laura nad her helpers overcome each obstacle and carry one getting the job done. I'm sure the spirits watching over the house feel the same way. We lost our summer house in the Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and it took nine years to rebuild it. The new house was completely new starting with a hole in the ground. Then came covid and all those delays. Good luck to Laura, you inspire all of us watchers with your cheerfulness and determination to complete the renovation. Phil Gilson, Brooklyn NY

That Festool equipment is the best, that is the quietest planner I've ever heard.

Great stuff as usual! Probably not worth it at this point but I highly recommend smooth-shank screws like the Spax self-drilling floor screws, to stop squeaky floors down the line. I couldn't reuse my 115 year old floorboards so they're becoming a kitchen table instead, to still keep some of them around in the house :)

I love that you found a rude message on the old boards. Remember to leave your own message to be discovered in the future.

I like that you reused the boards, it fits well with the general ethos of natural/low impact building, and keeps visual character of the home

This whole series should be put out in a DVD set. It's a wonderful reference for anyone with an older house in need of repairs. Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Laura.

Remember that the wood will swell and shrink with the seasons. Right now the humidity is high but in summer the boards will skrink slightly. I shink you should fill the damaged parts with Sikaflex 298 and then stain it to look like teak

Laura never worry about doing the same jobs over ! We love watching it no matter what you do! Not boring soooo fun!!

I’m so glad you reused the old floorboards. They look amazing!! And “if they break we fix it.” Lol

Wow, the floorboards already look awesome. So nice that you can reuse them!

you absolutely HAVE to keep the messages! they will be AWESOME as decoration pieces for the finished house!!!!

If it breaks we fix it. Laura, that is the mindset that will always prevail. I don't think our paths will ever cross but know that if they do, beers are on me. Do you know MacGyver? Its not about doing it perfect the first time but knowing that it can be modified later. You are such an inspiration and joy to watch. Keep on keeping on! I love your work!

I’m wishing Laura every and all the bests but… “If it breaks we fix it” seems like a perfect clip for Felix to cut to in a future video.

I'm here for the "tedious" floor stuff as well as the "glamorous". I always look forward to these episodes.

That floor is going to be awesome! Showing the age isn't a bad thing. I can't wait. Show it all! Nothing is boaring❤

When you said you were going to bring Smudo back I got a big grin on my face. You're wonderful and everything, but let's face it, Smudo is Smudo.

Honestly, reusing this old floorboards is a great decision (I think). When I renovate my house (old farm), the floor was really uneven and with a lot of worms holes, but in the end, this is what bring the authenticty!

The humor in the messages though 😂😂😂 I'm glad that humor hasn't changed much over the years.

I'd also love to see something done with the messages. It'd be such a beautiful and funny way to show the history and character of the home.

I can only guess how epic the compilation video will be once Liselotte is finished!

As usual, your video is a delight for my Sunday morning. Your content is always educational and enjoyable

"If It breaks, we fix it." Glourious!

Smudo always knows how to get involved with the work and the video

I love the look of the old boards, once they are sanded and sealed, they will be stunning.

Those floors look absolutely stunning!! I am so excited to see what the final product looks like 👀

Warte, du bist bei Sendung mit der Maus dabei?! Wie cool, das war meine gesamte Kindheit 😊

Ooh! Are we doing anything crazy with the gaps? Like coloured epoxy? Waiting for the next episode with excitement! 👀

Love that you've managed to keep elements of the old house rather than just the frame! Maintains pieces of the houses history

It looks great. Full support for reusing those boards. A house is a living thing. It breathes, moves, ages, and sometimes prefers the familiarity of what it has known. Did you choose to keep the floorboards, or did the house?

I love the building stuff. No matter how often. That's why we are here.

Between your smile and Smudo chasing mice, I had a 20 minute therapy session that left me smiling too! The house is really coming along and I think the floor looks great too! Can't wait to see the next episode!

Cool flim. New t-shirt "It looks good and if it breaks we fix it." Floor looks awesome thanks for upcycling. Mahalo for sharing! : )

Not at all boring!!! I feel like part of the process, I like to see the grind and the repetitive stuff. Keep it coming!😍

I love all of it! You are the only person I watch who is redoing an old house.

Hi Laura! The video is great :) I saw a video of a guy mixing a bunch saw dust and wood glue in the middle of a wooden floor, then spread it around to seal all gaps between the wooden boards. It looked really cool in the end. I wonder if this could work also in this case! Thanks again for the video

I like the sons that you used for this video. The flooring is not boring Lara, don’t worry.

I would put those boards through a thickness planer and edge jointer - that will be WAY easier than sanding them in place. Then I’d glue them down with construction adhesive so they don’t squeak and then screw then down in pre-drilled holes and bung the holes. It will have a nice finished look. Also, be sure to get the bunged holes in nice lines. Also “bunged” is a hilarious word. Keep up the great work!!!!!!

The flooring adds charm and character to all the brand newness of the rebuilding! Recycling and repurposing some of the bones from the original house keeps Lotte alive!

Good call on the floorboards! The more you sand them, the less the "cracks" will be noticeable, and you weren't in the market for a new-looking floor, but something with character. Can't wait to see the final result :)

I have used the same technique on several floors and they all turned out beautifully! I first checked all the boards for hidden nails with a metal detector, then I used an electric hand plane to clean the decades of dirt from the edges of the boards. I then re-installed the boards with the painted sides down using finishing nails followed by sanding with a coarse sandpaper using a rented floor sander. Then I filled all the defects with a commercial walnut (dark) coloured filler to accentuate the defects and the nail holes. The last step was to sand again down to a smooth finish and use several layers of polyurethane to seal everything. It's a lot of work, but it's been worth it every time!

I always enjoy Smudo content. He is the added bonus to the episode.

The old floorboards will be beautiful when you are done. It keeps the character of the house alive. I can’t wait to see them finished!

Never boring to watch but I can understand that working on the floor for weeks maybe can get boring. :) But it is always a pleasure watching these videos.

I’m an absolute sucker for aged and stained wood. It gives so much more character than new uniform cuts.

Celebrate the imperfections. I like that you’re staying true to who are.

Floors are NEVER boring with you laura :-)

Seriously love bringing back in imperfection from the original houses. Love the floors!

Run all the boards trough a planer. Then trough a belt sander so you have nice boards to start with and don’t spend days on your knees sanding. Also Cut a tongue and grove and nail them invisibly to the OSB.

Re-squaring an old house is so difficult. Watching you plane the beams to get the floor flat is proof. It's not boring to us, but I'm sure you did not enjoy doing all of that. It is painstaking work.

some day there's going to be a video about laura fixing the floors and there'll just be a cut to "and if it breaks, we fix it" hopefully there's a good few decades in between though!

Laura, what I really like about watching your videos is just how genuinely happy you are, even when things don’t go as planned. You are a beautiful soul.

If you're satisfied, I'm elated. I am so happy to see you making progress, hopefully all the sad surprises are over.

The floor videos are not boring. Also I have to say I love die Sendung mit der Maus!