Replacing pine floorboards with Oak?

[Mulder]

I'm repairing my floorboards which are 7" square edge Pine, nowhere near as old as the property, possibly 1940s? They're quite decayed on the edges due to a damp subfloor with no airflow (I've fixed this).
Whilst looking for reclaimed boards to replace the rotton parts (more than you think once you've cut the board back to the joist), I notice a few of the "reclaim" yards are selling 8"/9" rough sawn oak boards for a decent price. They're Green oak though, so nothing "reclaim" about them.

Is Oak a good idea? Pine always seems to be the traditional choice for floorboards. Why is this?
Perhaps wrongly, I feel like Oak is a superior material, but I also know it cracks and shrinks which would concern me with floorboards. I don't want the brand-new engineered oak look, I want the same imperfections and gaps that I do today, but I ideally don't want them to crack as much as the Oak beams in my timber frame.

 

[Itchinfilth]

Pine I believe came in later as a cheaper / more readily available product although imported pine was used in some instances in early houses. Reclaimed wide oak boards are very expensive. Do you have a picture of existing as 7" seems quite wide for the 40s.

 

[Zebra]

The problem with green oak is that it shrinks as it seasons, so you'll get gaps. It can also warp as it seasons. I would keep looking for reclaimed.

 

[Lacan07]

I'm repairing my floorboards which are 7" square edge Pine, nowhere near as old as the property, possibly 1940s? They're quite decayed on the edges due to a damp subfloor with no airflow (I've fixed this).
Whilst looking for reclaimed boards to replace the rotton parts (more than you think once you've cut the board back to the joist), I notice a few of the "reclaim" yards are selling 8"/9" rough sawn oak boards for a decent price. They're Green oak though, so nothing "reclaim" about them.

Is Oak a good idea? Pine always seems to be the traditional choice for floorboards. Why is this?
Perhaps wrongly, I feel like Oak is a superior material, but I also know it cracks and shrinks which would concern me with floorboards. I don't want the brand-new engineered oak look, I want the same imperfections and gaps that I do today, but I ideally don't want them to crack as much as the Oak beams in my timber frame.

Pine was used because it was cheaper and it was never meant to be on show, oak was reserved for the expensive houses.

A few things to consider: If you're planning on showing your floor I'd be concerned about mixing the two materials if you want to stain the floor, pine has reputation for having a reddish tinge. Secondly, as I understand it the problem with introducing new (green) boards into your house is the process of acclimatisation, your new boards could undergo excessive movement and warping that wouldn't necessarily occur with reclaimed boards.

 

[Cubist]

If all you are doing is 'patching' the floor then oak is not a good idea, green or seasoned. The base colours, grain structure, absorption characteristics of stains and dyes etc are markedly different and starkly so between oak and pine. If you were to be replacing 'all' the boards then fair enough but even then, green, unseasoned, wood is not a good choice.

 

[Mulder]

Sorry, to clarify. My options are: patch existing boards with reclaimed pine, or replace the lot with Oak and reuse the remaining pine boards for patching in another room.
It's not a huge room, only 3x4m. Currently all of the boards are up to fit fix the airflow issues and fit insulation.

 

[Cubist]

An additional and important point if you're considering using green oak - or whatever - sawn timber. You need to be careful during the selection of boards at purchase and during their later installation to avoid cupping and bowing as they dry out.

 

[Kearn]

Pine I believe came in later as a cheaper / more readily available product although imported pine was used in some instances in early houses. Reclaimed wide oak boards are very expensive. Do you have a picture of existing as 7" seems quite wide for the 40s.

I’d put boards that wide, especially if consistent, as potentially much earlier pitch pine. We hade a few rooms, early 1700s with beautiful pitch pine boards.

Some photos would always help.

Best bet is to find some reclaimed and do honest patch repairs, no pint ripping everything out unnecessarily. It goes against principles of conservation

Easier to find pine, less so pitch, but still easier and cheaper and less to source.

You won’t find reclaimed oak, maybe the odd board, but not 12m2! If you did, it would be questionable where it came from. And would cost you £3k+

Once you get your pine boards, get them into the room asap, stack them on bearers, separated with chocks and weighted so they can acclimatise to the room before being nailed down.

 

[Mulder]

I think you're right, looking again they are maybe Victorian and they do constitute some character to the house.
Think I'll try and find pine equivalents and patch up the existing.
This photo is from the other room where they are in much better condition.