Our dream floor from pur natur

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One of the first decisions we made after buying the house was the floor. I knew from the start that I wanted room-length Douglas fir floorboards with a light look. I had saved so many pictures in the past with just such a floor and always dreamed that if I had the opportunity to lay such a floor, I would want to do exactly that. So I had decided on the floor I wanted for our house, but what did Felix think?

Convince Felix

Prepared with tons of pictures in my luggage, I was ready to convince Felix of my dream floor. I didn't need much convincing, as Felix also immediately saw the image that I had been seeing the whole time: room-length, clean wooden floorboards with a light look that give the rooms a certain warmth and convey the typical Scandinavian flair. It was clear to both of us from the start that a floor is one of the most important factors for the overall feeling of a room and therefore plays a decisive role. That's why we had to be completely sure about the decision. So we read up on the subject and first found out what the properties of Douglas fir floorboards are.

Douglas fir, eh?

Douglas fir is a softwood that has the special property that a tree can grow up to 60 meters high. This makes it possible to get floorboards of incredible lengths, so that they can be laid across the entire length of a room, for example. Various suppliers praise Douglas fir floorboards as being easy to care for and also say that this wood is very durable and stable. They are available for both indoor and outdoor use. During our research, Felix and I discovered several shops and galleries that had laid Douglas fir floorboards in the look we wanted. So there must be something to the key facts, which sound good at first glance. After all, who would put a wooden floor in a shop where tons of people walk over it if it wasn't easy to care for, durable and stable? But this pure information wasn't enough for us and we wanted to hold something in our hands. Touch the wood, get a feel for it and, above all, find the right one for us from the various finishing methods. Because if we've learned one thing, it's that these products can always look great in photos, but unfortunately in real life they don't deliver what you'd hoped. So we needed a sample!

Finding the right manufacturer

We began our search for manufacturers who have Douglas fir floorboards in their range. The aspect of sustainability was clearly at the forefront of our search. We relied on sustainable materials for the entire house renovation, which is why we didn't want to make an exception here. Since Douglas fir floorboards grow mainly in the Black Forest, it was clear to us that we wanted to find a manufacturer from Germany. So we first asked Google and were then able to put together a list of potential companies. All I can say is: it's difficult to choose.

Are you someone who reads the "About us" section on websites? I'm one of those people who always like to know who is behind such companies and what kind of idea came about. While Felix was researching price comparisons and finishing, I found out who the faces behind them were. That's how we quickly landed at pur natur. A family business from the Black Forest that was founded in 1988 by Ruthard Männle and is now run by the second generation. Anyone who lives in the region where the Douglas fir grows should know better than anyone else how to process it.

In addition to the aspect of sustainability, which is at the forefront of pur natur, and the story behind it, we were also very impressed by the online presence. Clean, clear and very informative. Now all that was left was for the floor to convince us.

But which variant should it be now?

Soaped, lye-treated, oiled. There are countless different ways to refine Douglas fir. Depending on the application, the different variants make the most sense. We knew we wanted a light look in the typical Scandi look. This is achieved primarily by treating the surface with soap. Using soap creates a matte look that also feels velvety. But I don't want to fool you: soaped surfaces are more sensitive when new than oiled ones. They only develop a certain patina after about six months, which makes the floor increasingly less sensitive. That wasn't an obstacle for us, but I'll tell you more about that below.

In order to see and feel the comparison, we decided on a sample in white lye and white oil and another in white lye and white soap. At pur natur you can order the samples in different widths, which we found very helpful. This gave us even more opportunity to imagine what the whole thing could look like and we had something real in our hands. The samples arrived and there was absolutely no question that we would choose the white lye and white soap version.

But the color of the floor was only the first decision that had to be made. We also had to decide what width we wanted the floorboards to be in which room. The advice from pur natur was extremely helpful here. If we had chosen the widest possible floorboards everywhere, they would have recommended that we adjust the width of the floorboards to the size of the room. Because in order for really wide floorboards to have their effect, the room also has to be correspondingly large.

The last thing to do was to decide whether we wanted the boards in the Select or Natural grade. Select has fewer knots and a calmer grain, while Natural has a few more knots and a little more life. Since we wanted to achieve the calmest possible image, we ultimately decided on Select.

Here you can find the different patterns from pur natur.

Preparation

We ordered our floor in January last year. After all, it was the first thing we knew what it should look like. However, we didn't start renovating until March. You can imagine that it's pretty difficult to know so early when the floor should be delivered. But here too, pur natur was incredibly helpful. We regularly communicated our construction progress so that we could time our delivery as best as possible.

To ensure that the floor has a proper substructure when it is delivered, a few steps had to be taken beforehand. After all, our house is over 100 years old and all the old floors were crooked and warped. For this reason, the old floorboards had to be removed and a proper substructure created. We had OSB boards laid on the old beams and leveled them so that the substructure was straight again. On the ground floor, we went a step further and Felix spent days digging out the old fill with a shovel in his hand so that there was room for insulation under the boards.

The new floor is here

Finally the time had come and our floor was delivered. Now all that was left was to get the long planks into the house. The longest plank is over six meters long and as you can imagine, it's not that easy to get such a long thing into the house. In the end we managed to get the floor in through the kitchen window.

After it had been in the house for a few days and had adjusted to the climate, it was finally time to lay it, first in the attic. Felix and two of his work colleagues took it upon themselves and laid the floor. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous for a long time about laying the floor ourselves and not having the floor fitter do it. After all, there was nothing I had been looking forward to more than the floor for months. But my worries were completely unfounded. Not only did the guys do it perfectly, they were also really quick. It was great that pur natur had supplied the right material for laying it. That meant we had one less thing to worry about.

But it wasn't just screws and parquet glue that came with our floor, it also came with lye, soap and the right mop to finish the floor. Lyeing and soaping the floor is actually very easy, but it has to be sanded first to remove even the smallest bumps. After all, it should feel really smooth when you walk over it barefoot. It is then lye-treated and then, after a few hours of drying time, soaped. Both lye and soap are simply spread generously over the floor with the lye mop. It is surprisingly quick and really super simple.

Here you can find videos from pur natur about lye and soap making.

Our first experiences with the soil

While we may have mopped every few months in the old apartment, we now mop more often. There's no question about that. Mainly because of Momo, who doesn't miss a puddle and tries to bring all the dirt into the house ;) I already said above that soaped surfaces only develop a patina after a certain amount of time. Pur natur states that after mopping with soap about 10 times, the floor develops this patina and becomes less sensitive. In our case, that means that our garden is currently off-limits for Momo until it no longer consists of just huge puddles of mud, her bowl is currently in the hallway on the terrazzo floor and we wipe off her shoes and clean her paws together after every walk. That works quite well and even now, after mopping several times, we notice how easy it is to wipe everything off and so far we have managed to get rid of every stain.

Apart from the "dirt" factor, there is of course also the "stability" factor. What happens if something heavy falls to the ground? After all, Douglas fir is a coniferous wood and therefore a softwood.

As expected, I knew that the first thing that would happen was that something really hard would fall on the floor and make a small dent. I think Felix was quite happy that it happened to me first and not him ;) What can I say to that other than: A floor is obviously a consumer item that will wear out over time and get small dents. But we live in this house after all, and don't these things usually tell exciting stories? Apart from that, the piece of terrazzo that I dropped at that moment would have made a dent in any floor ;) What you might also find interesting is that the floor was already there (covered) when plastering and other craft work was being done in the house and it didn't bother it at all and it didn't leave a dent. Pur natur also supplies a repair kit for exactly such cases.

Many people probably choose a floor that is easy to care for and doesn't require much attention. We also received a lot of critical feedback when we reported that we had chosen a Douglas fir ("Are you sure you really want a softwood for the floor? What happens if you drop something on it?") and then we also chose white lye and white soap as a finish ("What do you do with stains? You'll never get rid of them!"). Well, what about cases like that? It's just the way it is and it's part of it. At least that's how we feel.

What counts for me is the feeling when I get out of bed in the morning and walk barefoot across the floor or the moment when I come home, see the floor and am simply happy that we chose exactly this floor for our Lüneglück.

Hard Facts

Ground floor: Douglas fir plank Select, room length, 350mm width, white lye treated and white stained

OG: Douglas fir plank Select, room length, 250mm width, white lye treated and white soaped

DG: Douglas fir plank Select, room length, 250mm width, white lye treated and white soaped

You can find all information about the prices per square meter directly at pur natur or you can have an offer made to you directly there.