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I was told hardwood floor is a dying trend as well after 30 years. As an apartment renter I am happy to hear that because hardwood floor is far more noisy! You drop a phone and it sounds like 50 pounds!
30 years? How old are you?
Houses and apartments have been built with plain wood floors for at least 400 years.
Houses and apartments have been built with plain wood floors for at least 400 years.
Years ago hardwood floors were the standard in homes and apartments, then carpet was popular for about 50 years, then it went back to hardwood back in the 1990s, now I was told carpet is the next trend of the 20's.
But I know what you are saying. I think if there was a way to make hardwood floors in shared communities not as loud I would not mind them as much.
Everything is just so much louder, and my neighbors are only doing normal daily routine things. I was told concrete flooring is best for avoiding noise in apartments and condominiums, but I rarely have ever seen any listed in my area to rent. Not even sure they exist here in Southern California.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Regardless of what HGTV is pushing, not enough people watch to change the trends of the homeowners, and even some that watch don't follow their trends for their own homes. For example we hate granite counter tops, and are in the process of replacing ours with Quartz.
Open concept, for example has been around for 40 years, and people just like it. Our house was built in 1978 and is open concept. The electric fireplace is definitely not the same as wood or even gas, but that will continue, not only because so many people are lazy but the current government efforts to ban natural gas and promote electrification. Our master suite is about 400 sf and I have always wondered why, we only sleep in it (well, maybe something else but it's still usually at night in the bed). It seems a waste, better to have the kids rooms larger since they always spent mo0re time in there with homework and hanging out.
Tub and shower is ideal but many bathrooms don't have room, and as costs get higher and higher not many will be able to afford that.
And my experience has been completely different than that. At any rate, it's not a new trend and has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years, especially in smaller homes. See some of the '50s examples attached... There are open straight spaces and open L shapes spaces. I lived in a '50s home with an open L shaped space (with the dining room at the corner of the L). Small homes tend to do that to maximize floor space without having rooms that are to tiny.
I'm not talking simple floor joists. I'm talking the oversized beams necessary to span large open areas without pillars or being visible in the room. Engineering definitely does have to be done to make sure upper floors don't fall into the open space. When we did my addition, there was engineering done with engineered beams in the garage so that there weren't any posts in it supporting the beams that supported the upper floor. 117 years later, nothing has settled, due to the engineering done.
Well historically speaking, if you had an "open" floorplan, a couple hundred years ago, you were probably simply very poor. It of course cost more money to have a house with a separate kitchen, parlor, etc. Walking into a house in 1800 with the front door opening into one large room used as kitchen, "living room" (not a term back then) etc., would have screamed poverty to a visitor. But perhaps it's part of the long term trend of people's homes simply becoming lower and lower in quality as average people can't afford quality any longer. I mean compare the woodwork and finishing of a typical house from 1850 to 1950 to now. Just price out finishing a modern house in a historically accurate way with all the nice hardwood casing and baseboards, plaster walls, wood floors, rail and stile construction wood doors, etc.
Again, I am speaking as someone who has built a house, and who is well versed on the subject. You can size a floor joist very easily to a span. Longer span, larger dimensions for the lumber. And obviously modern i-joists and lvl have their own span charts. Settling on the floor joists for my house was simple. Check a span table and I was done. If you're familiar with timber framing as well you will also know that timbers can be used in ways modern stick framers may not use them (i.e., a timber can be used such that its widest dimension is resting on the walls below rather than its narrow dimension). Timber framing follows very traditional rules and there isn't a need for an engineer really unless you live in a place requiring engineers be involved.
I mean compare the woodwork and finishing of a typical house from 1850 to 1950 to now. Just price out finishing a modern house in a historically accurate way with all the nice hardwood casing and baseboards, plaster walls, wood floors, rail and stile construction wood doors, etc.
Oh I know, the basic house I'm in was built in 1932, with real dimensional lumber (which feels petrified right now, from how hard it was to cut to put in attic access) and wood trim that was still not prefab.
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Timber framing follows very traditional rules and there isn't a need for an engineer really unless you live in a place requiring engineers be involved.
Yes, the addition was 600 SF over a 2 1/2 car garage and engineering was required to be done by the county. Can't just say, Oh, here's the beam size for the span, it needed engineering sign off showing that it could support the wight of the upper floor and upper walls. And I'd want that for any open span with a floor above, as well as engineering beams to replace load bearing walls in a remodel.
That was back in the late 90's-
They're a "trend" again- NOW!
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