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We will be closing at the end of the month on a home that was built in 1896. The first floor (save for the kitchen) is entirely carpeted with various kinds of pine plank flooring underneath. The carpet must come up and we cannot install new carpet because my wife is very allergic to dust mites. I'd like to believe that we can salvage the old pine plank flooring by sanding and refinishing, but I won't know if it can be saved until we actually pull all of the old carpet up. Assuming it can't be saved, what type of hard flooring (engineered, laminate, vinyl plank, etc...) lends itself best to an uneven base? I'd be interested to hear from others who have installed flooring in similar homes.
If you can save and refinish the old plank flooring, go with that! Why cover it up? I also don't do carpet due to my allergies. Love me some hardwoods....I would drool over old wide planks from the late 1800's!
Thank you. I have never understood why people buy old houses and then try to make them look new.
I guess they have their reasons so I try my best to gently guide them on the true path.
One thing I think the newbies miss is that trying to force an old house into a new skin can involve a lot of work and cash. And even then it might still be off kilter.
Also it can snowball on you. Say you beat one thing into submission. Now its out of place. Do you stop here or do you continue. If you had left well enuf alone in the first place you wouldn't be in this mess. JMO YMMV
It generally starts when they take a walk around the house a few nights after moving in and fall thru the floor.
Then the insurance inspectors show up.
Then the building inspectors show up
then the engineers show up.
Everyone of them want the house torn down.
But one of 2 things happen.
You live in a historical district and you go broke trying to restore it to the desires of wacko old cat ladies.
or
You dont live in a historical district and you go broke restoring it to the desires of the engineers and building inspectors while the insurance adjuster winces.
Thank you. I have never understood why people buy old houses and then try to make them look new.
I guess they have their reasons so I try my best to gently guide them on the true path.
One thing I think the newbies miss is that trying to force an old house into a new skin can involve a lot of work and cash. And even then it might still be off kilter.
Also it can snowball on you. Say you beat one thing into submission. Now its out of place. Do you stop here or do you continue. If you had left well enuf alone in the first place you wouldn't be in this mess. JMO YMMV
Me either. If you want a new house, buy a new house.
OP, if you can't live with uneven floors - how will live with off-angles where the walls and floors meet? Because I guarantee you that in a house that old, there will be few, if any, 90-degree angles. There will be uneven walls. There will be odd wiring. There will be DIY fixes/repairs that will make you scratch your head when you find them.
Have your floors refinished but otherwise leave them alone. Those beautiful old tight-grained planks, with their wear marks, are simply irreplaceable.
Me either. If you want a new house, buy a new house.
OP, if you can't live with uneven floors - how will live with off-angles where the walls and floors meet? Because I guarantee you that in a house that old, there will be few, if any, 90-degree angles. There will be uneven walls. There will be odd wiring. There will be DIY fixes/repairs that will make you scratch your head when you find them.
Have your floors refinished but otherwise leave them alone. Those beautiful old tight-grained planks, with their wear marks, are simply irreplaceable.
It's amazing how off track a thread can get in just one page. What I was really asking was "What do I do if the existing floors are completely trashed?" I've been in the house twice so far and only been able to pull up the edges of the carpet. Once I pull the carpets out entirely for all I know at some point someone could have cut out large sections that were damaged and put 3/4" OSB, or even old doors (I've seen it done) as patches. Of course I'd like to have beautifully refinished old floors with knots, nail holes, and worm marks for character complete with all of the unevenness:
The question is what do I do if someone else came in there 20 years before me and bastardized what was there with junk materials? Hasn't anyone ever seen a beautiful old pressed tin ceiling that at some point someone pop-riveted a sheet metal patch into, ruining the whole thing? I suppose one way could be to try to find salvaged lumber to fill in whatever patches I might find, but that could get pretty pricey.
It's amazing how off track a thread can get in just one page. What I was really asking was "What do I do if the existing floors are completely trashed?" I've been in the house twice so far and only been able to pull up the edges of the carpet. Once I pull the carpets out entirely for all I know at some point someone could have cut out large sections that were damaged and put 3/4" OSB, or even old doors (I've seen it done) as patches. Of course I'd like to have beautifully refinished old floors with knots, nail holes, and worm marks for character complete with all of the unevenness:
The question is what do I do if someone else came in there 20 years before me and bastardized what was there with junk materials? Hasn't anyone ever seen a beautiful old pressed tin ceiling that at some point someone pop-riveted a sheet metal patch into, ruining the whole thing? I suppose one way could be to try to find salvaged lumber to fill in whatever patches I might find, but that could get pretty pricey.
I think the suggestion of repairing/patching the defective parts of the floor is in line with your question as asked.
It's amazing how off track a thread can get in just one page. What I was really asking was "What do I do if the existing floors are completely trashed?" I've been in the house twice so far and only been able to pull up the edges of the carpet. Once I pull the carpets out entirely for all I know at some point someone could have cut out large sections that were damaged and put 3/4" OSB, or even old doors (I've seen it done) as patches. Of course I'd like to have beautifully refinished old floors with knots, nail holes, and worm marks for character complete with all of the unevenness:
The question is what do I do if someone else came in there 20 years before me and bastardized what was there with junk materials? Hasn't anyone ever seen a beautiful old pressed tin ceiling that at some point someone pop-riveted a sheet metal patch into, ruining the whole thing? I suppose one way could be to try to find salvaged lumber to fill in whatever patches I might find, but that could get pretty pricey.
We have pulled up carpets in two separate homes to find a mishmash of patches. Not pretty. In one we just ended up putting new carpet over it because it was all we could afford and manage. In the other we put in new subfloor. A major undertaking and not something I would ever want to do again but totally worth it to have level floors and know that it was done correctly. Oh, how jealous I am of those who pull up the carpets and find hardwoods that only need an easy refinishing. Hope that's what you find, op.
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Originally Posted by deere110
It's amazing how off track a thread can get in just one page. What I was really asking was "What do I do if the existing floors are completely trashed?" I've been in the house twice so far and only been able to pull up the edges of the carpet. Once I pull the carpets out entirely for all I know at some point someone could have cut out large sections that were damaged and put 3/4" OSB, or even old doors (I've seen it done) as patches. Of course I'd like to have beautifully refinished old floors with knots, nail holes, and worm marks for character complete with all of the unevenness:
The question is what do I do if someone else came in there 20 years before me and bastardized what was there with junk materials? Hasn't anyone ever seen a beautiful old pressed tin ceiling that at some point someone pop-riveted a sheet metal patch into, ruining the whole thing? I suppose one way could be to try to find salvaged lumber to fill in whatever patches I might find, but that could get pretty pricey.
Fingers crossed that all goes well. I would love to see some before pictures when you get the carpet up.
Don't forget you can steal patching boards from inside the closets. And if it gets really bad take boards from the center to patch the edges. In the olden days they sometimes used good wood only for the edges. They did an area of cheaper boards in the center to save money and because they would be using an area rug there.
An area rug wont work for you because of your wifes allergies but a floor cloth would. Check out my previous post for the links.
Last edited by Cecilia_Rose; 08-05-2017 at 09:00 AM..
Reason: Glad to see youre one of us. :D
It's amazing how off track a thread can get in just one page. What I was really asking was "What do I do if the existing floors are completely trashed?" I've been in the house twice so far and only been able to pull up the edges of the carpet. Once I pull the carpets out entirely for all I know at some point someone could have cut out large sections that were damaged and put 3/4" OSB, or even old doors (I've seen it done) as patches. Of course I'd like to have beautifully refinished old floors with knots, nail holes, and worm marks for character complete with all of the unevenness:
The question is what do I do if someone else came in there 20 years before me and bastardized what was there with junk materials? Hasn't anyone ever seen a beautiful old pressed tin ceiling that at some point someone pop-riveted a sheet metal patch into, ruining the whole thing? I suppose one way could be to try to find salvaged lumber to fill in whatever patches I might find, but that could get pretty pricey.
Don't plan on anything until you actually rip up the carpets. You may be surprised and things are fine. Things may not be fine also. There's no way to know until the carpet is removed. One room may have fantastic floors and another may look like a bomb blew them up.
Once you see what the floors are like, then you'll have to decide how to proceed. Carpeting is out because allergies. You really don't want to have vinyl through a whole house. Vinyl floors look really tacky outside of a bathroom and kitchen - rooms with water. Since it's such an old house, I'd look at installing a new hardwood floor if the current one can't be salvaged. They're not hard to install....just really time consuming if you're doing a lot of square footage.
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