Hardwood Floors (vacuum, cleaning, stained, tile)

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

Sure, everyone has different likes

The older homes in my area have full hardwood. They framed the house and put the floors down before the walls even. So closets, bathrooms, kitchen, everything.

Most have been covered over as the decades went on. I uncovered both the bathroom and kitchen. I had to replace some of the bathroom as they also redid plumbing and just covered those areas with loose pine boards, then plywood, linoleum and at some point carpet (I removed that almost immediately).

There's only two of us and we're good about not splashing. If I had a few kids I'd probably think differently.

My parents house is newer and their kitchen and baths just had plywood subfloors. Friends who have built in the past 30 years have plywood subfloors in all the rooms that didn't get upgraded while building.

I have allergies and was pretty glad to remove the carpeting as I went along. Pet accidents are pretty bad on carpet too.

I guess I am getting old as sitting on the floor doesn't sound appealing any more

Ah, that would make sense in the older homes, though I would be one of those people who would rip out the wood and replace with tile. Forget about the kids splashing, my husband and I generate quite a bit of water stepping out of the shower or tub, lol. I don't want to think about being careful when it comes to a floor in a bathroom. I absolutely would never have carpet in a bathroom either! That's because the carpet used is the cheapest - to install and to buy.

Our home is 33 years old...and I think it has plywood subfloors. Is that unusual or something? Down here in Texas, it's pretty common place regardless of price point. Homes are built on slabs, framed in wood and plywood used as subflooring on the second level. Our home is a custom home, but I don't think there were any "upgrades" when it came to subflooring.

As for sitting on the floor, not my fav, but the kids love doing it so there you go haha

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by riaelise

Ah, that would make sense in the older homes, though I would be one of those people who would rip out the wood and replace with tile. Forget about the kids splashing, my husband and I generate quite a bit of water stepping out of the shower or tub, lol. I don't want to think about being careful when it comes to a floor in a bathroom. I absolutely would never have carpet in a bathroom either! That's because the carpet used is the cheapest - to install and to buy.

Our home is 33 years old...and I think it has plywood subfloors. Is that unusual or something? Down here in Texas, it's pretty common place regardless of price point. Homes are built on slabs, framed in wood and plywood used as subflooring on the second level. Our home is a custom home, but I don't think there were any "upgrades" when it came to subflooring.

As for sitting on the floor, not my fav, but the kids love doing it so there you go haha

We toss down a bathmat right outside the tub, dry off either in the tub (tub with shower) or on the mat, put the mat back over the rod to dry. No worries about being careful that way

To creep you out more, my bathroom carpeting was shag. Pink shag. it was the single worst change they'd made to the house (but easy to remove)

I don't think plywood subfloors are unusual in newer homes, even older than 30 years, I think it's the norm. Not even sure when that would have started, 1950s? 1960s? What I meant earlier and poorly said was in older houses (1960s and earlier I'd guess, here in the northeast), you'll typically find hardwood under most carpeting, it wouldn't have been carpeted originally.

At some point, don't know if it was the 70s or 80s, houses were built with carpeting as a finish. So here we come in 2022, remove the carpet in the living room and there's just plywood beneath. Do that to a 30s house and you should find original hardwood. The biggest difference to me is that in the earlier houses you'll see hardwood everywhere while in slightly later ones you'll find hardwood everywhere but kitchen and bath. Then a little later you'll find plywood everywhere, under whatever finish the original builders chose. Just going by childhood experience and visiting that vintage as an adult here in the northeast. I know it sounds like I'm talking about hardwood as a subfloor, but that's almost what happens after 100 years of "updates" to a house. There is usually a different type of subfloor in older houses, but not plywood.

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by riaelise

That's character I'm not particularly fond of, but it is what it is when you have a wood floor and especially dogs. No human in our home has damaged the floor, but our beloved 85 lb Wally has scratched the heck out of the finish. You turn a blind eye -- either that or you just get used to it.

For those who can't or won't then it's nice to have other options out there.

True- always good to have options. But I can say when you go into an old bar or restaurant around here that has old fir floors made from a mill that has the chatter marks and circle sawn marks, and it has been beat to snail snot over 50 years, no one goes "God those floors look like crap". Most people say- "Look at these cool old wood floors!".

Lived on wood floors are still- wood floors.

[Durpie22]

I think the dated look your friend is referring to is the standard narrow plank basketball floor looking hardwood floors. Seems like wide plank is in style now. Also, good LVP looks pretty much the same as engineered hardwood, but I find that real hardwood has more of a shine to it. Cheap LVP looks like crap in my opinion.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

We toss down a bathmat right outside the tub, dry off either in the tub (tub with shower) or on the mat, put the mat back over the rod to dry. No worries about being careful that way

To creep you out more, my bathroom carpeting was shag. Pink shag. it was the single worst change they'd made to the house (but easy to remove)

I don't think plywood subfloors are unusual in newer homes, even older than 30 years, I think it's the norm. Not even sure when that would have started, 1950s? 1960s? What I meant earlier and poorly said was in older houses (1960s and earlier I'd guess, here in the northeast), you'll typically find hardwood under most carpeting, it wouldn't have been carpeted originally.

At some point, don't know if it was the 70s or 80s, houses were built with carpeting as a finish. So here we come in 2022, remove the carpet in the living room and there's just plywood beneath. Do that to a 30s house and you should find original hardwood. The biggest difference to me is that in the earlier houses you'll see hardwood everywhere while in slightly later ones you'll find hardwood everywhere but kitchen and bath. Then a little later you'll find plywood everywhere, under whatever finish the original builders chose. Just going by childhood experience and visiting that vintage as an adult here in the northeast. I know it sounds like I'm talking about hardwood as a subfloor, but that's almost what happens after 100 years of "updates" to a house. There is usually a different type of subfloor in older houses, but not plywood.

I'm originally from the Northeast, and yeah, lots of older homes with hardwood everywhere.

Originally Posted by Threerun

True- always good to have options. But I can say when you go into an old bar or restaurant around here that has old fir floors made from a mill that has the chatter marks and circle sawn marks, and it has been beat to snail snot over 50 years, no one goes "God those floors look like crap". Most people say- "Look at these cool old wood floors!".

Lived on wood floors are still- wood floors.

Totally agree. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of well worn wood, rustic floors but I do love our dog, so I tolerate the scratches on a non-rustic style floor, where it doesn't have the same appeal, lol.

Originally Posted by Durpie22

I think the dated look your friend is referring to is the standard narrow plank basketball floor looking hardwood floors. Seems like wide plank is in style now. Also, good LVP looks pretty much the same as engineered hardwood, but I find that real hardwood has more of a shine to it. Cheap LVP looks like crap in my opinion.

I don't think wood -- regardless of plank size -- is ever dated. A wood floor is a wood floor. It doesn't date or modernize a room. Also, there are many who like smaller plank sizes. I have a traditional home outfitted with 3-1/4 inch Brazilian Cherry. It looks very nice.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by riaelise

...

I don't think wood -- regardless of plank size -- is ever dated. A wood floor is a wood floor. It doesn't date or modernize a room. Also, there are many who like smaller plank sizes. I have a traditional home outfitted with 3-1/4 inch Brazilian Cherry. It looks very nice.

We have several hundred SF of quarter-sawn, natural finish oak flooring.
"Basketball floor" style.
It is 20 years old. I installed it.
It will last as long as the house, or longer, and shows no wear.

The width of the boards doesn't matter to my bare feet, which love to walk on it.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

We have several hundred SF of quarter-sawn, natural finish oak flooring.
"Basketball floor" style.
It is 20 years old. I installed it.
It will last as long as the house, or longer, and shows no wear.

The width of the boards doesn't matter to my bare feet, which love to walk on it.

My house is almost 100 years old and has this style floor. The flooring isn’t in perfect shape, but for its age it is doing well. From what I can tell, it was covered with wall-to-wall carpeting at one point. That said, when I remodel the bathroom and kitchen, my aim is not to be trendy but to do something more in line with the age of the house in terms of design.

[tarragon]

I love hardwood floors. After years of use, you can refinish them vs. having to replace them. Carpets are just dirt collectors IMO. I do like tiled floors. I can't imagine hardwood floors making a house look old-fashioned!

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by riaelise

I don't think wood -- regardless of plank size -- is ever dated. A wood floor is a wood floor. It doesn't date or modernize a room. Also, there are many who like smaller plank sizes.

I completely agree.

[johngolf]

Like most homes in the South, my home is on a concrete slab. My hardwood floors are engineered hardwood, glued to the slab. The better engineered hardwood flooring has a thick upper layer and can be refinished if needed. I have carpet in the 3 bedrooms. Kitchen and bath floors are sheet vinyl. I like the combinations of flooring.