I want to Cover My Parquet Floor
I am going to put this to a vote… I have bought a limestone apt with delapidated but original wood floors…thin planks going every which way.They remind me of my classroom floors and depressing tenements. I know i am being a philistine but would it be so bad to float something over them? I am…
I am going to put this to a vote…
I have bought a limestone apt with delapidated but original wood floors…thin planks going every which way.They remind me of my classroom floors and depressing tenements. I know i am being a philistine but would it be so bad to float something over them? I am not a tasteless idiot, I don’t feel the need to sheetrock over plaster and rip out fireplaces. I just don’t like this sad, saggy oak. Tell me your thoughts people.
OP, if your floors are sagging you might want to check with a structural engineer or other type of expert who can tell you why and fix them appropriately. If you have missing beams or extensive termite damage, you’ll want to strengthen the floors before you do anything else.
If the floors are merely scratched and worn, they could look beautiful with refinishing. And as other posters have suggested, you can always cover them with area rugs and other furnishings.
Personally, I’m not a fan of new floors in an old house and would not buy or rent a house that had them. They never look as good as the originals.
Bessie –
Much of the old floors are 5/16″ thick boards with a square edge. They were top nailed. Many flooring contractors today will tell you that there is not much wood left and that you may not be able to finish them again.
I have found that there is indeed much wood left to these floors. The contractors just don’t like to have to go through tons of sandpaper when the exposed nails tear it up. The floors can be refinished and look great. It just takes a cood flooring contractor.
I never heard of a floor cloth being wood. What I am aware of is ‘good’ floor running the perimeter of a room with cheaper wood flooring used in the center. A rug or a Linoleum rug would then be used to cover the cheaper center of the floor.
Although not parquet or herringbone, my circa 1883 floor is made up of thin strips about 1″ wide. The floors, which are comprised of 4′ long sections surrounded by a darker 3/8″ feature strip, have been refinished so many times the nail heads are now nubby but flush elliptical sections.
I did some research and found that the original install may have been a wood “foor cloth”, that is thin sections of wood on a felt mat. I couldn’t find anything off the shelf to match and elected instead to buy some lovely area rugs.
Were I to replace this floor I would be concerned about maintaining the same top of floor elevation because of original baseboard and paneling as well as original doors without saddles.
Either way – much better idea then screwing a new underlayment over the parquet or tearing it up!!
OP asked for ideas – I presented an idea. Personally, I’d refinish the floors and love them!!
Carpet? Ick. Area rugs, maybe…
How about carpet? Area rug or wall to wall. It solves the problem of the floor that you don’t like, yet preserves the old oak floors for someone who would appreciate them (thay are very difficult to replace as old growth oak is hard to come by).
You mentioned “sagging.” Anything you use a s a subfloor to lay a new floor should really be a firm & preferrably level surface. You could get away with “floating” a laminate floor on top of the old one. Nothing is attached…easily removed, hundreds of different wood options.
It’s your place, do what you want. We laid parquet over our original wide-plank pine floors (well, subfloors that had been refinished) because we prefer the more formal parquet look. If you lay new floors on top of plywood, any future owner will have the option to take up your flooring and go with the original oak.
When you say “every which way” do you mean a herringbone pattern? If they could be refinished I would not cover over them. They might turn out beautiful.