1960s Hardwood Floors

The 1960s was a time of rapid change especially in.

1960s hardwood floors. The bathroom was linoleum over pine. The second floor bedrooms had oak. Old hardwood floor finishes were often varnish and possibly shellac. 1970 s 80s these are the dark ages of hardwood flooring.

Popular flooring in the 1960s. Over time existing finishes on older floors can darken. The floor had a lot of staples holding the padding in place. In the snippet above from 1920 you can see the recommendation of shellac wax or varnish as the choice finishes to use on wood floors.

Although they were done approx 8 months apart my existing floors and newly installed floors were applied the same stain jaco grey custom and same finish water based satin. It should be noted that cork flooring is found in houses of all ages and can be refinished just like wood. Herringbone is a similar form of tongue and grove type floor popular in this era. My mom s home a tri level was built in 1962 ground level and below ground were concrete floors.

In those days hardwood floors were created thicker a characteristic that allowed them to stand the test of time and hold up to multiple acts of refinishing. But homes built in the 1960 s could have a variety of flooring type. Little wonder then why the phrase hardwood floors is such a magnet in the real estate market especially given that the generation of wall to wall carpet houses from the 1960s and 70s were built without any finished flooring at all. Probably the most obvious changes and advancements in the hardwood flooring industry since the 1920 s have been in protective finishes and coatings.

Some block floors survive today and can be removed cleaned of the tar and relaid in a modern mastic. Staples ran along the carpet tack strips at the edges of the room as well as through the middle of the room where two pieces of padding connected. Block hardwood floor could be laid on top of concrete using hot tar as an adhesive. Enduring as they are wood floors bear tremendous amounts of use abuse and changes and after many decades.

Unfortunately hardwood was not a trend and you will most likely not find hardwood under your carpet in these homes. I recently added new red oak hardwood after ripping up the tile entryway and kitchen to my existing hardwood floor. Lead was sometimes added to old varnishes so sanding old hardwood floors can be dangerous. But in the mid 1960 s new urethane products were introduced.