How Wood Floors Were Finished In 1912

Old hardwood floor finishes were often varnish and possibly shellac.

How wood floors were finished in 1912.

Since all the furniture will be removed the room is rendered unusable for several days. Lead was sometimes added to old varnishes so sanding old hardwood floors can be dangerous. Wood is a porous material and when the old finish is stripped away the floor will absorb moisture. In the north tight grained old growth eastern white pine is still going strong in many homes.

If your floors were finished with oil polyurethane not only should you cry because the house will stink for days and days after they are finished but also because they will turn an ugly yellow orange color in a few years but there is more on that topic in an older blog post oil based polyurethane vs water based polyurethane. But in the mid 1960 s new urethane products were introduced. In some ways flooring has changed a lot since its earliest days and in other ways it has remained much the same. Parquet is the method of arranging pieces of wood in geometric patterns herringbone and diamond being the most common and affixing the pieces to the subfloor with tiny nails.

The earliest wood floors usually softwoods such as pine were often never finished. If that happens or if it is just very humid the new finish will take significantly longer to dry. From 1800 1945 wood floors were available in local species of trees and were installed in relatively simple patterns except for the ultra rich.