InspectAPedia ^®

Guide to Kinds of Wood Flooring Materials InspectAPedia®  -     How to identify different types & ages of wood floors Building component age: construction materials, methods, including hardware, saw cuts, and other details can help determine when a building was constructed or when it was modified.

Here we provide a photo guide to types and ages of wood flooring in buildings. The age of a building can be determined quite accurately by documentation, but when documents are not readily available, visual clues such as those available during a professional home inspection can still determine when a house was built. Also see FLOORING TYPES & DEFECTS.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

List of Types & Ages of Wood Floors Used in Buildings

The list of flooring types by wood species, widths, thicknesses, edge types (square, shiplap, tongue & groove), and the history and age of the use of these products in buildings is enormous. Here we collect and provide photographs of a collection of wood flooring types as an aid to flooring restorers, preservationists, and inspectors wishing to determine the age of a building and its materials.

Warnings to Wood Floor Restorers

The properties of wood as well as its coatings change over time. Wideboard shiplap-edged floors in an 1860's house we restored in Wappingers Falls NY had been coated with a paint made of oxblood and milk. 125 years later this coating was difficult to remove. Not wanting to use modern floor sanders to make the floors in this historic home dead flat, we tried sanding with portable sanders and found ourselves replacing the sanding belt or disc ever few minutes. Water or other chemicals did not help. We resorted to hand scraping and sanding.

Our antique wide board flooring photos (below) show before and after photographs of the wide board flooring repaired and restored by the author. These boards were edged in a ship-lap or "L" cut design in which about 50% of the each board edge is rabbeted or cut away. Older solid wood boards typically used before 1800 in the Northeastern U.S. often were made of solid 1" thick boards with squared and butted edges. At Wood Floor Damage we discuss causes and proper treatment of gaps between wood floor boards.

Wood also may become very hard with age. This example about chestnut trim applies to salvaging old wood flooring as well. Removing old trim may require the simultaneous use of multiple thin prybars to avoid ruining the material. Nails should be removed from the back of the trim, not the front, by pulling the nail through the wood board. If you try to hammer nails back out from the back to the front or exposed face of the board the nail head will usually split and damage the face of the trim board. We removed chestnut trim boards in this 1900 home (photo at left) in Poughkeepsie, NY to route new electrical wiring in the lower walls. It was impossible to nail these beautiful boards back in place - it was like nailing iron. Every nail hole had to be drilled to avoid damaging the wood. The flooring shown here is a combination of 1900's vintage strip flooring and inlay.

Wood Inlay & Parquet Flooring

Continuing with another photo of the Poughkeepsie home built ca 1900, the parquet flooring was surrounded by wood inlay border. Unfortunately this floor had been sanded several times, resulting in parquet and trim so thin that only the most gentle, non-desctructive re-finishing was feasible. Where parquet sections had come loose a previous owner had secured them with many tiny wire nails. These were removed, loose pieces cleaned, and the repaired sections were re-glued to a backer and replaced in the floor.

Modern Narrow-Width Solid Wood Strip Flooring

Widespread popular use of thin-width 3/4" thick wood strip flooring began in the U.S. in the 1920's and continued to the 1980's. Look closely at the edge of the floor, perhaps pulling up quarter-round or baseboard floor trim to expose the very perimeter of the floor, and you may be able to determine how much thickness of the wood has been lost from prior re-sanding and re-finishing. Our photo, left, shows original 1920's pine flooring in a restored home in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Modern Thin Width Short Length Wood StripFlooring

Widespread popular use of shorter-length thin-width 3/4" thick wood strip flooring began in the U.S. in the 1980's as the price of solid wood flooring and wood in general increased rapidly. Often sold in composite sections (multiple lengths or even widths pre-glued together, and usually pre-finished (see below) this flooring material can be as beautiful as its older longer-length sister. Carefully chosen and matched thin-strip, wood short length

Pre-Finished Wood Flooring Materials

Pre-finished wood flooring can significantly reduce the installation cost for wood floors in a home. Because such floors may be installed by inexpert builders, perhaps over an uneven subfloor without an underlayment, some pre-finished wood flooring is beveled along the board edges, providing a "Vee-groove" shown between abutting floor boards. The Vee will disguise slight irregularities in the floor installation (common) and slight variations in thickness between abutting boards (uncommon). In a traditional wood strip floor these irregularities would vanish during finish sanding and finishing of the floor. But keep in mind that a V-groove pre-finished wood floor cannot be sanded for re-finishing without causing a cosmetic problem: unless the floor is sanded so deeply as to remove the "V" grooves completely, the grooves will be inconsistent across the re-finished floor, a troubling cosmetic defect to many owners. Our photo of a non-vee type pre-finished oak short-strip full 3/4" thick flooring used in a home constructed in 1998 shows a floor that can be sanded and re-finished if needed.

Share this Article      

...

Technical Reviewers & References

Search InspectAPedia

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia^® Website
• InspectAPedia Bookstore lists recommended books, organized by topic & available for purchase. Most of our articles also include a list of recommended books for the specific article topic as well as other references, and information sources.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ACOUSTICAL SEALANTS
AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine
  Architecture & Style
  Building Records
  Chimneys & Fireplaces
  Electrical Components
  Flooring Materials
    Asphalt Tile Flooring
    Cork Flooring Tiles
    Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles
    Sheet Flooring Materials
    Linoleum Sheet Flooring
    Non-Resilient Floor Coverings
    Laminate Wood & Other Laminate Floors
    Wood Floor Types
    Wood Floor Damage
  Foundation Materials
  Framing Materials Age
    Dimensional Lumber
    Engineered Wood Products
    Hewn beams & planks
    Log construction
    Sheathing, Gypsum board
    Sheathing Homasote & Other Board
    Sheathing, OSB
    SHEATHING, Plywood
SHEATHING, FOIL FACED - VENTS
    Straw Bale Construction
    Trusses
  Framing Methods Age
    Balloon Framing
    Log Home Construction
    Modular Construction
    Panelized Construction
    Plank Houses
    Platform Framing
    Post & Beam Construction
    Straw Bale Construction
    Welded Wire Sandwich Framing
  Framing Size & Spacing
  Heating Equipment
  Insulation Materials
  Nails and Hardware
  Plaster & Beaverboard & Drywall
  Plumbing Materials & Fixtures
  Roofing Materials
  Saw Cuts, Tool Marks
  Sears Kit Houses
  Siding Materials
  Windows & Doors

• America's Favorite Homes, mail-order catalogues as a guide to popular early 20th-century houses, Robert Schweitzer, Michael W.R. Davis, 1990, Wayne State University Press ISBN 0814320066 (may be available from Wayne State University Press)
• American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
• Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
• Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ...  In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
  • How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
  • What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
  • How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
  • What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked?
  "
• Isham: "An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
• Manufactured & Modular Homes: Modular Building Systems Association, MBSA, modularhousing.com, is a trade association promoting and providing links to contact modular builders in North America. Also see the Manufactured Home Owners Association, MHOAA, at www.mhoaa.us. The Manufactured Home Owners Association of America is a National Organization dedicated to the protection of the rights of all people living in Manufactured Housing in the United States.
• Pergo AB, division of Perstorp AB, is a Swedish manufacturer or modern laminate flooring products. Information about the U.S. company can be found at http://www.pergo.com where we obtained historical data used in our discussion of the age of flooring materials in buildings.
• Plank House Construction: webslog from plankhouse.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/plank-house-construction/ and where plank houses were built by native Americans, see
  Large 1:6 Scale Plank House Construction / P8094228, Photographer: Mike Meuser
  06/12/2007 documented at yurokplankhouse.com where scale model Museum quality Yurok Plank Houses are being sold to raise money for the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village project.

List of Online Articles Giving Detailed Information & Reference Materials for Determining the Age of Buildings

• Architecture & Style
• Chimneys & Fireplaces
• Chimneys, flues, wood stoves & fireplaces: chimney inspection, defects, safety concerns
• Chimneys & Flues, safety concerns, chimney inspection methods, chimney repair methods, chimney relining methods, chimney replacement, new installation alternatives; and direct-vent alternatives to chimneys for heating furnaces & boilers
• Unlined Chimney Flues: Safety Requirements old chimneys may be unsafe - photos, dangerous carbon monoxide and blocked flue case report, chimney flue standards, chimney inspection suggestions
• Chimney Safety Alert for Wood Burning Appliances - US CPSC Alert Document 5017, wood stoves, fireplace inserts
• Chimney Safety Alert for Metal Chimneys - US CPSC Alert Document 5047, metal chimneys, wood and coal stove safety
• Electrical Components
• Aluminum Wiring inspection, hazards, repairs
• Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab Lok Electric Panels, circuit breakers, Siemens, Challenger
• Lightning Strike risk assessment, protection systems - on historic properties
• Rust and Corrosion in Electrical Panels, A Study and Report on Frequency and Cause for Electrical and Home Inspectors at Residential Electric Panels
• Square D Circuit Breaker Recalls, announced by the US CPSC, recalls include a Square D GFCI circuit breaker distributed by Square D, and a Counterfeit Square-D circuit breaker sold through Scott Electric
• Zinsco circuit breakers, electrical panels, etc.
• Flooring Materials: history of types and age of different flooring materials: Asphalt or vinyl-asbestos floor tiles, sheet flooring, linoleum, ceramic tile, carpeting, wood floor types and materials
• Foundation Materials
• Foundation Crack Bible, in-depth diagnosis, and evaluation of all types of structural and non-structural cracks in residential foundations [Brick, Concrete, Masonry Block, Stone]
• Framing Materials Age
• Heating Equipment
• Heating Systems: Boilers/Furnace Inspection Methods
• Blueray Heating Boilers/Furnaces Safety Recall by the US CPSC, with additional history, photos, and technical details; Blue Flame Blue Ray
• Goodman Furnace High Temperature Plastic Vent HTPV safety recall US CPSC notice
• Inspection Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Systems Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems]
• Lennox Pulse Furnace Safety Inspection/Warranty Program: Carbon Monoxide Warning
• Oil Tanks - The Oil Storage Tank Information Website: Buried or Above Ground Oil Tank Inspection, Testing, Cleanup, Abandonment of Oil Tanks
• Plastic Heating Vent Pipe & Other Heating Safety Recall Notices
• Weil McLain Model GV Gas Boiler/gas valve CPSC recall/repair
• Insulation Materials
• Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
• Brick Lined Wall Cavities and exposed saw blade marks on clapboards help determine The age of a building
• Fiberglass Insulation
• Sheathing Homasote & Other Board
• Nails and Hardware
• Plaster & Beaverboard & Drywall
• Mold Resistant Drywall is it worth it?
• Plumbing Materials & Fixtures
• Cesspool Age Estimates help evaluate cesspool condition and need for repair or replacement
• plumbing pipe product failures & litigation use of plastic pipe in buildings
• Septic System Main Page Home Page for Complete Information about Septic Systems and Onsite Wastewater Disposal
• Roofing Materials
• Asphalt Shingles Home Page
• Asphalt Roof Life / Wear Factors determining asphalt shingle life expectancy
• Fire Retardant Treated FRT Plywood Failures inspection, detection, testing of defective FRT plywood roof sheathing
• Slate Roofs: How to Inspect and Repair Slate Roofs - Detailed Procedures for Inspection and Repair of Slate Roofs - ASHI Technical Journal, 1991, Updated 2006
• Slate Roofs: Inspecting and Evaluating Slate Roofs Hudson Valley ASHI seminar content
• Slate Roofs: a photographic library of slates, slate roofs, roofing styles
• Saw Cuts, Tool Marks
• Sears Kit Houses and other special home construction methods
• Mobile Home Inspections
• Mobile Home vs Trailer vs Modular vs Panelized Construction an explanation of terms and how to identify these structures.
• Sears Houses: How to identify Sears catalog kit houses photos and tips for identifying these interesting homes.
• Siding Materials
• Abatibi Siding hardboard siding failures
• Boise Siding Cascade, Georgia Pacific, Louisiana Pacific, Masonite
• Exteriors Landscaping, & Siding: product Failures: EIFS, synthetic stucco
• vapor barriers
• vinyl siding
• siding litigation
• paint failures diagnosis and remedy; decks, steps, railings - trip & fall hazards
• Windows & Doors


• References
• Age of a Home: Carson Dunlop's How to determine The age of a building [Carson Dunlop]
• Historic Buildings Links to other articles: Sears Houses, How old is a House, Old House Materials & Repairs
• Old House Inspection Methods
• Developing Your Building Inspection X-Ray Vision - home inspection methodology for experts
• slate roof inspection and evaluation
• Restoration Products
• Abatron EpoxyWood Repair/Restoration
• Tremont Nail Company offers steel cut nails for authentic restoration projects and work on historic building

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• ...

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

...

InspectAPedia® Home & Site Map - Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice: In-depth research & advice on diagnosing, testing, correcting, & preventing building defects & indoor environmental hazards. Unbiased information, no conflicts of interest.

The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

Building Inspection, Problem Diagnosis, Forensic Investigation & Testing, Repair Consulting

Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting