Discovering a Diamond in the Rough | How to Know if You Have Wood Floors
The Tudor is our 4th home. We’ve learned a lot of simple tricks along the way, & I want to share even the most basic with you…just in case! When looking at older homes, you’ll often find A LOT of carpet. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t hardwood floors. But how to you know if the house has wood floors? You certainly can’t tear apart every house your realtor takes you to. Wood floors are expensive – whether or not a house has them factors into the offer I’m willing to make, because for me, they’re so much easier to maintain on the main level of a home & add a lot of character. It’s a personal preference, which is why so many wood floors are covered with carpet through the years. They’re not for everyone. Some people just LOVE carpet. In our last house, even the kitchen & bath were covered in white carpeting. Unfortunately, only laminate was hidden below. Here’s the easiest way to know if you have wood floors:
If the room has a floor vent, remove it {they’re rarely screwed in} & carefully push your fingers under the pad to lift & reveal. This is an area where the carpet isn’t tacked down, so it’s easily accessible.
If it doesn’t have a floor vent, go to the basement & look up. Between ceiling joists, you may be able to catch a glimpse.
What may look like full wood stairs with a runner, may just be beautiful wood on the edges. Again, tuck your fingers underneath to see if the wood continues or not before removing the carpet. Read about our wood stair makeover here.
If it’s your own personal home & the above methods don’t work, you can always find a discreet area & take up a few inches in a corner at the baseboard. If you don’t find the hardwoods you were hoping for, use a butter knife to tuck the carpet back under.
We weren’t so lucky in our new home, just finding poorly installed parquet in the office, however, I’m happy that we at least have a room with hardwood for now! If you didn’t find any, you may like reading about the hardwood floors we had custom made for the Colonial!
Good luck!
Julie
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