Old House In The 1900 Chicago With Dirt Floors

The history of wood flooring begins in colonial america when the first floors were wide thick planks cut from the continent s abundant old growth forests.

Old house in the 1900 chicago with dirt floors.

Here it is a mosaic lino which was popular through the 1890 s into the 1910 s. Why not accommodate them into the design scheme of the house. Often that is because we are seeing it after over 100 years of old shellac and varnish dirt wear and tear. In closing by the end of the century wood floors were not what they were at the beginning of the century.

The same holds true on hardwood floors. Wood counter tops and sink drains were common to begin with. Let us assume there is a staircase from the main floor inside the house that leads into the basement. An early installation of kitchen cupboards c1905.

Lastly let us assume there is headroom when standing on the dirt floor. Leveling out uneven floors in an old house can be a time consuming and costly process. In most households wood floors should be cleaned at least four to six times a year. In manhattan i have a house that was.

Also assume there are windows in the foundation below the floor plate so natural light enters the basement. It catches dust and germs which penetrate under the carpet and can not be removed by sweeping every footfall lets loose a little cloud to poison the air we breathe. Our house was built in 1843 we covered old wood floor with carpet years ago riped it out the floor were painted white i don t know why looks terrible also water damaged and warping covered one room with laminate years ago and it s got to go i call it my big ship with a deck wanted to replace cut outs on floor that was made over years for old coal heat i think it s oak boards on the floor. Floor installer michael dittmer who lives outside chicago dispatches a robot vac daily to keep an eye on his entire first floor.

Homes with dirt floors in the basement are more common than we realize. As america moved into the 1900s notable change began happening on the home construction and architectural scenes. An old fashioned floor covered with carpet closely tacked down around the edges is a very unsanitary thing warned a 1919 brochure promoting oak flooring. A construction crew from 1900 would barely recognize one working on a home in 1999 as the 20th century saw huge changes in the styles of houses and construction methods and regulations.

Wax waxing was a early form of finish to help prevent the evils of water and wear but it isn t a hard finish and thus required frequent re application which was trying. When the detritus of a century is removed the natural wood shines. The floor is patterned linoleum. Hardwood floor cleaning and maintenance steps.

Because of the trees age and massive diameter the desirable heartwood was extremely tight grained making the lumber harder and more durable than the relatively immature wood of the.