While finding hardwood flooring hidden under outdated carpet may seem like a homeowner's dream, it may not be as perfect as it seems, at first peek. There are three main issues that can come up with pulling back carpet to reveal what may seem like the flooring of your dreams.
Hardwood flooring has become immensely popular in recent years,
and for good reason: It's durable, timeless, versatile, and aesthetically pleasing. It makes sense that it seems like your dream-come-true when lifting up a corner of that goldenrod shag carpet gives way to sought-after wooden planks. But is it really? Older hardwood flooring poses unique challenges, so you might not want to pull up all that goldenrod until you're sure that what lies under it is truly something of your dreams, and not your nightmares.
Here are a few of the reasons this seemingly fabulous revelation could turn into a nightmare:
1. Your home may not have the same hardwood flooring throughout:
Put wishful thinking aside, and keep yourself from assuming anything! Just because you spied some gorgeous planking beneath a solitary pulled-up corner of carpet does not mean that the same look runs beneath every square inch of run-down shag, throughout your home. Pulling back the carpet from a home built in the 1950s may well reveal bedrooms that are dreamy, while the living room is closer to a nightmare.
Carpeting was considered to be a luxury, during that decade, while organic materials were seen as archaic and low-class, since that's all that many Depression-era homeowners could afford.
2. Even if it's wall-to-wall, the quality of planking may have been compromised:
You could potentially pull up all the carpet corners in every single room, making you feel as if pulling it up will reveal a gorgeous vintage look. However, those corners may, in fact, be teasers, and you won't truly know until you pull up all the carpet and tack strips.
Because those who installed the carpet were more concerned with disguising the original surface than protecting it, glue or myriad holes can be found in the wood. Any liquid or moisture trapped beneath the carpet could cause unsightly spotting or even rotting; such issues could be caused by carpet maintenance, high humidity, or untrained pets.
3. Uncovering the original hardwood flooring may not be as easy as you anticipate:
Care must be taken in order to avoid slicing into the wood when cutting the carpet. Then, you need to be able to roll up the carpet while cutting it into manageable pieces, pull the padding up, pop off and pull out the staples, and remove the tack strips. Then, the revealed surface will need to be cleaned with mild detergent.
Depending on the shape it's in, the vintage look may need some sanding, filling of holes, staining, and sealing, as well. If you're doing other updates during the same time period, you'll also want to carefully consider the best order in which to do them, for minimal damage.
Before you tear out all that goldenrod shag carpet, you might want to check with a professional hardwood flooring expert, first, to make sure your quest to realize your dream doesn't have a nightmarish ending, after all.
