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Can I find out if there is hardwood under there???

17 years ago

Hi,

My home is a 1940's era Bungalow, probably not a true Bungalow, but that is how it is referred to. My dining area is semi-separated from the kitchen, by one side wall about 24 1/2"W. The floor there is a beautiful Maple hardwood. All the other floors in my home are Oak. The kitchen floor is covered with several layers of sub-floor and linoleum, and is about 3/8" thicker. I can see these layers when the molding is removed, but I cannot see what is on the bottom. My question is this: Is there any way to find out if there is hardwood under there, without ripping up the floor?? Does anyone know what was used in homes of this period?? If there is hardwood underneath, I would like to uncover it, but I don't know if I will bother if there isn't, because of Cabinets, etc. Appreciate any help!

Thanks!!

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Comments (6)

pinkcarnation
Original Author
17 years ago
Oh, and I should mention that there is a thin metal piece (don't know the term for it) between the kitchen and dining area!
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redbirds
17 years ago
Can you get underneath the floors and look up, crawlspace, basement, etc.? I am sure this is not the case in most houses, but our wood floors are the only thing in between us and the ground. We were able to crawl under and see what kind of condition the wood was in those areas where it had been covered by carpet or lineoleum.
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Yeah one finished room. (Of course still full of dust) They finished our bedroom yesterday. Still have to enventually come back and do the closet, but for now have moved on to the great room. camlan..Their doing the same thing here. Running the wood with no seams from room to room. I hope ours eventually "glow" right now they just glow of dust, but it still is looking nice. judydel. I like to buy rugs at TJ Max HomeGoods. Patty Cakes.. Oh no. The stairs is what inspired us to do this hardwood job. We just finished painting the stairs yesterday. The carpet that was on the stairs was old, dirty and ugly. It had to come up. My kids are teenagers, so hopefully safety wont be an issue. We'll see if they become too loud, etc., we can always eventually add a runner to them. beth..Your floors, rugs and house are beautiful. Thanks for sharing the photos and experience. work.. Thanks for the advice. I'll remember this for the near future. Id love a sweeper I could run on the floor and not have to worry about damage.
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sombreuil_mongrel
17 years ago
If you pulled out a piece of baseboard somewhere, you would see what the last 3/4" of flooring looked like. If there was vinyl underneath, you could carefully cut with a knife until you reached the wood. Bear in mind there may be 1/4" plywood under the vinyl, too, to be cut back. In all likelihood it will be a softwood floor (pine or fir). Not to imply that pine is bad, quite to the contrary; that's what I have and it's original and lovely.
Casey
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User
17 years ago
If you have floor vents, as we do. for your hvac just pull one out and peel back the duct lining and look at the layers. Very easy. Good Luck.
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jakabedy
17 years ago
Absent the baseboard and floor vent tricks, you could always pull out the dishwasher (if there is one) and do a little excavating under there.
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pinkcarnation
Original Author
17 years ago
Sorry to be so late in getting back here! Thanks for all the helpful suggestions!! There isn't a floor vent, but I plan to pull out the dishwasher and look there. Wish me luck!!
Thanks again!
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