NO TO THE VINYL - I'm with the Cook's Kitchen - Refinish what you have or if they can't be salvaged, replace with regular hardwood to be finished in place.

Vinyl is neither luxurious nor appropriate for a 1908 historic home.

Just how trashed are the floors? Can you remove only the worst pieces and replace them with hardwood strips? I would say that if you cannot afford to replace them with real hardwood at this point in time, then just cover them with carpeting until you can. Use either sisal, seagrass, or the indoor/outdoor products that look just like the naturals.

Thank you, everyone! I’ve been stressing over this for quite some time! Interesting how you’re all against the luxury vinyl plank, when so many are for it (unless it’s strictly b/c it’s a historic home?).

The floors have been torn up over the years to move plumbing around (it was made into apts at one point). It literally looks like a patchwork quilt of hardwoods & plywood! Can’t be saved...can’t afford to have it torn out & replaced with hardwoods. Contractor says he can put (glued?) engineered hardwoods down on top of it...I‘m not opposed to carpet (thats what’s in there now), just don’t want it throughout (And if I DO carpet, it will be natural fiber!). We’re talking 3,000sf on the 2nd level, alone...😬

" Can’t be saved..."

Nonsense. You've got the wrong contractor and you have irreplaceable old growth floors. Save them please.

she said they've been patched with plywood and other wood types because the home was made into apartments. I can imagine what they look like. However, if they can be patched and salvaged, you should try it.

amiv, are there some parts that could be saved by feathering other salvaged hardwood from the same era? If they look like this, they can be refinished.

If not, why not just put in regular oak flooring in a similar size? I know you can get that for under $5 a sq ft.

I mean, 3000 sq ft is a huge area, no matter how you slice it. But putting in cheap-a*& vinyl planks in that house is a horrible idea. (Im sure you're looking at $1.50 range or so??) That crap won't even last 5-10 years. don't do it.

cut corners elsewhere and do the oak. even engineered oak is fine. it's still real hardwood

Is this a rental property or your residence?

If you're looking for the correct historical finish, replacing the original hardwood is the correct answer. If you can't afford it now, put carpet until you can afford it. Vinyl would be another bastardization.

Why would you ruin a registered historic home?

Contact your local historic preservation group for recommendations for craftsmen and material sources.. Many contractors will say something must be replaced when the correct statement is that person does not have the skills or resources to properly fix the issue.

Most old flooring can be matched to a reasonable degree with salvage material from a reuse store. If you cannot secure something similar, your existing flooring has historical value. It should be removed as necessary from the least important spaces and the material used to lace in the plywood patches. Then find an appropriate quality replacement for the secondary rooms. If the material doesn't quite match, separate them by installing a border around the perimeter.

If you do not have the finances today, but need the home in a livable state, wall to wall carpet is your cheapest, fastest route.

Once you have saved for the next 5-7 years, you can then have the carpet taken up and the existing floor/subfloor exposed and a CRAFTSMAN hardwood flooring professional can come in and deal with the mishmash you have.

I know carpet isn't a favourite but it is cheap and fast and can go down over (almost) any mess that exists right now.

LVP requires TONNES of work to get the subfloor ready for it (that's ++money just for the subfloor). And then you pay the $5/sf for the vinyl. And the $3/sf to have it installed. And you still have a floor that needs to be removed to deal with hardwood at a later date.

That's a lot of money and work just to put in a throw-away fake floor. Carpet will go done over just about anything (assuming there are no holes). The carpet will protect the existing floors (that could be salvaged at a later date) with very little money or time.

We have a 1916 house. Original hardwood floors on main and upper level. LVP was installed when we redid the basement. For the basement LVP is a great choice, but I'd never put it in the upper levels because even with top of the line, really nice looking LVP, it's definitely not the same as real wood.

I second the suggestion to talk to some specialized flooring people rather than just a GC. Some of those guys can do amazing work at patching in new floors.

'Luxury vinyl' is an oxymoron.

But more importantly, unless that floor (the trashed one) is ruler flat, the vinyl will flex and bend when you step on it and the joints will come apart and the planks will sink in the low spots. And you'll see every bit of it when you walk up the steps.

I'd replace the most trashed boards in the common areas (hallways, etc.) with matching planks salvaged from a bedroom or two. Refinish. Then carpet just the bedrooms for now.

Natural fiber carpet means wool in many areas, so maybe you have some cheaper natural fiber options where you are. 3000 square feet of a quality wool carpet will be quite expensive. Try a mid grade synthetic carpet instead while you save up for renovating the hardwood or replacing it.

I’m not sure if this is an option for you but you can save by ripping out yourself depending. Also if it was me in your position, I’m in Canada keep in mind, not sure where you are located and if you have this option but, a lot of people will do labour for fairly cheap, you could hire out the removal for cash.

That being said it’s hard for me to tell you to rip it out knowing it’s historical, if it’s not salvageable I would recommend keeping some of the flooring boards to repurpose as furniture or something to add to the house. We ripped out a Brazilian cherry floor, the new owner owners didn’t like it, it was perfect condition and hadn’t even been refinished once. We kept majority of it.

Also if your planning on spending the money go with solid, as you can get more longevity with sanding and staining over the years. Engineered can not be sanded even once, it’s good product as well but you can’t really beat solid hardwood.

Carpet everywhere is an option but personally I think it makes a house looked dated and cheap, I’m always bias as I don’t install carpet.

LVP is a good product but not in comparison to hardwood flooring. Lvp is superior to laminates not hardwood, it’s durable and water resistant, comes in many different looks and textures, is cheaper on the bank, cheaper to install. We have installed LVP in majority of the new builds going up in Calgary. I do NOT recommend going with vinyl for your house as the prep alone would cost almost as much as install by the sounds of it.

I’ll add it’s also late and I’m very tired so I hope this makes sense lol

As much as I am not in the camp of everything old is for keeping I do agree if this is a historical home and registered there will be rules you need to follow so find out what those are for sure.I do agree to put vinyl would not be the right solution but I think good quality wool carpet will cost almost as much as wood. Maybe for now just some area rugs to hide the worst and save for the real wood floor.

You can put in an inexpensive floating laminate, which will allow you to redo wood in the future. Can be cheaper than carpet and later won't have to remove all the tack strips.

You may get some additional suggestions if you show photos of the patchwork of hardwood and plywood that you are dealing with.

If the flooring is the same throughout the home, you may be able to salvage enough from secondary spaces (closet, pantry, bedrooms) to repair the public spaces.

for some historic homes, the city will allow grants to rehab back to it's original glory. don't know if every city is like this, but it doesn't hurt to ask city hall, preservation society.

Appropriate old growth wood is still available for patching. No need to cannabalize.

Someone who works mainly on historic homes should know where to find the right materials. If you find the right contractor, he may have a stash of suitable replacement pieces. My stash includes maple, pine, plain sawn oak and quartersawn oak in a few different sizes. Whenever I can snag some vintage flooring in good shape, I try to save the best pieces for future repairs.

In my area, matching grants are available for exterior work to return houses to original details and porches. Interior work is not included but it may be in other areas.

Lyndee, yes I thought about that point after I posted. but I figured she's prob doing the outside as well, so if she can get money for that , she'll have more for the inside to spend on flooring. same difference.