New flooring

[JBloggs]

What do you want, quality? Wood lasts, wood is lovely. Carpet stains, people have allergies to carpets and animal pee on carpet, oh and barf and other things.
Laminate, blech.
TILE and WOOD. Top choices, a blend of both is nice.

 

[egoodell]

We put in knotty pine flooring. I love it, but that may be because I grew up in Switzerland and they use a lot of it there in chalets and such so it could be just an emotional attachment!
One thing I have noticed is that lighter wood like ours does not show dirt or dust. Many tell me their lovely dark wood flooring shows dust even right after they are cleaned.
RIki

 

[Ice]

I have laminate and I HATE it. Give me the real stuff!

 

[Madeleine]

We put in knotty pine flooring. I love it, but that may be because I grew up in Switzerland and they use a lot of it there in chalets and such so it could be just an emotional attachment!
One thing I have noticed is that lighter wood like ours does not show dirt or dust. Many tell me their lovely dark wood flooring shows dust even right after they are cleaned.
RIki.

All of the apts I either lived in or hung out in in NYC all had parquet flooring. If I bought a house with it I'd keep it but I wouldn't go out of my way to install it. But, absolutely love the floors in Parisian apts.

 

[gillumhouse]

Congrats!!
Are the originall floors unusable? Could you just sand and seal them?
We (ahem, DH) sanded the floors with a hand sander so he would not have swirls on the floor from the sander. Then we used a water-base ploy that in made in New Berlin, Wisconsin,. Expensive, but worth it. He did 4 or 5 coats on the dining room floor in 1995 - high traffic room - and it is still nice, The thing about the water-based poly is that it does NOT darken the wood as the oil-based does. It let the beauty of the wood show. He did this in all the guest rooms also. Have area rugs in all the rooms with the beautiful showing all around.
Oersonally, if I had a house that was 250+, I would not have carpet - out of place, out of period..

I honestly can't remember what the plank flooring looks like since the wall to wall has been down so long. Believe me I got my monies worth.
One of the bedrooms I know I would not be able to restore because I cut through the floor to reinforce a box to install a downstairs ceiling fan.
I had an experience with my ex of sanding a floor before and would NEVER want to do that again.
Guess I'll have to pull the carpeting up and take a look see.
I agree that wood would be more in period with the house.
You reminded me that when an appraiser came through and saw the flooring in my quarters noticed that there were 3 different widths to the boards, excluding the planking. He could date it back to when it was installed by that.
.

One of the bedrooms I know I would not be able to restore because I cut through the floor to reinforce a box to install a downstairs ceiling fan.
Our electrician had to cut through the hallway floor when removing our knob & tube wiring per the demands of the insurance company. You cannot tell where it was done. If patched properly, it will be OK.
Your statement of the shared bath is the one that made me sit up and take notice. Take it from one who knows from experience - figure out HOW to put in at least one private bathroom. I still have 2 that share a bathroom but created another bahtroom buy giving up half of my storage (the 4th bedroom upstairs) room so I have one with pvt bath. That raised my revenues by 33%. Would have done it sooner if DH had been willing to sign for a loan - it took 10 years for HIM to see the need. Fireplaces, plumbing location, and closets that are too small for anything keep me from doing another bathroom (in addition to dollars).

 

[Tom]

Here's a test...stand downstairs and have some friends walk around upstairs. Have them talk on their phones and maybe turn on a radio or two.
How much sound are you getting downstairs and in the hallways and room to room?
If you can insulate between the floors and walls, keep as much original woodwork as you can. If you can't insulate and it sounds like a herd of buffalo with just a couple of friends doing a test, then you need carpeting to deaden the sound. Maybe a really nice, large area rug with some good padding underneath would give you the best of both.
Good luck with your big project!.

Thanks for your advice. Actually the area I will be using I had previouly rented out as a 2 bedroom apartment. So I am pretty much aware of the noise level.
With the exception of a teenage girl blasting music I didn't have much sound downstairs.
Other than that, the most noise comes from small children running through the rooms or those "elephant" feet people who stomp up the stairs.
Problem lies in the stairway going upstairs in that it lands on an L shaped hallway with one wall that is curved in an arc. Amazing what they did with horse hair plaster and lath.
I like the simplicity of laminate but a place I called said it was quite costly to put a "nose" on each step.
Guess I will just have to get quotes.
Thanks for your insight and quick reply.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.

 

[gillumhouse]

Here's a test...stand downstairs and have some friends walk around upstairs. Have them talk on their phones and maybe turn on a radio or two.
How much sound are you getting downstairs and in the hallways and room to room?
If you can insulate between the floors and walls, keep as much original woodwork as you can. If you can't insulate and it sounds like a herd of buffalo with just a couple of friends doing a test, then you need carpeting to deaden the sound. Maybe a really nice, large area rug with some good padding underneath would give you the best of both.
Good luck with your big project!.

Thanks for your advice. Actually the area I will be using I had previouly rented out as a 2 bedroom apartment. So I am pretty much aware of the noise level.
With the exception of a teenage girl blasting music I didn't have much sound downstairs.
Other than that, the most noise comes from small children running through the rooms or those "elephant" feet people who stomp up the stairs.
Problem lies in the stairway going upstairs in that it lands on an L shaped hallway with one wall that is curved in an arc. Amazing what they did with horse hair plaster and lath.
I like the simplicity of laminate but a place I called said it was quite costly to put a "nose" on each step.
Guess I will just have to get quotes.
Thanks for your insight and quick reply.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.

On this I disagree. I look at carpet on stairs as an opportunity to catch a heel or slip on the edge and do a header. As a KLUTZ in capital letters, I have done both. I recently got rug stair treads and I DO like them. They do deaden the noise and make it less likely to slip - they do not have the nap a carpet does. I have a low nap runner in the hall. My house is a youngster - it is only 100 years old.

 

[Weaver]

Here's a test...stand downstairs and have some friends walk around upstairs. Have them talk on their phones and maybe turn on a radio or two.
How much sound are you getting downstairs and in the hallways and room to room?
If you can insulate between the floors and walls, keep as much original woodwork as you can. If you can't insulate and it sounds like a herd of buffalo with just a couple of friends doing a test, then you need carpeting to deaden the sound. Maybe a really nice, large area rug with some good padding underneath would give you the best of both.
Good luck with your big project!.

Thanks for your advice. Actually the area I will be using I had previouly rented out as a 2 bedroom apartment. So I am pretty much aware of the noise level.
With the exception of a teenage girl blasting music I didn't have much sound downstairs.
Other than that, the most noise comes from small children running through the rooms or those "elephant" feet people who stomp up the stairs.
Problem lies in the stairway going upstairs in that it lands on an L shaped hallway with one wall that is curved in an arc. Amazing what they did with horse hair plaster and lath.
I like the simplicity of laminate but a place I called said it was quite costly to put a "nose" on each step.
Guess I will just have to get quotes.
Thanks for your insight and quick reply.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.

On this I disagree. I look at carpet on stairs as an opportunity to catch a heel or slip on the edge and do a header. As a KLUTZ in capital letters, I have done both. I recently got rug stair treads and I DO like them. They do deaden the noise and make it less likely to slip - they do not have the nap a carpet does. I have a low nap runner in the hall. My house is a youngster - it is only 100 years old.

.

The treads are way better than a runner. Had a runner and it was always moving around, clean wood can be very slippery, I have treads on both sets of stairs, and use a handi-wipe dampened with Murphy's to clean the corners and a dust buster to suck up any loose stuff on the carpet portion. Saves wear and tear on the treads too! I too have a baby house, just turned 102 this year.

 

[Colleen848]

Congrats!!
Are the originall floors unusable? Could you just sand and seal them?
We (ahem, DH) sanded the floors with a hand sander so he would not have swirls on the floor from the sander. Then we used a water-base ploy that in made in New Berlin, Wisconsin,. Expensive, but worth it. He did 4 or 5 coats on the dining room floor in 1995 - high traffic room - and it is still nice, The thing about the water-based poly is that it does NOT darken the wood as the oil-based does. It let the beauty of the wood show. He did this in all the guest rooms also. Have area rugs in all the rooms with the beautiful showing all around.
Oersonally, if I had a house that was 250+, I would not have carpet - out of place, out of period..

I honestly can't remember what the plank flooring looks like since the wall to wall has been down so long. Believe me I got my monies worth.
One of the bedrooms I know I would not be able to restore because I cut through the floor to reinforce a box to install a downstairs ceiling fan.
I had an experience with my ex of sanding a floor before and would NEVER want to do that again.
Guess I'll have to pull the carpeting up and take a look see.
I agree that wood would be more in period with the house.
You reminded me that when an appraiser came through and saw the flooring in my quarters noticed that there were 3 different widths to the boards, excluding the planking. He could date it back to when it was installed by that.
.

One of the bedrooms I know I would not be able to restore because I cut through the floor to reinforce a box to install a downstairs ceiling fan.
Our electrician had to cut through the hallway floor when removing our knob & tube wiring per the demands of the insurance company. You cannot tell where it was done. If patched properly, it will be OK.
Your statement of the shared bath is the one that made me sit up and take notice. Take it from one who knows from experience - figure out HOW to put in at least one private bathroom. I still have 2 that share a bathroom but created another bahtroom buy giving up half of my storage (the 4th bedroom upstairs) room so I have one with pvt bath. That raised my revenues by 33%. Would have done it sooner if DH had been willing to sign for a loan - it took 10 years for HIM to see the need. Fireplaces, plumbing location, and closets that are too small for anything keep me from doing another bathroom (in addition to dollars).
.

I realize a private bath would be nice however the constraints of the building prohibit it. I could possibly squeeze a very small half bath into one of the rooms but then there would not be a closet.
Since I only have 2 rooms to rent I hope it won't be too much of a problem.
Originally I was going to have 3 rooms but decided against it since the other room has a fireplace and goes out onto a 18x20 foot covered porch.
I decided to make that a common area so that smoker's would be able to go outdoors without having to go downstairs plus they would still have a roof over their head.
It would also be nice for coffee in the morning or a glass of wine from one of the local wineries.
Too bad though, because I would have possibly been able put in 2 half baths as there is a long hallway (which is now used as a closet) between the 2 rooms.
That closet (hallway is too deep for a half bath and since the one bedroom doesn't extend the full length of it, it will not work.
Maybe if this flies I can expand into my downstairs and I will move into my back apartment.

 

[Colleen848]

Congrats!!
Are the originall floors unusable? Could you just sand and seal them?
We (ahem, DH) sanded the floors with a hand sander so he would not have swirls on the floor from the sander. Then we used a water-base ploy that in made in New Berlin, Wisconsin,. Expensive, but worth it. He did 4 or 5 coats on the dining room floor in 1995 - high traffic room - and it is still nice, The thing about the water-based poly is that it does NOT darken the wood as the oil-based does. It let the beauty of the wood show. He did this in all the guest rooms also. Have area rugs in all the rooms with the beautiful showing all around.
Oersonally, if I had a house that was 250+, I would not have carpet - out of place, out of period..

I honestly can't remember what the plank flooring looks like since the wall to wall has been down so long. Believe me I got my monies worth.
One of the bedrooms I know I would not be able to restore because I cut through the floor to reinforce a box to install a downstairs ceiling fan.
I had an experience with my ex of sanding a floor before and would NEVER want to do that again.
Guess I'll have to pull the carpeting up and take a look see.
I agree that wood would be more in period with the house.
You reminded me that when an appraiser came through and saw the flooring in my quarters noticed that there were 3 different widths to the boards, excluding the planking. He could date it back to when it was installed by that.
.

One of the bedrooms I know I would not be able to restore because I cut through the floor to reinforce a box to install a downstairs ceiling fan.
Our electrician had to cut through the hallway floor when removing our knob & tube wiring per the demands of the insurance company. You cannot tell where it was done. If patched properly, it will be OK.
Your statement of the shared bath is the one that made me sit up and take notice. Take it from one who knows from experience - figure out HOW to put in at least one private bathroom. I still have 2 that share a bathroom but created another bahtroom buy giving up half of my storage (the 4th bedroom upstairs) room so I have one with pvt bath. That raised my revenues by 33%. Would have done it sooner if DH had been willing to sign for a loan - it took 10 years for HIM to see the need. Fireplaces, plumbing location, and closets that are too small for anything keep me from doing another bathroom (in addition to dollars).
.

I realize a private bath would be nice however the constraints of the building prohibit it. I could possibly squeeze a very small half bath into one of the rooms but then there would not be a closet.
Since I only have 2 rooms to rent I hope it won't be too much of a problem.
Originally I was going to have 3 rooms but decided against it since the other room has a fireplace and goes out onto a 18x20 foot covered porch.
I decided to make that a common area so that smoker's would be able to go outdoors without having to go downstairs plus they would still have a roof over their head.
It would also be nice for coffee in the morning or a glass of wine from one of the local wineries.
Too bad though, because I would have possibly been able put in 2 half baths as there is a long hallway (which is now used as a closet) between the 2 rooms.
That closet (hallway is too deep for a half bath and since the one bedroom doesn't extend the full length of it, it will not work.
Maybe if this flies I can expand into my downstairs and I will move into my back apartment.

 

[Colleen848]

Here's a test...stand downstairs and have some friends walk around upstairs. Have them talk on their phones and maybe turn on a radio or two.
How much sound are you getting downstairs and in the hallways and room to room?
If you can insulate between the floors and walls, keep as much original woodwork as you can. If you can't insulate and it sounds like a herd of buffalo with just a couple of friends doing a test, then you need carpeting to deaden the sound. Maybe a really nice, large area rug with some good padding underneath would give you the best of both.
Good luck with your big project!.

Thanks for your advice. Actually the area I will be using I had previouly rented out as a 2 bedroom apartment. So I am pretty much aware of the noise level.
With the exception of a teenage girl blasting music I didn't have much sound downstairs.
Other than that, the most noise comes from small children running through the rooms or those "elephant" feet people who stomp up the stairs.
Problem lies in the stairway going upstairs in that it lands on an L shaped hallway with one wall that is curved in an arc. Amazing what they did with horse hair plaster and lath.
I like the simplicity of laminate but a place I called said it was quite costly to put a "nose" on each step.
Guess I will just have to get quotes.
Thanks for your insight and quick reply.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.

On this I disagree. I look at carpet on stairs as an opportunity to catch a heel or slip on the edge and do a header. As a KLUTZ in capital letters, I have done both. I recently got rug stair treads and I DO like them. They do deaden the noise and make it less likely to slip - they do not have the nap a carpet does. I have a low nap runner in the hall. My house is a youngster - it is only 100 years old.

.

The engineering firm that made the blueprints so I could submit the proposal to the town planning board suggested removing the carpeting on the steps. Probably for the reasons you stated.
I like the carpet treads you have. My question is how are they secured. And, do you actually notice a definite lowering of the noise level if you have someone who has a case of "thunder" feet?
On the first floor where I am, the lower area under the stairway goes to my basement. I suppose I could insulate that well to try and cut down noise.

 

[JBloggs]

Here's a test...stand downstairs and have some friends walk around upstairs. Have them talk on their phones and maybe turn on a radio or two.
How much sound are you getting downstairs and in the hallways and room to room?
If you can insulate between the floors and walls, keep as much original woodwork as you can. If you can't insulate and it sounds like a herd of buffalo with just a couple of friends doing a test, then you need carpeting to deaden the sound. Maybe a really nice, large area rug with some good padding underneath would give you the best of both.
Good luck with your big project!.

Thanks for your advice. Actually the area I will be using I had previouly rented out as a 2 bedroom apartment. So I am pretty much aware of the noise level.
With the exception of a teenage girl blasting music I didn't have much sound downstairs.
Other than that, the most noise comes from small children running through the rooms or those "elephant" feet people who stomp up the stairs.
Problem lies in the stairway going upstairs in that it lands on an L shaped hallway with one wall that is curved in an arc. Amazing what they did with horse hair plaster and lath.
I like the simplicity of laminate but a place I called said it was quite costly to put a "nose" on each step.
Guess I will just have to get quotes.
Thanks for your insight and quick reply.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.

On this I disagree. I look at carpet on stairs as an opportunity to catch a heel or slip on the edge and do a header. As a KLUTZ in capital letters, I have done both. I recently got rug stair treads and I DO like them. They do deaden the noise and make it less likely to slip - they do not have the nap a carpet does. I have a low nap runner in the hall. My house is a youngster - it is only 100 years old.

.

The treads are way better than a runner. Had a runner and it was always moving around, clean wood can be very slippery, I have treads on both sets of stairs, and use a handi-wipe dampened with Murphy's to clean the corners and a dust buster to suck up any loose stuff on the carpet portion. Saves wear and tear on the treads too! I too have a baby house, just turned 102 this year.
.

The treads are way better than a runner. Had a runner and it was always moving around, clean wood can be very slippery, I have treads on both sets of stairs, and use a handi-wipe dampened with Murphy's to clean the corners and a dust buster to suck up any loose stuff on the carpet portion. Saves wear and tear on the treads too! I too have a baby house, just turned 102 this year.

Oh yeah I hear ya! My runner is not moving around (carpeted stairs) UNLESS someone catches a heel or something, then it has a lifted edge or seam! BTW Listen everyone anyone wearing stileto heels in your B&B is going to make a racket, it is what it is. People who do that here, coming around the porch just make the veins behind my eyes bulge! They do not care about anyone else, and they will wear those (or high heeled boots) each and every time they come in and up the stairs. Go figure!

 

[gillumhouse]

Here's a test...stand downstairs and have some friends walk around upstairs. Have them talk on their phones and maybe turn on a radio or two.
How much sound are you getting downstairs and in the hallways and room to room?
If you can insulate between the floors and walls, keep as much original woodwork as you can. If you can't insulate and it sounds like a herd of buffalo with just a couple of friends doing a test, then you need carpeting to deaden the sound. Maybe a really nice, large area rug with some good padding underneath would give you the best of both.
Good luck with your big project!.

Thanks for your advice. Actually the area I will be using I had previouly rented out as a 2 bedroom apartment. So I am pretty much aware of the noise level.
With the exception of a teenage girl blasting music I didn't have much sound downstairs.
Other than that, the most noise comes from small children running through the rooms or those "elephant" feet people who stomp up the stairs.
Problem lies in the stairway going upstairs in that it lands on an L shaped hallway with one wall that is curved in an arc. Amazing what they did with horse hair plaster and lath.
I like the simplicity of laminate but a place I called said it was quite costly to put a "nose" on each step.
Guess I will just have to get quotes.
Thanks for your insight and quick reply.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.

On this I disagree. I look at carpet on stairs as an opportunity to catch a heel or slip on the edge and do a header. As a KLUTZ in capital letters, I have done both. I recently got rug stair treads and I DO like them. They do deaden the noise and make it less likely to slip - they do not have the nap a carpet does. I have a low nap runner in the hall. My house is a youngster - it is only 100 years old.

.

The engineering firm that made the blueprints so I could submit the proposal to the town planning board suggested removing the carpeting on the steps. Probably for the reasons you stated.
I like the carpet treads you have. My question is how are they secured. And, do you actually notice a definite lowering of the noise level if you have someone who has a case of "thunder" feet?
On the first floor where I am, the lower area under the stairway goes to my basement. I suppose I could insulate that well to try and cut down noise.
.

I tacked them down with carpet tacks. They have a rubber backing but I did not trust that. I think i used 6 tacks - 4 corners and 2 centers. Those suckers are not going anywhere easily.
It DOES cut down on the noise of going up and down the stairs. The drawback is that I can no longer hear guests coming down to breakfast as I did before but will give that up for less noise of late arrivals.

 

[gillumhouse]

Here's a test...stand downstairs and have some friends walk around upstairs. Have them talk on their phones and maybe turn on a radio or two.
How much sound are you getting downstairs and in the hallways and room to room?
If you can insulate between the floors and walls, keep as much original woodwork as you can. If you can't insulate and it sounds like a herd of buffalo with just a couple of friends doing a test, then you need carpeting to deaden the sound. Maybe a really nice, large area rug with some good padding underneath would give you the best of both.
Good luck with your big project!.

Thanks for your advice. Actually the area I will be using I had previouly rented out as a 2 bedroom apartment. So I am pretty much aware of the noise level.
With the exception of a teenage girl blasting music I didn't have much sound downstairs.
Other than that, the most noise comes from small children running through the rooms or those "elephant" feet people who stomp up the stairs.
Problem lies in the stairway going upstairs in that it lands on an L shaped hallway with one wall that is curved in an arc. Amazing what they did with horse hair plaster and lath.
I like the simplicity of laminate but a place I called said it was quite costly to put a "nose" on each step.
Guess I will just have to get quotes.
Thanks for your insight and quick reply.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.
.

Carpet on stairs is a good thing though: less slippery, way cheaper, and deadens sound a lot. Can be a runner style wrapped over the nose, or full width. Plan to replace it frequently.
As for sound, laminate is noisy, with high frequency, knocking sound from footsteps radiating up into the room, not just down. There are sound deadening underlayments that help, but cheap laminate is noisy.

On this I disagree. I look at carpet on stairs as an opportunity to catch a heel or slip on the edge and do a header. As a KLUTZ in capital letters, I have done both. I recently got rug stair treads and I DO like them. They do deaden the noise and make it less likely to slip - they do not have the nap a carpet does. I have a low nap runner in the hall. My house is a youngster - it is only 100 years old.

.

The treads are way better than a runner. Had a runner and it was always moving around, clean wood can be very slippery, I have treads on both sets of stairs, and use a handi-wipe dampened with Murphy's to clean the corners and a dust buster to suck up any loose stuff on the carpet portion. Saves wear and tear on the treads too! I too have a baby house, just turned 102 this year.
.

The treads are way better than a runner. Had a runner and it was always moving around, clean wood can be very slippery, I have treads on both sets of stairs, and use a handi-wipe dampened with Murphy's to clean the corners and a dust buster to suck up any loose stuff on the carpet portion. Saves wear and tear on the treads too! I too have a baby house, just turned 102 this year.

Oh yeah I hear ya! My runner is not moving around (carpeted stairs) UNLESS someone catches a heel or something, then it has a lifted edge or seam! BTW Listen everyone anyone wearing stileto heels in your B&B is going to make a racket, it is what it is. People who do that here, coming around the porch just make the veins behind my eyes bulge! They do not care about anyone else, and they will wear those (or high heeled boots) each and every time they come in and up the stairs. Go figure!
.

Yeah, I wore 3 inch heels until I was about 4 months preggers and the doc said no. After he finally got out and walked, my feet protested so much I went to lower heels and flats. Not soon enough for my poor feet though. Fortunately very few of my guests come with the stiletos. They leave the most enduring evidence in the wood (especially when they are carrying tonnage - I can attest to it).

 

[Samster]

Congrats and good luck on the renovations!
I have a 104 yr old house and our guests loved our old restored original floors. Many, many guests had never seen anything like them. I would say if the floors are in decent shape, show them off with area rugs!
We ended up putting wood laminate in our kitchen and butler's pantry which was one of our last projects when we were renovating our house. The floors were horrible and at that point we had spent so much money on the really BIG projects, that we could not afford replacing them with similar heart pine hardwood floors. But, it was not the way that I really would have wanted to go even though they look great and I've been happy with them overall.

 

[Colleen848]

Congrats and good luck on the renovations!
I have a 104 yr old house and our guests loved our old restored original floors. Many, many guests had never seen anything like them. I would say if the floors are in decent shape, show them off with area rugs!
We ended up putting wood laminate in our kitchen and butler's pantry which was one of our last projects when we were renovating our house. The floors were horrible and at that point we had spent so much money on the really BIG projects, that we could not afford replacing them with similar heart pine hardwood floors. But, it was not the way that I really would have wanted to go even though they look great and I've been happy with them overall..

Unfortunately, due to the lack of funds I thinks I am just going to leave the existing carpeting down but remove it from the stairway going up. Will have to wood putty in where the nailer strips are, paint and use stair treads to deaden the sound.
I don't know about other people but I'm in this on my own and just can't afford all the things I would like done at this point.
I am being optomistic in being able to, in the hope of getting repeat guests, by emailing them the updates and renovations.
Any thoughts?

 

[Madeleine]

Congrats and good luck on the renovations!
I have a 104 yr old house and our guests loved our old restored original floors. Many, many guests had never seen anything like them. I would say if the floors are in decent shape, show them off with area rugs!
We ended up putting wood laminate in our kitchen and butler's pantry which was one of our last projects when we were renovating our house. The floors were horrible and at that point we had spent so much money on the really BIG projects, that we could not afford replacing them with similar heart pine hardwood floors. But, it was not the way that I really would have wanted to go even though they look great and I've been happy with them overall..

Unfortunately, due to the lack of funds I thinks I am just going to leave the existing carpeting down but remove it from the stairway going up. Will have to wood putty in where the nailer strips are, paint and use stair treads to deaden the sound.
I don't know about other people but I'm in this on my own and just can't afford all the things I would like done at this point.
I am being optomistic in being able to, in the hope of getting repeat guests, by emailing them the updates and renovations.
Any thoughts?
.

I am being optomistic in being able to, in the hope of getting repeat guests, by emailing them the updates and renovations.
Any thoughts?

Guests love this stuff. Being as you are just starting out you can start a blog right now and talk about getting the permitting done and showing 'before' shots and after shots on the blog to drum up some interest. Also, if you haven't gotten your name picked out, do that AND get started on a website. It can take months for a new website to show up in searches. But, if you get the blog going, you'll have some history.

 

[gillumhouse]

Congrats and good luck on the renovations!
I have a 104 yr old house and our guests loved our old restored original floors. Many, many guests had never seen anything like them. I would say if the floors are in decent shape, show them off with area rugs!
We ended up putting wood laminate in our kitchen and butler's pantry which was one of our last projects when we were renovating our house. The floors were horrible and at that point we had spent so much money on the really BIG projects, that we could not afford replacing them with similar heart pine hardwood floors. But, it was not the way that I really would have wanted to go even though they look great and I've been happy with them overall..

Unfortunately, due to the lack of funds I thinks I am just going to leave the existing carpeting down but remove it from the stairway going up. Will have to wood putty in where the nailer strips are, paint and use stair treads to deaden the sound.
I don't know about other people but I'm in this on my own and just can't afford all the things I would like done at this point.
I am being optomistic in being able to, in the hope of getting repeat guests, by emailing them the updates and renovations.
Any thoughts?
.

I have some noisy floors. My son sent me this Sunday.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2169247955

 

[Colleen848]

Congrats and good luck on the renovations!
I have a 104 yr old house and our guests loved our old restored original floors. Many, many guests had never seen anything like them. I would say if the floors are in decent shape, show them off with area rugs!
We ended up putting wood laminate in our kitchen and butler's pantry which was one of our last projects when we were renovating our house. The floors were horrible and at that point we had spent so much money on the really BIG projects, that we could not afford replacing them with similar heart pine hardwood floors. But, it was not the way that I really would have wanted to go even though they look great and I've been happy with them overall..

Unfortunately, due to the lack of funds I thinks I am just going to leave the existing carpeting down but remove it from the stairway going up. Will have to wood putty in where the nailer strips are, paint and use stair treads to deaden the sound.
I don't know about other people but I'm in this on my own and just can't afford all the things I would like done at this point.
I am being optomistic in being able to, in the hope of getting repeat guests, by emailing them the updates and renovations.
Any thoughts?
.

I have some noisy floors. My son sent me this Sunday.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2169247955
.

Coputer just hickupped.
Appreciate the video link to this old house. I was unaware of the drill bit available to remove the inside piping of a PVC joint. May have to pick up one of those.
Being a "tool freak" so to speak, I prefer Snap-on, Makita and Rigid tools although I don't see the need to buy the tool they showed to make a clean cut on the PVC. Be careful to cut straight and take a razor knife to clean off the excess. Same as doing copper plumbing or running conduit. Just ream it out and you are good to go.
Interesting about the screws that are designed to snap off. I had never seen them before. Will keep that in mind.
My problem is not the floor boards making noise but the inconsiderate people who stomp up and down stairs with what I call "elephant or thunder" feet.
Amazing some people are as quiet as a mouse and others you think fell down instead of walking.

 

[gillumhouse]

Congrats and good luck on the renovations!
I have a 104 yr old house and our guests loved our old restored original floors. Many, many guests had never seen anything like them. I would say if the floors are in decent shape, show them off with area rugs!
We ended up putting wood laminate in our kitchen and butler's pantry which was one of our last projects when we were renovating our house. The floors were horrible and at that point we had spent so much money on the really BIG projects, that we could not afford replacing them with similar heart pine hardwood floors. But, it was not the way that I really would have wanted to go even though they look great and I've been happy with them overall..

Unfortunately, due to the lack of funds I thinks I am just going to leave the existing carpeting down but remove it from the stairway going up. Will have to wood putty in where the nailer strips are, paint and use stair treads to deaden the sound.
I don't know about other people but I'm in this on my own and just can't afford all the things I would like done at this point.
I am being optomistic in being able to, in the hope of getting repeat guests, by emailing them the updates and renovations.
Any thoughts?
.

I have some noisy floors. My son sent me this Sunday.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2169247955
.

Coputer just hickupped.
Appreciate the video link to this old house. I was unaware of the drill bit available to remove the inside piping of a PVC joint. May have to pick up one of those.
Being a "tool freak" so to speak, I prefer Snap-on, Makita and Rigid tools although I don't see the need to buy the tool they showed to make a clean cut on the PVC. Be careful to cut straight and take a razor knife to clean off the excess. Same as doing copper plumbing or running conduit. Just ream it out and you are good to go.
Interesting about the screws that are designed to snap off. I had never seen them before. Will keep that in mind.
My problem is not the floor boards making noise but the inconsiderate people who stomp up and down stairs with what I call "elephant or thunder" feet.
Amazing some people are as quiet as a mouse and others you think fell down instead of walking.
.

Amazing some people are as quiet as a mouse and others you think fell down instead of walking.
And notice how it is often the "skinny Minnie" walking like an elephant herd?
I knew your problem was not the squeeky or groaning floors but sine we were on the subject thought it may pertain to some others besides me. Glad the plumbing segment helped you.