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Original poster

Parquet flooring under our carpets!

35 replies

cathbath · 30/07/2010 11:10

I am so excited about this I just had to share. We have just moved into our new house (1960s detached). It all needs redecorating as hasn't been touched for 20-30 years. I was budgeting to replace the carpets with hardwood flooring, and thinking we wouldn't be able to afford it for ages. However we peeped under the carpets last night and it turns out we have gorgeous parquet flooring throughout the whole of the downstairs! From the bits we've inspected it looks like it's in great condition, and it is stained a lovely dark brown.

I can't wait to get rid of the carpets, but DH is hesitant as he's thinking we might have to re-lacquer or protect the floor in some way before we start using it.

DD will also be potty training next year so I'm not sure if parquet flooring could cope with any accidents? Does it scratch easily with two kids in the house? I don't know much about parquet really except it was on my wish list when looking at houses!

OP posts:
ISNT · 30/07/2010 11:19

Wahey!!!! So pleased for you

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 30/07/2010 11:24

If the carpet's been down for a while and the parquet is scratched and dull-looking, a light sanding down and revarnish will have it looking like new. Use a polyurethane varnish for toughness. Sweep it rather than vacuum, and make sure you wipe up any "spills" quickly.

And no stillettos!

Heartsease · 30/07/2010 12:17

No idea about any of the practical questions, but that is so exciting! Congratulations .

linspins · 30/07/2010 19:46

My brother had his parquet professionally sanded and varnished, and a few minor repairs done. A couple of years on it still looks lovely.
You lucky thing, that's a super surprise.

Stinkyfeet · 30/07/2010 19:51

Oooh - we have exactly the same in our 1950s semi!! We've been here 4.5 yrs and I'm desperate to get the carpets up - especially in the hall. Keep finding reasons to wait a bit longer though - mostly financial and worry about damaging it!

BreevandercampLGJ · 30/07/2010 20:04

We found parquet in the front room and the hall and quarry tiles in the kitchen underneath the lino.

lalalonglegs · 30/07/2010 21:38

Envy Envy Envy

Original poster
cathbath · 31/07/2010 16:57

Thanks for the tips and for sharing my excitement!

The previous owners had owned the house since new, and had taken good care of the place but had not made any major changes - which is good for us! We are planning to renovate the house with a modernist/60s look, so having the original floor will be wonderful.

I have also found four types of flooring in the kitchen(!). Not as exciting as quarry tiles, but I've managed to peel back the layers to the original 1960s lino underneath. I'd like to reclaim it and perhaps use it in the downstairs loo (can't believe I'm getting excited about lino!). However, apart from in the pantry it is covered with adhesive/bitumen from vinyl tiles stuck down on top, so probably not salvageable.

Still, we have a parquet floor

OP posts:
MonkeyChicken · 09/09/2011 20:45

Cathbath, did you uncover and re-furb your parquet floor? How's it going? I'm about to move into a 60s semi and did a measure-up today and the owners mentioned there's an original parquet floor under the carpet. I'm really excited but feel uninformed about parquet floors and haven't even seen it yet, plus the carpet is fine/ nice even. There is no need to rip it out. Re-furbing it is money that's hard to justify or even find. I also have a DD 3yrs and a DS 1yr and don't know how compatible that is. DH is also worried it will make the living room cold. Your dark wood parquet sounds lush, I'm day dreaming of finding similar under my perfectly acceptable mushroom coloured carpet...

Takitezee · 10/09/2011 13:00

We had lovely parquet flooring under the carpet in our old house. We just hired a sanding machine and revarnished and it looked beautiful.

We had babies/toddlers at the time and they were fine on it, we just had a big rug to play on. We also found that friends who had laminate flooring's children found it harder to learn to walk as it was quite slippery whereas real wood isn't.

You could always put the carpet in the loft in case you change your mind.

Indaba · 19/09/2011 21:40

this is the most show offy-thread ever.....even better than those..."oh but my child just wanted to learn to read and he was fluent, at aged two."

AM I AM SO JEALOUS Grin

please keep us updated.

good luck and enjoy your new home.

steppemum · 05/11/2012 13:53

hi, my mum has just discovered this thread by doing an internet search on 1960 parquet floor
(major panic while contemplates mum joining mn) but has decided to ask me to post for her
(and breeeathe)

So her question is - have any of you repaired floor, as in needing new pieces of the parquet?
M and D have just moved into a 1960s house with parquet throughout downstairs. But they have extended the hall and moved the loo wall, so now they are about 2m of parquet short. They want to repair it to match the original

Have you repaired yours? Who did it? would you recommend them? The only people they can find on-line are in suffolk which is miles away (thye are Glos)

steppemum · 05/11/2012 14:46

just bumping to get an answer

SingingSands · 05/11/2012 14:58

How fab! Our house had parquet flooring when we viewed it. When we moved in it was gone, replaced with hideous "coral" carpet. I was gutted and don't mind admitting (on here) that I had a little cry!

beachyhead · 05/11/2012 15:02

Steppe, I would contact a local wood floor provider and see if they can match and stain a small area. It will be expensive but a decent one should be able to create a good match.

steppemum · 05/11/2012 15:10

my dad has tried that beachy, and isn't getting much success. he actually found it nearly impossible to find anyone who even do any sort of similar floor.

Singing - surely that can't be legal???

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 05/11/2012 15:20

Steppe, would reclaimed parquet flooring be any use?

SingingSands · 05/11/2012 16:16

Probably not legal, but we were young at the time (I was only 24) and the woman we bought from effectively did a bunk to Spain and was never heard of again! We had all sorts of trouble after she left - for starters there was the missing flooring, then she left most of her furniture in the house, food in the cupboards, stuff in the loft etc! It wasn't the best start to our new home but we did keep her Christmas tree and baubles as they were nicer that ours!! Grin

amazonianwoman · 05/11/2012 19:07

steppemum the guys who have sanded many of our floors in various houses are parquet specialists. They're based in south Manchester but do work as far afield as London. Pm me if you want their details.

PoppyWearer · 05/11/2012 19:16

We had the same lovely discovery when we moved into our 1960s house a few years back!

We got it sanded and restained and it came up like new. It has scratched with two young DCs and a careless electrician who moved a sofa across it a week after it was done but still looks amazing. We will get it redone once DCs are a bit older.

It coped admirably with DC1's potty training, whereas we had to throw out a rug!

Everyone is very admiring of it. I grew up in a house with parquet so am thrilled.

SauvignonBlanche · 05/11/2012 19:22

I've got this in the hall, I must do something about it.

ISeeSmallPeople · 05/11/2012 20:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

steppemum · 05/11/2012 20:58

thanks everyone. Have now discovered it is called finger parquet so am having more success in googling it.

ArbitraryUsername · 05/11/2012 21:49

I love finger parquet! my parents had it in the kitchen in the first house I ever lived in. I'd love to get some in our new hall but DH will veto it because he has no imagination and thinks everything will look awful (then he's surprised that it actually looks lovely once I've persuaded him). He'd really baulk at fancy flooring of any kind.

I wish we would find something lovely under anything in this house, but every time we remove something there's only grim stuff that needs fixed. I bet we take up the laminate in the hall and find that half the floorboards are missing (rather than beautiful original flooring).

SoupDragon · 06/11/2012 12:11

Steppemum, is there an understairs cupboard that has parquet floor in it?