Will a house built in the 1800s always have wooden floorboards and open fires..somewhere?

[TinyGlassOwl]

We are looking to buy a period property but many of the houses within our budget seem to have lost quite a lot of their period features! eg: chimney breasts without fireplaces / blocked up, and floors that have got fitted carpet or vile laminate instead of floorboards.

We are happy to have a bit of a project done over time but how would we know if these features are 'underneath'? Would a full survey give us these answers?

I feel like this is a daft question but don't want to assume too much!

It will probably be a case of putting them back rather than uncovering them. Original floorboards were often not meant to be seen and have been bashed about to have pipes and cables fitted, they can be restored though.
I dream of lifting a carpet to find a beautiful original parquet floor!

- funnily enough that happened in my last family home - my parents bought it with dusty fitted carpet in every room and underneath was parquet!!

I don't think I'm going to be that lucky somehow. But the last house we looked at, I was willing there to be original tiles under the orange laminate...

The fireplaces will probably have to be put back, might have original doors if you are lucky.
Floorboards will probably be original but the wood gets so dry and splintery its impossible to do anything with them. Ive got original'sl wide georgian floor boards in my house and I had to ply line and carpet. They would not have withstood sanding.

We wanted to keep the original floorboards in our house but they had been chopped around so much, patched poorly etc in place. We have had to put engineered wood over the top. If you have a healthy budget and lots of time just for the floor you could source reclaimed floorboards fo repair an original floor.

Oh also pulling back one corner of the current floor won’t be enough to know unfortunately, we thought we’d struck gold with an original quarry tile floor to peel back more and find the previous owners had concreted over the middle of the floor. it made no sense.

I think its quite possible there will be original floorboards in a house that old. If you try and find one that has as many original features left as possible thats your best bet. We reinstated original fireplaces in an edwardian house we bought back in 93 but other things were still there such as floorboards, windows, picture rails coving and original doors. We also had original fireplaces upstairs. Keep looking.

Re fireplaces, chimney breasts may have been taken out and removed. Easy enough to check and should show up on survey. There should also be a certificate if they have been removed. Also check if removed throughout and not just downstairs as ones in bedrooms have been known to fall down. Cheap conversions are a nightmare in period properties and should be avoided.

We thought we would find lovely original floorboards - sadly they were butchered by plumbing and heating engineers, they had gaps that let in dust, cold air and slugs. The original tiles in the kitchen had been concreted over - but the tiles in the hall are perfect and original.

A survey (even a full one) won't give you the answers to this questions.

You rightly identify that you pay a premium for period features and if that's out of your budget you'd be better off assuming there's little left and planning a project over time.

It is doable. We bought an 1880s colliery house that had concrete floors put in, all the fireplaces blocked up etc. We laid reclaimed parquet over the concrete, reopened 2 of the fireplaces, put picture rails back onto the rooms we wanted it in.

It took 7 years but it was lovely when it was done. We sold it and moved to a house double the size bit a similar type of project

The last place we looked at had a beautiful tiled front path and some lovely coving in the sitting room...but that was it. Everything else gone. I think we're just going to have to keep looking!

Ah that's interesting @User0ne - this place was built in 1888, town house with 4 floors and a cellar. Feels as if it would definitely be a long-term project but maybe a labour of love.

We bought a house where the vendor and Estate Agent said there was a parquet flooring under the carpet in the hall. When we got eventually got round to decorating it, it turned out to be red quarry tiles... not quite the same thing! I don't think it was deliberate, it was just what he thought they what it was called. We had a proper wood floor put over it.

If you look inside cupboards you may see the original floor as often that is not carpeted or laminated over.

I have an almost sexual fantasy about finding parquet when we can afford to rip out the hideous laminate in our hallway, but expecting to at least find floor boards.

Our house is 1930s and has decent floorboards under the hideous carpet in the front room and dining room and lovely original doors (with horrible handles downstairs and lovely original ones upstairs). We are getting the floor repaired and varnished ASAP as long as nothing else boring takes our cash next time we save up (I'm looking at you new wall at end of garden and leak from bathroom )

Agree those floorboards weren't meant to be seen. Our house was a Victorian wreck. The floorboards are there but so rough, with gaps and ingrained dirt and sticking-out nails, plus some bits sawn through, that we've covered them all. We also had most of the fireplaces - with every upstand and hearth tile smashed. Collected all the ones in not too many pieces and sold them as a lot for a tenner.

We do have some period features like the lounge mahogany mantle and tiled fireplace, some wall busts and the front door and tiled hall, which all came up well on cleaning. We replaced most of the ceiling roses as one from the same street was used as a mould by plasterworkers nearby, so just bought identical new ones. We've kept dado and picture rails and some ceiling cornicing but mostly simpler cornices and skirting boards. The kitchen extension (replacement of a 60s monstrosity) is in the style of a Victorian orangery with arched white wood windows.

We're not trying to be perfect late Victorian but not clash with it either.

We had an 1870s townhouse, 5 floors, sounds similar to the one you looked at.

We found original Victorian tiles under the kitchen floor, and there were original floorboards under the carpet but they were in quite a state. In some rooms we exposed them and others we recovered covered in carpet.

We didn't look for any fireplaces but it wouldn't be difficult to put these back in if you wanted to.

I wouldn't discount based on lack of obvious features. They'd be unlikely to rip up floorboards in every room, much easier just to cover over.

I'd buy a bargain house and add value by putting these features back in over time. And then you're also not paying for someone else's taste

Also putting fireplaces in isn't always a massive job. We've just done ours in our victorian house - bought cheap on ebay and made a hole where there used to be one and slot the fireplace over it. Obviously just for decor, and not working fireplaces. The hearth was still there under the carpet but was plain so bought some tiles and tiled over it. Of course check with someone before bashing holes in the wall!
We've also added ceiling roses, coving, 2 picture rails etc for cheap! Again not a massive job and IMO looks better than next door's (empty property we also looked at) chipped/rotting ones. Sometimes a house that's been 'modernised' is in better general condition and not as much as a money pit than one that needs fully updating IYSWIM. Next door was completely original and would need rewiring, plumbing etc. Ours had all character removed but had been looked after and adding character back hasn't been hard (or overly expensive).

I doubt that fireplaces would still be there but I've reinstated fireplaces and it's not a huge job. Floorboards in old properties were not meant to be seen so would not be the beautiful vision you think.

You can also buy period doors.

We have some period features (our house is G2 listed), but although we have original hearthstones in the bedrooms, they are under carpet because the chimney breasts & fireplaces were taken out at some point. I think you have to buy as seen & not hoping to find anything!

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles Tue 23-Feb-21 16:14:35
We bought a house where the vendor and Estate Agent said there was a parquet flooring under the carpet in the hall. When we got eventually got round to decorating it, it turned out to be red quarry tiles...sad not quite the same thing! I don't think it was deliberate, it was just what he thought they what it was called.

An Estate Agent so dim - he didn't know the difference between quarry tiles and parquet flooring. Now, what are the chances of that !