Hardwood Flooring History
Hardwood started being as flooring in the 1600s. The hardwood flooring developed style and class during the Baroque Era (1625-1714). French parquetry and marquetry patterns began to appear in the beginning of 1625. These floors were made from pieces of wood cut by hand and fitted together in contrasting three-dimensional designs. Furthermore, the floors would be scraped by hand, rubbed with sand, stained, and polished to a sheen. This precise hand-craftsmanship was cost-effective to only the most affluent clients and royalty. Some flooring installed on higher floors with less traffic still exists, even 800 years later.
Hardwood Flooring Beginnings
Installing plank floors in most homes was an advantage took by american colonists. These floors were installed for comfort and practicality without regard to style. They were usually constructed of planks cut to random width, left unfinished, and were simply worn smooth over time by use.
In the late Victorian era (1840-1910) European parquet floors began to appear in the wealthiest American homes. The next step was the factories beginning to mass producing wood floors. “Wood carpet” used to be advertised, essentially rolls of heavy canvas with thin 1 1/2″ by 5/16″ strips of wood glued on. The ads claimed that installing the flooring was easily accomplished by anyone with basic carpentry skills. The installation process was to tack down each strip using tiny brads that were countersunk and filled. The next step is scraping the floor and then sanded using a 25 pound block with a brush made of natural bristles. Sandpaper was attached and the block dragged slowly across the floor until the floor was uniform and smooth. Varnish was applied, and then the floors were finished with hot wax and painstakingly buffed. This cheaper solution made stunning flooring a lot cheaper, but the floors proved to be squeaky, riddled with splits and cracks, and lacking in durability.
In the Edwardian Era (1901-1914), the advent of tongue and groove construction, allowed planks to be leveled before installation for a more polished, uniform look. This is the way the look we are familiar with today began to take shape. Floors were installed on concrete slabs with hot tar used as adhesive. Every part of the process was done by hand, mostly using cheap laborers to scrape, sand, shellac, wax, and buff the floors to a suitably splendid finish.
Until new linoleum and cork flooring products hit the market in the 1920s, hardwood remained the flooring of choice. Wood retained a small market share when the trendy new materials offered easier installation and maintenance.
In the 1930s, improved finish in the form of polyurethane provided a no-wax finish that kept hardwoods appealing and popular. Affordable carpeting hit the market after World War II. The appeal of carpet was promoted by inclusion in home loans, making it the most popular choice on the market due to its affordability. In the 1980s consumers looking for another flooring solution, turned back to hardwood.
The hardwood industry tried to cut corners on labor costs in order to compete with cheaper solutions. Installers facing drastic pay cuts were forced to work at a frenetic pace to earn a living. This resulted poor quality, especially for parquet flooring. Careless installations led to a public perception that wood flooring was a cheap, common solution.
Hardwood Flooring Today
The late of 1980s saw the rise of prefinished woods and a return to the clean, classic look of wood planking without the intricate patterning of parquetry. Splintered edges were common due to the way the prefinished wood planking was constructed. Today’s construction process produces smoother, more lasting flooring, far superior to flooring available in the past. Unfinished wood floors are also available.
Controversy still exists regarding the environmental issues of hardwood. Most of the problem is centered on unethical logging practices that threaten forests. Hardwood takes 30 years or more to mature and this may seem to lack sustainability. Considering that some hardwoods are recycled, installed and cared for properly, hardwood flooring can last a century or more. In conclusion, the question of sustainability is reduced to one of ethical harvesting. The Lacey Act addresses that issue by making every part of the chain, from logging to sale, responsible for ethical harvesting.