Old house - old floor - should I or shouldn't I try to strip it?

[jacotton]

My house is 229 years old. However, it has been DIYed into infinity over that time and very little is original and nothing is to period. I have an upstairs bedroom which serves as my office. The house was "saved" by the people who bought it from the former owner and sold it to me with even more DIY methods to bring it back to saleable condition. One of those saves was to slap down inexpensive indoor/outdoor carpeting in several rooms of the house, and after 9 years, I have to get rid it of it (I have two small dogs who regardless of my efforts continue to pee on it and I'm not a fan of carpeting anyway. So, long story longer, I began pulling it up. It is clear that at some point there was linoleum and possibly tar paper and/or adhesive. I've taken a few photos of this small part I've exposed. I'm not sure what I'm looking at except that it is definitely wood and there is definitely something on it. If it is tar, they really laid it on thick. There is no question the carpet is going.

I read that using a wall paper steamer and scraper might be useful. Chemicals are out of the question. Also, I'm wondering if the concensus is that it's worth the time investment and/or should I just cover it up with vinyl. The room is approximately 11 x 12. I do think the floor is quite old-- looking at the varying board sizes and it is very sturdy --compared to another floor where I ripped up the carpet and it is like the rolling hills of the country side with a weird new piece of wood stuffed in).

I would love any thoughts/advice!!!

 

[bud16415]

First off welcome to the forum.



All my old homes have been babies in compared to yours mine are barely 150 years old.



The black stuff is likely the mastic that was used to bond down one of the floorings down thru the years and likely contains asbestos.



How you describe the house and these rooms in question I would likely cover over the old with something new. If the black stuff is sticking up I would cut it down somewhat flush with a sharp putty knife and then go over the old floors with a new material what ever you like.



If you have low areas they may need filled and the total amount they are out of being flat may cause you to select different materials that will conform better.



As an example the house we are in now was in very bad shape and on the first floor I chose to refinish the main floors but upstairs bedrooms and bath I went with painting the floors as a way to make them usable and maybe at a later date refinish them or cover them.



In your case unless you really find something special about the floors under all that you desire to restore it will be much easier and a lot less money to hide it.

 

[jacotton]

Thank you so much for this it was very helpful. I did end up getting a single sheet of 12ft vinyl (the room was 12x11). There was too much build-up for me to strip the floor and since I don't believe this is my forever home, I opted for the vinyl which worked out well. The floor itself was in excellent condition and there was no need to fill or even out. With the backing on the vinyl (I upgraded a bit) I did not even need to worry about an underlay or adhesive, it doesn't move.

Thank you again!

June