A wooden floor problem

[LadyArowana]

Many Victorian places I've seen or lived in as a child had black painted boards around the perimeter of the room only (or up the edge of the stairs. This suggests rugs or another covering over the rest of the (unpainted) boards.

The stairs are like that, white not black, with a naked bit down the middle. Again that's all covered up with carpet, but I did see that was the case while the guys were working. This room does look like it's the whole floor though, which was what made me consider keeping it. I don't know if it extends through into the withdrawing room, they didn't have cause to expose the boards there, and when we re-carpeted they reused the underlay, so no glimpses of what lay beneath. Something to look forward to one day I suppose.

The only reason that I am thinking about it now is that I am trying to decide whether we need to buy any more carpets. It's much better to do that in Singapore than the UK. To make that decision I need to decide where our existing ones go and make them and the pictures our anchor pieces. I am basically scheming to get one more beautiful Tabriz or Isfahan through the door :lol:

 

[Penners]

Many Victorian places I've seen or lived in as a child had black painted boards around the perimeter of the room only (or up the edge of the stairs. This suggests rugs or another covering over the rest of the (unpainted) boards.

The stairs are like that, white not black, with a naked bit down the middle.

That was the norm, prior to the giant leap forward in civilisation that was fitted shag pile.

 

[Moo]

Following advice from Ppukers I went on-line and ordered the floor polisher on Monday and it arrived this morning.
How's that for service!!

After lunch I waxed the first section of floor and have just come downstairs glowing with satisfaction after giving the polisher its first bit of exercise (it works a treat), shifting all the furniture around, and anointing the rest of the front floor with wax. That, however, will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to be polished 'cos I'll be chasing a ball round the golf course in the morning.

 

[robgil]

so are we absoloutly sure the black floor was exposed? i would have thought they would have had carpet down even in victorian days.

 

[LadyArowana]

so are we absoloutly sure the black floor was exposed? i would have thought they would have had carpet down even in victorian days.

I think at least some part of it must have been. The place nearby that has been restored as a museum ( reflecting how the property would have looked when it was built, 1760's ) has a bare wooden floor with a carpet on top, and that was likely how it was used originally. So the black must have been done later and it seems illogical to have painted it with the intention of immediately covering it completely. There is a shop in an old property where they have a black floor with carpets and rugs and that is what started me thinking about possibly keeping it rather than stripping back to wood and polishing.