The members of my neighborhood preservation committee were the people with whom I felt the most kinship. When I left L.A. to live in Tampa, I purchased a bungalow only one block away from the chair of the committee, Dr. Steve Gluckman. A PhD archeologist, Steve was one of the brightest, warmest people I have ever known. Two decades earlier he had been one of the founders of the association & as it grew, he implemented the preservation committee.
Reeling from losing our fight in L.A. to save a Streamline Moderne grocery store, I was searching for sanctuary. Looking online for communities that had successfully fought destruction by big box stores, I found Steve who had led a winning campaign to save a street of historic bungalows in Tampa. I called him instantly. He answered my call as though he was standing by the phone, waiting for it to ring. At this terrible time in my life, I was ready for his warmth & sparkle.
Moving to Tampa, Steve took me under his wing & introduced me to the preservation community, providing me with instant friends & great resources. He educated me on the neighborhood & when the president of my L.A. association came to visit, he took her on an informative & amusing tour. He supported all my wild ideas & in general, was a true friend & a wise & patient mentor. He carried a little stool in the back of his truck & gallantly steadied me so I could climb into the cab.
We lost him the night before he was scheduled to be filmed for the documentary about the neighborhood. It was an enormous loss to preservation, to our community & to all who knew & loved him. When the new library was built, a room was named to honor him. The room houses hundreds of books on preservation. The library allowed its policy of accepting donations of only new volumes to be set aside, so the room holds many valuable titles that have long been out of print. He would have loved it.
IDEAS FOR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES
Read my previous article about the purpose of a preservation committee. It will fill you in on what you can achieve.
The committee had monthly meetings and here are some of the things we did at those meetings, & some things I have seen done by other groups that just seem fun.
1. We met at members’ old homes so the meeting always started with a short tour. Usually the homeowners were aware of at least a small amount of house history and had some knowledge of the home’s unique architectural features.
2. Film nights, for the committee. Here are some good ones. They are grouped by topic & some are very short so you can show several & discuss each one.
3. We planned upcoming events, which we held about 4 times a year. The purpose of these events was to inform & educate, but they were also to interest new committee members to join. There were usually specific tasks that were required to prep & to host the events. We distributed those tasks & answered any questions. Here’s an example of a great one, when we hosted a talk by the publisher of American Bungalow magazine, John Brinkmann.
4. If a big event was coming up, perhaps the members would just meet, have a bit of a visit and a snack & then hit the streets to flier all the houses. Tip- make sure you include a contact number on your flier.
5. We went to the library & researched the history of our own houses so that we could teach people in the community to learn about theirs. We also gathered information on the houses featured on the upcoming home tour so that the brochures could be written & the docents could provide information to the visitors. Here’s an article on how to do this that you could use to teach those who are unfamiliar with the process. This is always a very popular activity!
6. We went on field trips to museums and house museums. Sometimes the whole neighborhood would be invited, but often it was just the committee members so that they could get full benefit of the experience.
7. We learned the basics of historic preservation. The Secretary of the Interior is charged with developing standards & guidelines for the practice of historic preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act. We studied their Guidelines which are intended as an aid to assist in applying the Standards to all types of historic buildings. Each meeting touched on one, small aspect so that the information was easy to absorb.
This can be presented by a more knowledgeable member of the committee, someone from a local preservation group or a preservation architect or historian that you could find through your local AIA.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation & is part of a national program to coordinate & support efforts to identify, evaluate, & protect America’s historic & archeological resources. State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) assist in this work. Contact yours to see what resources they might be able to offer to your committee.
Your local County Historic Preservation Board is composed of community advocates, municipal representatives, & historic preservation professionals with expertise &/or knowledge in the historic preservation field. They can likely provide you with information & perhaps speakers.
If you do not have access to any of these, you can just download & print the materials & the whole group can figure it out together!
8. Learn about the different architectural styles of buildings that are to be found in your neighborhood. You can go to the same sources for information.
9. If you live in a designated historic area where there are guidelines for the treatment of the houses, learn about the guidelines. They are generally available online from your City’s website. Here is a page which has several examples that you can download & discuss with your committee. https://www.tampa.gov/historic-preservation/info/design-guidelines
10. Once you have a good idea of how each of these housing styles should look, you can award people who have done sensitive renovations in your neighborhood. You can even award folks who have done very little, maybe even just painted with historically appropriate colors. The key thing is that you want to call attention to preservation & you want to reward anything positive anyone is doing.
You can also give awards to people who have contributed to preservation efforts in your neighborhood.
These activities can bring a great deal of positive attention to your neighborhood, your association & your committee. The awards are presented at a public event for which you can get print & online press. You might be able to get grants to pay for the awards (banners, plaques, whatever) & also to pay for the presentation events.
I was the recipient of one of these awards for a Folk Victorian house I rescued & also accepted an award for our neighborhood association’s many preservation achievements.
11. Film neighborhood elders in interviews about the early years. “Oral histories are an ancient way of sharing knowledge from generation to generation & a great resource for learning more about place, whether it is a specific site, the history of a community that is still present, or one that has been lost.”
This is a video made by The National Trust on filming oral histories. They provide great guidance.
12. Put together these things & create a documentary film. These are the pieces. Here is a sample of some films that have been produced. I swear- you can do it!!!!!! Feel free to contact me if you should need a little help to get started!
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
“There may have been a time when preservation was about saving an old building here & there, but those days are gone. Preservation is in the business of saving communities & the values they embody.”
~Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
1993-2009
I have had the honor of leading two neighborhood historic preservation committees in two different states. Moving away from these neighborhoods, I was dismayed that nobody had taken over running the committees’ activities. Foolishly, I had made the mistake of thinking that everyone knew how to chair a preservation committee, ignoring the fact that I had had incredible mentors who had guided me. From my mother teaching me about history & architecture, to the PhD archeologist who took me under his wing when I arrived in Tampa, still traumatized from the loss of the Shopping Bag Building, to the late, great Jane Powell, they taught me how to effectively DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
In these posts on neighborhood preservation activism, I am going to download my head of all my study, all my experience, my wins, my losses, all the wisdom gifted to me by my much beloved mentors. (Sadly, many of them now gone.) Hopefully I can do this in a way that you young ‘uns will find amusing, enlightening & inspiring. Maybe useful too! I am going to speak to you at my own level of education when I decided I had shed enough tears over the destruction of old buildings, & was lucky enough to meet Jane. That story is here. (It’s just a moment of nostalgia.)
THE IMPORTANCE OF NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Every neighborhood has a unique story, the social, financial & technological evolution of the people who lived there. These stories are expressed in the built environment- the houses, the businesses, the churches. You can walk down the street & be in touch with the history of the place you live. It gives my heart joy!
I came to neighborhood activism through my passion for saving our built heritage, so recently, when we discovered that the City was planning to demolish the stucco entry gates leading to our Post WWII neighborhood, due to structural safety concerns, I knew what to do.
First, it was necessary to discover the level of interest shared by the residents, so a our small, hastily assembled team performed a door-to-door survey. We were amazed at the passion that we encountered, the fists raised!
Many people had long histories with the neighborhood. Three of them, in their late 70’s, had grown up here, had been childhood friends. Their moms were great chums, chatting every day on the phone, over coffee & cigarettes (I’m sure!) The arches had been a landmark for them for decades- as tired little ones sagging in their aluminum frame car seats coming home after a too long day of errands with Mom; as kids on their bikes, venturing out into the big, wide world without their parents for the first time & later, as teens, directing their dates on where to turn to pick them up to escort them to the prom.
Surprisingly, many of most vocal are more newly arrived, myself included, & had been drawn to buying in the neighborhood by the entry arches. These lovely structures identify. They invite. They welcome. They symbolize home.
It was easy to rally this passion in a campaign to SAVE THE ARCHES & though it took much hard work, we quickly raised the funds to qualify to apply for a matching grant from the City to restore them, thereby ensuring their soundness. (Still awaiting final word, but we are hopeful!) Impressed by the neighborhood response, the threat of the wrecking ball evaporated, & this symbol of our small subdivision would be made safe & sound, preserved for the next generation.
The most wonderful part about having this common purpose, is the neighborhood spirit that has been generated. We had a yard sale to which at least 25% of the families donated. The sale itself was quite the party! Neighbors introduced themselves to neighbors & to this Boomer girl who grew up in a tightly knit, 1950’s Phoenix suburb much like this one, it felt warmly familiar.
Earlier, I had produced for my neighborhood association, a historic preservation documentary film about the establishment of a our 1920’s, bungalow neighborhood. The premier at a 1920’s, downtown extravaganza theatre was attended by 1,500 people. (Actually, it was more like 1,800. The fire department made us turn away about 300.) All the residents, both past & present, were so excited & for at least one elderly, wheelchair bound woman, it was the first time venturing out for years. I reserved special seating for all the people who had lived in the neighborhood before WWII. Theirs was a touching & festive reunion. It was the most wonderful & rewarding experience of my entire life.
SO WHAT DOES A NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE DO?
Its basic purposes are to:
• Educate stakeholders on the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the neighborhood.
• Teach them about the architectural history of their houses & how to restore & maintain them, as well as their commercial & religious buildings.
• Collect, organize & maintain data on the social & cultural history of the neighborhood & its individual structures.
• Provide great fellowship for those passionate about preservation, & give them a platform from which to communicate their passion & knowledge to others.
In the long run, a preservation historic committee allows a group of people who might hail from any & all parts of the globe, to share a common history which helps build community pride. This results in a more beautiful, safer, friendlier, happier, better maintained neighborhood, & incidentally, it can raise a neighborhood’s profile, resulting in higher home values. Bottom line- people love their shared neighborhood history. It binds them.
Read this article so that you can learn about the various activities of a neighborhood preservation committee.
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
Wood flooring is a major, character-defining feature in a bungalow & I vigorously encourage their restoration. However sometimes, they are so worn or damaged that it requires installing new wood flooring in your old house to provide a surface that provides sufficient safety & functionality. Fortunately, more often, they require only patching. This article is about the types of materials available which you would choose for patching or replacement.
One of my followers is preparing to replace her floors so I have been answering many questions for her, which is what prompted this article, putting together all the pieces.
Here are the basics, in more detail than I have provided in the glossary. I will link to the wood flooring glossary when using terms that are covered there. It’s a really long article, so stay with me!
I write for you (& for my younger self, desperate to learn all these things to do right by my house) so any questions that you might have, I want them! If I have been unclear or omitted needed information, please let me know!
THE BASICS OF INSTALLING NEW WOOD FLOORING IN YOUR OLD HOUSE
Wood flooring products are referred to as tongue & groove, or T&G because protruding tongue is cut in one side of the board & a groove is cut in the other at the mill, allowing the pieces to be fit together closely when installed. This was done so nails could be hammered into the tongue & hidden from view by the groove. Before the advent of T & G flooring, boards were nailed from the top and these nails were visible.
In unfinished wood, the area above the groove, the top or wear layer, is ¼” thick. If you purchase salvaged wood, you need to ensure that the top layer is at least 3/16″ thick.
HARD & SOFT WOODS
Woods are categorized as hard or soft woods. The hardness of a wood is determined by its ability to resist indentation. Hardwood comes from broad leaved trees such as oak, ash, cherry, maple & poplar. Softwoods come from conifers, such as pine, fir, or spruce. To learn more about the hardness of woods, read this article by the National Wood Flooring Association here. You’ll see that there is great variation amongst the resistance of each category.
In many bungalows more than one species is used, either in patterns or in different rooms. Often the public areas were a more expensive hardwood & the private were a locally sourced softwood.
The wood found in most bungalows is called strip flooring. Hardwoods are mostly 2 ¼” wide by ¾” thick. Softwoods can be wider, usually 3 1/4″.
LENGTHS OF FLOORING
Wood can be purchased in different lengths, with each gradation being more costly. Often, the boards used in public areas were longer than those used in private areas. However, in homes which have hardwood flooring such as oak in the public areas, with pine or fir (softwoods) floors in the private areas, the softwood floors were always longer in length than those of hardwood floors.
ORIGINAL
Hardwoods: 2′-8′, with an average of 4′.
Softwoods: 6′- room length, with the max at 16.’ It was common that many pieces would be 10′-15′ long.
TODAY
Hardwood solid, unfinished- (standard) 9″-7′ with an average of 2 1/2′ to 2 3/4″ wide. You can get specially milled flooring that is longer for more $$$.
Hardwood engineered, unfinished- better brands offer 1′ to 7′. 2 1/4″ width may not be available unless you have it custom milled at a much higher price.
Hardwood prefinished, solid today- varies between 9″-7′ for better products.
Hardwood prefinished, engineered today- no data. Varies greatly by manufacturer.
HOW WOOD IS CUT FROM THE LOG DETERMINES ITS APPEARANCE & STABILITY
PLAIN SAWN
This cut utilizes the whole log, with the smallest amount of waste, making it the least costly of all the grain patterns. It results in a large, course, looping grain pattern. Plain sawn wood is less dimensionally stable (The degree with which wood shrinks & swells with changing moisture content) than quarter sawn or rift sawn so will tend to expand & contract more across the width of the boards than quarter sawn lumber.
Should you need to replace flooring in your house, I often recommend that oak be used because it is both reasonably hard and traditionally used. I suggest that this cut be chosen for the private areas because though it lacks the excitement of quarter sawn, it is still a workhorse.
Should you not be able to access quarter sawn or reclaimed, this is a fine type of oak to use in your public areas with all the beautiful rugs of the Arts & Crafts era. Unless you are a museum, your honoring the natural materials of the Movement counts with me.
QUARTER SAWN
This is the wood of the Arts & Crafts Movement. When you gasp at the beauty of a Stickley piece, much of your awe & admiration are your reactions to the beautiful flecked graining, the Tiger Oak wood.
To produce the intense flame pattern, each log is sawed at a radial angle into four quarters. Then each quarter is cut along the center angles, near the center of the tree. (To better understand tree anatomy, read this article.) The wood from this cut twists & cups less than plainsawn, making for a more stable floor. It also wears more evenly under traffic.
Quarter sawn is more costly than plain sawn because it wastes more wood & is also more difficult to cut. I recommend its use in public areas where you want to impress your guests!
RIFT SAWN
Rift sawing is similar to quarter sawing, with many of the same advantages. The way that it is cut accentuates the vertical grain but minimizes the tiger stripe effect found in quarter sawn oak.
Also a pricey option, it mixes beautifully with quarter sawn in a public area. I think that a floor of all quarter sawn looks whiskery! Rift sawn flooring was not used in older homes by itself, but was usually mixed with quarter sawn in a cut sold as “rift & quarter sawn” flooring. Today, standard milled oak flooring is sold as rift & quarter sawn as a mixed grade. You get more rift, usually 70% of the bundle, than quartered boards. This is much more economical than purchasing, from a specialty mill, all quartered or all rift cut oak. Place the boards strategically so that it is varied throughout the floor.
GRADES OF LUMBER USED IN WOOD FLOORING
There are more grades, but none that are appropriate for use in a bungalow. Some of the omitted grades are lacking in character (considered imperfections) & lose the look of real wood & some have too much character & appear too rustic.
Here’s straight from the big guys, the National Wood Flooring Association:
SELECT OAK
Contains all the variations in coloration produced by the contrasting differences of heartwood & sapwood. Also included are minimal character marks, such as small knots, worm holes, & mineral streaks, as well as slightly open characters.
The combination creates a floor where the light sapwood & dark heartwood are combined with small characters & other small color interruptions.
Should you be unable to access reclaimed wood or quarter sawn, in newly harvested wood, this grade, in plain sawn, is a good choice for your public areas. Arts & Crafts patterned rugs are perfect accents for bungalows & this grade of flooring will look beautiful with them in your home. Honest. View some beautiful ones I have collected for you on my Pinterest board, here.
#1 COMMON OAK
A flooring product characterized by greater color variation than Select, that also contains prominent characters (with size limits) such as knots, open checks, worm holes, along with machining & drying variations.
#1 Common is a tasteful floor where prominent variation is expected. I think it looks fine in private areas, but you need to make sure that the colors are well placed, so that the floor doesn’t look like a study in color-blocking! You can use the shorter, knottier pieces, or ones with more blemishes in your closets.
#2 COMMON OAK
#2 Common may contain sound natural variations of the forest product & is suitable for homes, general utility use, or where character marks & contrasting appearance is desired.
I like this choice in finished attics because I like them to look like what they are! In unfinished products, this is a material that you can paint without feeling bad about it. And don’t try to hide the character marks. It’s an attic!
THE BEST CHOICE IN AN OLD HOUSE- RECLAIMED OR SALVAGED WOOD
This is your first choice. Reclaimed, old-growth wood is milled from lumber harvested from ancient forests that is either rescued as logs from the bottoms of rivers & milled into lumber for various uses, or is removed from old buildings & re-milled for other purposes. Sometimes old flooring is salvaged & employed again as flooring which often does not require milling. You can see some cool videos about it here.
Recycled wood is available in solid unfinished, solid prefinished & also in engineered, unfinished or prefinished.
Should your site finished (as opposed to factory finished) floor require patching, this is the type of wood that you will need to use, especially if your floors are old heart of pine. You can read about its properties & its value here.
TYPES OF WOOD PRODUCTS
UNFINISHED WOOD FLOORING
This is the type of wood that was installed in our old houses when they were built. It requires sanding & finishing on site after installation is completed. Today it is milled from newly harvested trees, generally grown on tree farms. It can also be milled from reclaimed material, or, salvaged as flooring from old buildings.
Unfinished wood flooring, either newly milled or reclaimed, is available in solid or engineered.
After unfinished wood is completely installed, it is sanded, sometimes stained, & then coated with a protective finish. This article explains many of the finish options available.
Unfinished flooring allows you to create a completely custom floor so that you can match or complement the other floors in your home.
PREFINISHED WOOD FLOORING
A prefinished floor is one on which the stain & finish (a clear, protective coating) are applied at the factory. There are many tough finishes available from oil penetrating finishes which provide a matte finish, natural look, to polyurethanes which coat the wood & are available in matte to high gloss. Most of the finishes you can use on a site finished floor are avail in prefinished. You can read about them here. You are going to want to choose one with a medium gloss which mimics wax or shellac. As far as choosing a sheen level, a matte floor shows dust, dirt & fur & a shiny one obscures the grain & shows scratches & dust, dirt & fur.
The factory/manufacturer applied finishes, especially products at the higher end, are very tough, & are more durable than those applied on the job to unfinished wood. Many prefinished products can be sanded at least once. If you do not have to match existing flooring, it can be a good option, with a few caveats.
Here’s where prefinished floors can have a drawback. In your old floor, after the raw, unfinished wood was laid, several passes were made over it with a sanding machine to fully level all sides of the boards where they join the next rows. This sanding is not done on a prefinished floor. The boards are sanded at the factory before the finish is applied. Consequently, there may be some differences in leveling from board to board. There are several ways in which manufacturers cut the wood at the factory (mill) to make the final floor appear flat.
BEVELED EDGE
These products have a very distinctive groove in them.
EASED EDGE
This is the most common. Each board is just slightly beveled. Some manufacturers add an eased edge to both the length of the planks as well as the end joints. Even this small groove helps hide uneven plank heights. Eased edge is also called a micro-beveled edge.
SQUARE EDGE
The edges of all boards meet squarely creating a uniform, smooth surface that blends the floor together from board to board, giving it the same appearance as an old floor. High-end mills offer this option at a higher cost because each board must be cut with great precision. This floor will still not be as flat as a floor that has been sanded on site.
CONSTRUCTION CHOICES IN WOOD FLOORING
SOLID FLOORING
Your traditional floor, which you would find as the original flooring in your historic bungalow. This flooring is cut from one piece of wood. When you look at a piece of it from the side, you see no striations/layers.
ENGINEERED FLOORING
This type is created in layers that are glued together. The veneer on the top is called the wear layer & can be of varying thicknesses.
The wear layer of engineered floors can be from 1/32″ to 1/4″ (1 mm to 6 mm) thick, again, affecting the price point.
This method of construction increases the stability of the boards. Especially in high moisture areas or situations, I think it can be a good choice. The majority of the time, these products are prefinished & have the 3 above edging characteristics. Square edged prefinished engineered floors are uncommon & at a much higher price point than are beveled ones.
Engineered wood can also be sold as square edged unfinished, but is more expensive than most prefinished flooring. Usually the wear layer is at least 3 mm on these products. I like this product in humid climates.
WHAT IS VENEER?
Engineered hardwood flooring is built up using layers of plywood or a high density fiber board then on the top a layer of wood veneer, to create the look of real hardwood. Veneer is a thin layer of wood or other material for facing or inlaying wood. Veneer is made of a particular material that is applied to a different material in order to create a more desirable surface appearance than that of the basic material of the object.
SAWN FACE VENEER
The dry-sawn face method creates a thicker layer (4 mm) of veneer than the other methods. This method creates a veneer with an appearance that is identical to solid hardwood in color, grain, & character. (See cut & grain examples above.) This method produces the least amount of usable veneer so it is more costly than the other two methods below.
SLICED VENEER
Slice-cut is the second most common way to create a wood veneer. The finished wood presents a lovely face, like the sawn face above, but is in thinner layers (2mm or less) & is generally less pricey.
ROTARY PEELED VENEER
In this method, the log is put on a spit & peeled in a long, thin layer. The wood is then flattened which is damaging to its integrity & wearability. This cutting & flattening process produces an unnatural, repeating, unattractive grain pattern. It does create the maximum amount of product from the wood, so it is sold at the lowest price point.
That’s why there’s so much of it out there. I hate it! Be aware that, because of its low price, it is often chosen by flippers. If you see a floor that almost looks like wood, & is touted as being wood, this is likely what it is.
Engineered flooring has gotten a bit of a hit because the inferior products produced by this method. Engineered wood is a good, durable product & is quite suitable in a historic house- if- you choose the first method. I do not recommend the sliced veneer & do NOT choose rotary veneer flooring.
PORCH FLOORS IN BUNGALOWS
We replaced a covered porch deck on a 1907 Folk Victorian that we restored & used pressure treated, 3/4″ by 3 & 1/8″ wide, yellow, T & G pine which at least in Florida, is available in a pressure treated product.
Pressure treated wood must dry 30 days before it can be primed & painted. We painted the bottom of the boards before installation & the top after. You might be able to get pressure treated decking which has been kiln dried after it is treated, so the 30 days can be omitted. Sanding is required to give you a smooth level surface, just like with any wood floor.
Porch boards are subject to much wear & water. It is really important to make sure that they are slightly angled so that the water runs off. It’s also a good idea to have a large squeegee on a long handle so that you can dry them after a rain.
MY TOP CHOICES WHEN INSTALLING NEW WOOD FLOORING IN YOUR OLD HOUSE
In answer to the Good, Better, Best question of my follower:
BEST: 2 ¼” wide, reclaimed wood or salvaged old growth wood flooring, (with a 3/16” or thicker wear layer for 3/4″ T&G flooring, whether it be solid or engineered) of whatever species & grade was in your house originally. In any single house, there could have been more than one species, generally a pricier hardwood in the public areas & a less costly softwood (usually 3 1/4″ wide by 3/4″ thick) in the private. (This is the wood that you need for patching.)
Hire a qualified pro to sand & finish it. Reclaimed wood is $$$$$ & you don’t want to waste it.
BETTER: Select 2 ¼” wide, newly milled, farmed quarter sawn oak, either unfinished or prefinished (squared edged, please see above) solid or engineered with a thick veneer, for public areas. For private areas, 2 1/4” wide, in Select or #1 common oak. You do not want to use farmed softwoods.They are ridiculously soft.
If you want to finish it yourself, I recommend that you ensure that the equipment that you use is the latest & greatest & dust free, well maintained & calibrated. Then study these videos.
GOOD: A Select plainsawn wood floor that is either prefinished or unfinished, solid or engineered. Just no heavy bevels & no rotary veneer. (All are covered above.) Same instructions for sanding & finishing.
CAVEAT
Installing it too, or farming it out to a carpenter or handy friend, make sure that they & that they wear the correct PPE & if you are living in the house, or even visiting, please understand the materials that are being used wear it too. Read this!
This is not a DIY site. There are plenty of such sites & I applaud them!
Personally, I am not handy. But, I do like a project done correctly & have hired & supervised many tradespeople. Should you be of a similar mind, the more knowledge that you have of construction, the better you can judge competency & oversee your flooring project. These videos focus on the subject of wood flooring for your bungalow.
From books, I have taught folks whom I hired to work on my homes, about the care & feeding of the materials in old houses. I wish that I would have had these videos at the time!
And for those of you who are doing it yourself, my cloche is off to you. I hope these wood flooring videos are helpful & that your floors are smooth & beautiful!
And because I think I’m everybody’s mother: Installing & finishing wood floors is not rocket science, but they have their own precision technology. To become truly proficient takes years. I watched my husband work at mastering the skill over a period of 45 years & at retirement, he still did not feel he knew everything is to know.
WATCH & LEARN ABOUT WOOD FLOORING FOR YOUR BUNGALOW!
How to Acclimate Hardwood Flooring (6:57)
RW Supply+Design
And don’t forget to acclimate your kitchen flooring in the kitchen! Yes, it will be a major pain, but cupping is more so!
How To Install Tongue and Groove Flooring (10:06)
Ask This Old House
An informative video that includes a written list of the tools & materials required.
Because I’m a fan of some (not all!) engineered wood.
How to Repair a Tongue-and-Groove Wood Floor (4:53)
This Old House
Because a 100 year old floor always has some boo-boos!
How To Sand and Finish Wood Floors (28:03)
American Sanders
An overview only! Watch the rest of the one below.
Bona® Sand & Finish Training – Chapter 1: Preparation (17:29)
Bona Professional
A more detailed look at sand & finish. There are 4 chapters, each one automatically following the next. Watch them all!
How-to Restore Wood Floors (25:34)
About Your House with Bob Yapp
Another option from a master.
Visit Bob to see all the educational opportunities he offers here.
Should you have questions regarding wood flooring for your bungalow, visit my page of articles here. With 45 years in the trade, specializing in old houses, I have a lot to say!
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
The Arts & Crafts Movement highly revered the dignity of labor & valued good design. These attributes were evident in their use of the humbler metals- the hand-hammered copper, molded bronze & forged iron- of our bungalow hardware. The abundance of natural materials, employed “honestly,” that is to say, not molded, painted or otherwise contrived to resemble that which it was not, is one of the hallmarks of the Movement & one of the most charming features of our homes.
Bungalows come to us with hardware in various conditions. In the Hare House, I was stunned to discover that the majority of the hardware that adorned my built-in sideboard was intact & I was even happier to discover that I could easily resource the missing pieces.
My Tampa house was not so fortunate. I had to replace almost every one of my doors & find hardware for them also. It took several months of combing salvage outlets & eBay but at long last everything was in place. I used reproduction hardware for the sideboard & colonnades that I created- a far easier task!
I am going to caution you once again to choose the hardware that is appropriate for your house. It is tempting to want to use the largest, most ornate accents in the attempt to embellish your home. However, making choices more in line with the charm it already possesses, be it modest or or mega, will be more more enhancing.
An extensive offering of period-style lighting, interior, pocket & exterior door, window, cabinet & bath hardware. They have a page dedicated to Arts & Crafts for easy bungalow shopping.
Antique Hardware Supply provides consultations with experienced designers who are experts in period style hardware.
Antique plumbing fixtures, obsolete plumbing parts & faucet restoration. Many of their products are made or designed right in their own shop by plumbing experts.
They offer a huge choice of manufacturers & products.
An eclectic building salvage store specializing in hardware, lighting, architecture & plumbing.
They also provide lighting and lamp repair with a fully UL certified lighting repair shop that can customize length, finishes, plating, & configuration. Their plumbing department will coordinate refinishing with local companies. The hardware department is able to customize with darkening, refinishing, cleaning & rebuilding.
Antique & new hardware & parts for doors & furniture, plumbing fixtures & hardware, lighting fixtures & parts, heat registers & grills & most everything else that you might need to restore your bungalow.
Their blog is very interesting & has some great images.
Locksets & door sets, push & kick plates, window & cabinet hardware, lighting & electrical & more. They give you the opportunity to select Arts & Crafts in each category, making for easy shopping.
They are very knowledgeable & will give you great advice.
A huge array of hardware for furniture, much of which you could use for cabinets. Some door hardware.
I’m just going to recommend that you visit the site & poke around their lo-o-o-o-ng list of products. They offer free shipping to anywhere in the U.S. for orders over $100.
An enormous selection of products so this is the link to their Arts & Crafts section. They have a full menu on the left side of each page to you can get anywhere you want to shop easily.
Visit my Pinterest page to see some very cool hardware from many of these folks!
In addition to these vendors, Facebook Marketplace place can be a treasure for the old house owner as can eBay & Etsy. And don’t forget to check out salvage stores!
I implore you to send me any bungalow hardware resources that you might have that are not included my list. Hardware can be completely missing from an abused old house & it can be a major challenge to replace it.
MORE BUNGALOW RESOURCES!
LIGHTING
A series of article on lighting which includes sources for antique lighting as well as work by the modern masters & also reproduction fixtures.
WINDOW TREATMENTS
How to choose window coverings that will give you privacy & enhance the beauty & character of your home.
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
The members of my neighborhood preservation committee were the people with whom I felt the most kinship. When I left L.A. to live in Tampa, I purchased a bungalow only one block away from the chair of the committee, Dr. Steve Gluckman. A PhD archeologist, Steve was one of the brightest, warmest people I have ever known. Two decades earlier he had been one of the founders of the association & as it grew, he implemented the preservation committee.
3. We planned upcoming events, which we held about 4 times a year. The purpose of these events was to inform & educate, but they were also to interest new committee members to join. There were usually specific tasks that were required to prep & to host the events. We distributed those tasks & answered any questions. Here’s an example of a great one, when we hosted a talk by the publisher of American Bungalow magazine, John Brinkmann.
10. Once you have a good idea of how each of these housing styles should look, you can award people who have done sensitive renovations in your neighborhood. You can even award folks who have done very little, maybe even just painted with historically appropriate colors. The key thing is that you want to call attention to preservation & you want to reward anything positive anyone is doing.
“There may have been a time when preservation was about saving an old building here & there, but those days are gone. Preservation is in the business of saving communities & the values they embody.”
Many people had long histories with the neighborhood. Three of them, in their late 70’s, had grown up here, had been childhood friends. Their moms were great chums, chatting every day on the phone, over coffee & cigarettes (I’m sure!) The arches had been a landmark for them for decades- as tired little ones sagging in their aluminum frame car seats coming home after a too long day of errands with Mom; as kids on their bikes, venturing out into the big, wide world without their parents for the first time & later, as teens, directing their dates on where to turn to pick them up to escort them to the prom.
Its basic purposes are to:
Wood flooring is a major, character-defining feature in a bungalow & I vigorously encourage their restoration. However sometimes, they are so worn or damaged that it requires installing new wood flooring in your old house to provide a surface that provides sufficient safety & functionality. Fortunately, more often, they require only patching. This article is about the types of materials available which you would choose for patching or replacement.
The wood found in most bungalows is called strip flooring. Hardwoods are mostly 2 ¼” wide by ¾” thick. Softwoods can be wider, usually 3 1/4″.
PLAIN SAWN
QUARTER SAWN
RIFT SAWN
SELECT OAK
#2 COMMON OAK
This is the type of wood that was installed in our old houses when they were built. It requires sanding & finishing on site after installation is completed. Today it is milled from newly harvested trees, generally grown on tree farms. It can also be milled from reclaimed material, or, salvaged as flooring from old buildings.
BEVELED EDGE
SOLID FLOORING
ROTARY PEELED VENEER
PORCH FLOORS IN BUNGALOWS
This is not a DIY site. There are plenty of such sites & I applaud them!
The Arts & Crafts Movement highly revered the dignity of labor & valued good design. These attributes were evident in their use of the humbler metals- the hand-hammered copper, molded bronze & forged iron- of our bungalow hardware. The abundance of natural materials, employed “honestly,” that is to say, not molded, painted or otherwise contrived to resemble that which it was not, is one of the hallmarks of the Movement & one of the most charming features of our homes.
Antique Hardware Supply
Bathroom Machineries
Hippo Hardware 
Historic Houseparts
House of Antique Hardware
Kennedy Hardware
Wm. A. Kilian
Liz’s Antique Hardware
Nostalgic Warehouse
Van Dyke’s Restorers
Vintage Hardware & Lighting
LIGHTING