Hardwood Floors History

The Beginnings

Back in the old days in the architects of India, China, Jerusalem and Egypt devoted much attention to flooring layout and design. They realized that the appearance of the floor can both enhance the beauty of the interior space, or destroy it.

To the western world wood floors only came in the middle ages. Back then it was the board, roughly cut with an ax and planed by hand. Gradually, it became a fixture of European castles and houses of rich nobles, testifying to their high position in society.

In the beginning of the  18th century parquet floors ordinary “oak bricks” began to turn into a work of art. Stylistic development of the flooring had been seriously impact  by architecture of the buildings.

Wood Floors in America

When you visit an old house or step inside an old building, you almost expect to see a shiny old floor. But, it took a long time before it became that way.

In the Colonial Era, from about early 1600’s to the late 1700’s, continent’s abundant old-growth forests provided for popularity of wood floors. First floors were thick and very wide planks made from slow growth pine. Those trees were massive in diameter, and the desirable heartwood was extremely tight-grained, making the lumber harder and more durable than the relatively immature wood of the same species that is harvested today. Floors back then were not sanded nor finished. Smoothing and polishing of the floor was accomplished just by everyday walking on it.

It was in the American Victorian Era in 1850’s when the wood floors began to be manufactured on a large scale.