March, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



.105 



ing the boards of narrow width; as narrow as 1^ inches on 

 the face can be obtained in oak flooring. The narrow units 

 cannot shrink enough in any one board to show the objec- 

 tionable cracks, and they give a neat appearance to the floor. 



Wood for flooring comes in several widths and thick- 

 nesses, from £-8X1^4 inches up to %x3^4 inches. Boards 

 of Ji-'mch. are used for most floors. Flooring should be 

 tongued and grooved on the ends as well as the edges, so that 

 when the joints are driven up tight, an excellent floor is the 

 result. Nails are driven through in the grooves (blind 

 nailed), so that the nailheads are invisible when the floor is 

 completed. 



When remodelling, if new floors are laid over the old 

 ones, y$ -inch boards may be used. 



If one is building a house of the Colonial farmhouse type 

 and desires a floor of wide boards, like the old floors before 

 the narrow flooring could be obtained, boards should be 

 used for this purpose that have been built up or "lami- 

 nated." They have a soft wood core and a quarter-inch 

 veneer of oak on top and chestnut underneath. The shrink- 

 age of the oak and chestnut, being equal, keeps the wide 

 boards from warping. A floor of this nature can be made 

 more attractive by having the boards held together by 

 wooden keys of the same or a different kind of wood. 



Real parquetry flooring is % of an inch thick, of oak, 

 and is blind-nailed in the groove. Wood carpet is often 

 used, however, and gives approximately the same effect. It 

 is y% of an inch thick and consequently cannot be blind- 

 nailed. The nails are driven through the face and the holes 

 filled up. 



I saw a floor recently where teakwood and oak had been 

 used in combination. The center of the floor was entirely of 

 oak, the teakwood being used in the border design. When 

 first laid the teakwood was about the same color as the oak, 

 but exposure to the light gradually turned it darker and 

 brought out the design of the border. It gives variety to 

 a border when the cost does not have to be considered too 

 closely. 



There are various methods of finishing floors, depending 

 upon the condition of the 

 floor itself and the personal 

 predilections of the owner 

 to a great extent. 



In old houses where the 

 floors are not in good con- 

 dition, and it is desired to 

 use rugs, a good effect can 

 be obtained by simply paint- 

 ing the floor with two coats 

 of one of the dark-brown 

 floor paints that can be pro- 

 cured for that purpose, and 

 a coat of varnish can be add- 

 ed, although that is not 

 necessary. 



When new fl o o r s have 

 been laid, they should be 

 treated with more respect, so 

 that the grain of the wood is 

 brought out, and they should 

 be finished with varnish, shel- 

 lac and wax. 



After the floors have been 

 scraped, either by hand or 

 machine, the pores of the 

 wood should be filled up with 

 a wood filler. It can be pur- 

 chased in paste form and 

 thinned with benzine, gaso- 

 line or turpentine, until it 



A good floor is essential in a hall 



resembles liquid paint. Apply to the floor like ordinary 

 paint, and rub off all of the surplus filler that does not dry 

 in. Stain in either dry or liquid form can be added to 

 the filler to give the desired color to the floor. After the 

 filler and stain have dried thoroughly, then the finishing 

 process is in order. 



Two or three coats of shellac should be applied to the 

 floor as a foundation for the wax. If a heavy, thick shel- 

 lac is employed, two coats will suffice, but if the shellac 

 is thinned with wood alcohol, then three coats will be re- 

 quired. After applying the first coat let it stand for from 

 six to twelve hours, and smooth off with sandpaper, but be 

 careful not to go through the shellac. Then apply the 

 second coat and sandpaper again. After the last coat has 

 been applied, let it stand for two or three days, so as to 

 get firm, smooth off with sandpaper, clean thoroughly, and 

 then apply a thin coating of floor wax, of which there are 

 several on the market. After the wax has dried for sev- 

 eral hours it is ready to polish. Weighted brushes come 

 for this purpose; one weighing fifteen pounds will prove 

 satisfactory; or soft flannel cloths can be used and with 

 patient rubbing a beautiful soft polish will result. The 

 spots where there is the most walking can be rewaxed every 

 week or so, and occasionally the whole floor should be gone 

 over with a new coat of wax. The idea is that a thin film 

 of wax must be kept over the shellac, which is the founda- 

 tion of the polished surface. Never allow the wax to wear 

 so thin that it does not protect the shellac underneath. 



About every six months it will be found that ordinary 

 rubbing with a cloth will not remove the dirt. Then take 

 alcohol, gasoline or benzine and go over the whole floor, 

 x^ny of these liquids will dissolve the wax and it will come 

 off accompanied by all of the accumulated dirt, but the 

 shellac will be left intact. Let the floor dry and you can 

 then wax again as described above. This is the most ap- 

 proved method of finishing a hardwood floor, but there are 

 others which are liked just as well by some people. 



Floors can be finished with varnish. After the filler and 

 stain have been allowed to dry, apply two or three coats of 



one of the hard floor varn- 

 ishes that are prepared ex- 

 pressly for that purpose. As 

 each coat dries it should be 

 smoothed with sandpaper, or 

 the last coat can be left in its 

 natural gloss. Another 

 method is to use two or three 

 coats of varnish as a founda- 

 tion and then wax over the 

 varnish, although a shellac 

 foundation is generally con- 

 sidered the best by hardwood 

 floor people. If a waxed sur- 

 face is not desired, the floor 

 can be shellaced first and then 

 a floor varnish applied; the 

 shellac acting as a founda- 

 tion for the varnish. 



Kitchens and verandas can 

 be treated to a special var- 

 nish that will stand being 

 mopped with water. Water 

 should never be put on hard- 

 wood floors that have been 

 finished with varnish, shellac 

 or wax. The ordinary broom 

 will scratch them but a hair 

 brush with a cloth bag over 

 it will be found to answer for 

 ordinary cleaning purposes. 



