Cottage Flooring Options

Q: What kind of replacement flooring can we put in our unheated, 140-year-old cottage? The floors (which have recently been leveled at considerable cost!) are currently covered in very old rolled flooring on top of wide cedar floorboards. We’re considering more rolled flooring, but only if we stop the curling and cupping we have now. What should we consider?

A: Rolled flooring is durable. That's why it's often used in cottages. But as you've discovered, it doesn't stay put all that well. Even glued installations can sometimes be troublesome, especially in cottages. The reason is the wide swings in temperature that occurs over the course of the year inside all unheated buildings. This leads to shrinking, swelling, and general misbehaviour of the floor. I’ve seen unfinished boards do a terrific job as a cottage floor, if you’re okay with a rustic look. With use the wood becomes smooth underfoot and takes on an appearance that's very much in keeping with an informal place. In my experience dirt stains aren't a problem, even if you walk around in outdoor shoes. A more refined approach is a laminate floor. This goes down easily, is surprisingly tough if you buy the right kind, and won't require holes to be made in your cedar floor. Laminates float on the surface below and many versions are astonishingly durable. In tests I’ve run with an electric sander, medium-duty laminate flooring shows virtually no wear, even after the same abrasive treatment leaves site-finished solid wood bare.