Common Floor Material 1700s

A century earlier the stage was set for improvements in building construction to come.

Common floor material 1700s.

The abundance of wood brought common use of wood plank flooring to the masses during the colonial era 1607 1780. At last the new americans could get off the earthen floors and enjoy the resiliency and warmth of wooden floors. But the victorian and craftsman revivals of the late 20th century saw a renewed interest in hardwood flooring along with the use of reclaimed lumber to replicate early floors. When silversmith paul revere bought a fixer upper in 1770 the boston massachusetts house was already 100 years old.

As well as common dirt sand and dung it was not unusual to use blood commonly pig as a bonding agent to give a hard and indeed relatively smooth glossed surface to an earthen floor. In many houses of the 1800s central heat plumbing and electricity were not part of the original designs. Though many of the methods used in that time were still medieval there was an increase in the use of tools some outdated now by modern technology but some that are still in use today. Using locally available materials america s colonists built what they could and tried to meet the challenges posed by the climate and landscape of the new country.

Some of the merchant class would imitate this by painting a plank floor with designs but few of these floors survive today. Linen is the traditional fibre for things that were routinely laudered such as undergarments kerchiefs hand and neck aprons table and bed linens. Another cost saving option is engineered heart pine flooring which costs about 5 per square foot from goodwin a pioneer in the technology. Hardwood floors remained popular into the mid 20th century at which point manufactured materials became synonymous with modernism and wood fell from favor.

Installing fire blocking over gaps in the basement ceiling and attic floor is recommended. Methods and techniques of construction in the 18 th century were a combination of medieval and experimental techniques. These were only found in the most affluent and royal homes of their time. The dimensionally stable wood installs easily and has a solid wood top layer that s a fat 1 8 thick forbes says.

Below we include for now flooring materials that have come into popular use in the last 250 years. Some basic flooring materials and floor coverings such as stone slate brick carpets and tapestry have a much older history. White linen was associated with cleanliness and more expensive because of the added effort of bleaching. Outer garments such as aprons pinafores or neckerchiefs may also be dyed or woven in a check or stripe pattern.

Age of flooring materials based on eras of common usage.