Hardwood flooring is the go-to flooring option for many homes in recent years. Why? Because hardwood flooring is elegant, attractive, and has relatively easy maintenance. However, there are many homes that already have hardwood floors installed and the homeowners don’t even know it! In the past, what we now know as wood flooring was used as a base for carpeting; due to this, many home owners only see the carpeting until they decide to replace or remove the carpeting, revealing the hardwood below. How do you know if your older home has hardwood floors already installed under carpeting or other flooring? Here are some ways to find out.

– Check underneath your floor. How do you do this? Go down to your basement. Unless you have finished your basement, you should be able to see the underside of your first floor just by looking up. A flashlight will help you see better. What you want to do is look between the support beams and joists at the wood. The way you can tell is by looking at the grain in the wood and the size of the planks. Hardwood flooring is typically four inches wide and the opposite, softwood flooring, is about five inches wide or more. Look for tight grain and whether or not the wood looks mellow, example of this is maple wood. If the wood has long, loose grain, it is most likely softwood.
– Check the thickness. Checking the thickness of the floor will also be an indicator of whether or not you have hardwood or softwood floors. A way to check the thickness of the wood is by looking by a floor vent. Remove the floor vent and look at the wood that is in the gap. Hardwood flooring typically has a thickness of three-quarter inches thick all the way to one and a quarter inch thick.
– Check the wood. If the other two options have worked out so far, you’re ready for the last step. Find a corner of your floor where you can lift up a small piece of the carpeting to actually get a good look at the wood. Take a look at the hardiness and grain of the wood. Does it look good? If you aren’t sure, try to sand a small portion and this will help you see the grain and thickness of the wood.

If you have hardwood flooring in your home already, then you’re sitting pretty! The next steps include refinishing or even restoring the floors. If you cannot do those things on your own, contact a hardwood flooring company like Chicagoland Pro.