I came across a home in Westchester County, NY that was built in 1908. The entry, living room and dining room had an unusual flooring that I have never seen before. It is multicolored, rectangular squares that appear as if they are cork but much harder. It doesn't seem likely that the floor is original and may be over hardwood underneath. Anyone ever seen this before, know what it is?
Flooring – What kind of home flooring is this
flooringrenovation
Related Solutions
You should consider doing something mosaic-y there because the size difference will always prevent you from putting in a milled transition piece.
If you try to install something that looks perfect, it will always look imperfect. But if you go with something that is intentionally imperfect, it will look intentional.
Don't worry about making new tabs or grooves. Just cut the offending tabs off. For the planks on the floor, use a sharp chisel. For the new boards, cut them on a chop saw. You want the two mating faces to be as perfectly square as possible, otherwise you will end up with a gap or one board riding up over the top of the other.
In places where you still have underlayment, a belt sander with a rough grit will take care of that in seconds. Make sure you have a shop vac hooked up to the sander!
Also, try not to have two planks next to each other where you have cut off the side and the end tab. This could lead to buckling. Provided you plan ahead on your installation pattern, this should be achievable.
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Best Answer
I think this is a patch work of “early vinyl tile” these type of tiles were reenforced with asbestos but the colors look a lot like what used to be available in the 40’s and 50’s from the homes I have worked on.
The photo looks to have a texture in the center but I think there was something on top that caused that. the light reflecting off the floor from the door is smooth and that is normal. I call them asphalt vinyl because I don’t remember the correct name and they usually have a asphalt like tar for the adhesive that is really horrible to try and clean up.