The House: Floors

You should examine the floors very carefully to see that they are level and without serious surface defects. If it is a wood floor, take careful note to see that the joints are tight and that it has been properly sanded and finished. Small knots in the flooring do not necessarily mean that it is of poor quality, but they must be tight knots to be acceptable.

Wood flooring comes in a number of types. The two major types are: square blocks known as parquet flooring, and flooring that is in strips of various lengths known as strip flooring. A good way to determine if the floor is well laid and tight is to walk over it slowly to make sure that there are no places where there is noticeable give under foot. If so, that part of the floor should be corrected.

Some new houses today may have concrete floors covered with asphalt tile or wood flooring. When asphalt tile is used, you should be able to tell readily whether the flooring is well laid and tight. It is particularly important that the joints be smooth.

Kitchen floors will usually be either linoleum or asphalt tile, and the bathroom floor will usually be either linoleum, asphalt tile, or ceramic tile. You should inspect these floors to see that the material has been laid in a workmanlike manner..

The asphalt tile or linoleum should be properly fitted around the corners and fixtures. If there should be cracked or chipped pieces, then you should require that these be corrected, because water will get down in these places and work its way under the asphalt tile or linoleum and loosen it from the floor, and you will have a poor floor.

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