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 Mobile ViewADVANCED INSPECTION METHODS AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine ARCHITECTURE, STYLE, & Building Age Building Records Chimneys & Fireplaces, Age, Types Electrical Components, Age, Types FLOORING MATERIALS, Age, Types ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION Asphalt-Asbestos Felt Flooring Asphalt-based Floor Tiles Asphalt Tile Flooring Colors & Patterns - Age of Cork Flooring Tiles ENGINEERED WOOD Flooring Flooring Companies Mastic Used with Floor Tiles Non-Resilient Floor Coverings Laminate Flooring Products Wood Flooring Tile Floors Carpeting Properties of Flooring Types, Table of Resilient Floor List Asphalt Tile Cork Flooring Tiles Linoleum Flooring Sheet Flooring Materials Vinyl Asbestos Tiles Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Age Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tile History Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Packaging Vinyl Asbestos Floor Thickness & Dimensions Vinyl Asbestos Sheet Flooring LAMINATE PLASTIC FLOORING Laminate Wood & Other Laminate Floors LINOLEUM FLOORING Linoleum Sheet Flooring Age Non-Resilient Floor Coverings Peel and Stick Floor Tiles, Asbestos Peel and Stick Floor Tiles, Current Sheet Flooring Materials Wood Floor Types Wood Floor Damage FOUNDATION INSULATION OPTIONS FOUNDATION MATERIALS, Age, Types FRAMING MATERIALS, Age, Types FRAMING METHODS, Age, Types FRAMING SIZE & Spacing, Age, Types FRAMING TABLES, SPANS for DECKS Heating Equipment, Age, Types Historic Homes, Home Improvement Costs, Research Insulation Materials, Age, Types Nails and Hardware, Age, Types PLASTER & BEAVERBOARD & DRYWALL PLASTER TYPE IDENTIFICATION Plumbing Materials & Fixtures, Age, Types ROOFING MATERIALS, Age, Types Saw Cuts, Tool Marks, Age of Sears Kit Houses SIDING MATERIALS, Age, Types WINDOWS & DOORS, Age, Types AGE of CHIMNEYS & FIREPLACES AGE of CESSPOOL AGE of AIR CONDITIONERS & HEAT PUMPS AGE of FOUNDATION MATERIALS AGE of FRAMING MATERIALS AGE of FRAMING METHODS AGE of FLOORING MATERIALS AGE of ELECTRICAL WIRING AGE of HEATERS, BOILERS, FURNACES AGE of PLUMBING MATERIALS & FIXTURES AGE of ROOFING STYLE, MATERIALS AGE of SEPTIC SYSTEM AGE of SEPTIC DRAINFIELD AGE of SIDING MATERIALS AGE of WATER HEATERS AGE of INDOWS & DOORS ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION ASBESTOS-FREE INSULATION MATERIALS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings ASBESTOS ROOFING / SIDING DUST ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & MOLD BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BASEMENT LEAKS, INSPECT FOR BATH & KITCHEN DESIGN GUIDE BATHROOM VENTILATION BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE BOOKSTORE - INTERIORS BRICK LINED WALLS BRICK VENEER WALL INSULATION BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES BUILDING NOISE DIAGNOSIS & CURE CABINETS & COUNTERTOPS CARPET PADDING ASBESTOS, MOLD, ODORS CARPET STAIN DIAGNOSIS CARPETING, SELECTION & INSTALLATION CASEWORK, CABINETS, SHELVING INSTALLATION CATHEDRAL CEILING INSULATION CATHEDRAL CEILING VENTILATION CEILING FINISHES INTERIOR CEILINGS, DROP or SUSPENDED PANEL CEILINGS, PLASTER TYPES CEILING TILES - Asbestos-Containing CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS CONDENSATION or SWEATING PIPES, TANKS CONDENSATION on WINDOWS & SKYLIGHTS CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR DOORS, INTERIOR ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR FLOOR, CERAMIC TILE FLOOR, CONCRETE SLAB CHOICES FLOOR, CONCRETE SLAB POURED FINISH FLOOR DAMAGE DIAGNOSIS FLOOR, ENGINEERED WOOD & LAMINATES FLOOR FRAMING & SUBFLOOR for TILE FLOOR, KITCHEN & BATH OPTIONS FLOOR, LAMINATE PLASTIC FLOOR RADIANT HEAT Mistakes to Avoid FLOOR, RESILIENT VINYL or CORK FLOOR, STONE, GRANITE, MARBLE, AGGLOMER FLOOR & SUBFLOOR MOLD, HIDDEN FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS FLOOR TILE ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS Asphalt-Asbestos Felt Flooring Asphalt-based Floor Tiles CERAMIC TILE, ASBESTOS in? Colors & Patterns - Age of Cork Flooring Tiles ENGINEERED WOOD Flooring Flooring Companies Mastic Used with Floor Tiles Non-Resilient Floor Coverings Resilient Floor List Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Age Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tile History Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Packaging Vinyl Asbestos Floor Thickness & Dimensions Vinyl Asbestos Sheet Flooring LAMINATE PLASTIC FLOORING Laminate Wood & Other Laminate Floors LINOLEUM FLOORING Linoleum Sheet Flooring Age Non-Resilient Floor Coverings Peel and Stick Floor Tiles, Asbestos Peel and Stick Floor Tiles, Current Sheet Flooring Materials Wood Floor Types Wood Floor Damage FLOOR TILE ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS FLOOR TILE INSTALLATION DETAILS FLOOR WOOD AGE TYPES HISTORY FLOOR WOOD, DAMAGE DIAGNOSIS FLOOR, WOOD ENGINEERED, LAMINATE, INSTALL FLOOR, WOOD FINISHES FLOOR, WOOD INSTALLATION GUIDE FLOOR, WOOD MOISTURE FLOOR, WOOD RADIANT HEAT FLOOR, WOOD SOLID STRIP, PLANK FLOOR, WOOD TYPES FLOORING MATERIALS, Age, Types FORMALDEHYDE HAZARDS FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS FOOTING & FOUNDATION DRAINS FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING FRAMING DAMAGE, INSPECTION, REPAIR FRAMING DETAILS for BETTER INSULATION FRAMING DETAILS for DOUBLE WALL HOUSES FRAMING METAL STUD PERFORMANCE FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING FROST HEAVES, FOUNDATION, SLAB FUNGICIDAL SPRAY & SEALANT USE GUIDE GAS EXPOSURE EFFECTS, TOXIC GAS DETECTION & MEASUREMENT GAS EXPOSURE LIMITS & STANDARDS GLARE, Sunlight/Lighting Control HEATING SYSTEMS HISTORIC HOMES HOUSE PARTS, DEFINITIONS INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE KIT HOMES, Aladdin, Sears, Wards, Others LATH, METAL, PLASTER & STUCCO LIGHTING, EXTERIOR GUIDE LIGHTING, INTERIOR GUIDE MOLD AGE - Old is the Mold? PLASTER & BEAVERBOARD & DRYWALL PLASTER BULGES & PILLOWS PLASTER LATH, METAL PLASTER, LOOSE FALL HAZARDS PLASTER TYPE IDENTIFICATION PLUMBING MATERIALS & FIXTURES, AGE of RADIANT BARRIERS ROOF ARCHITECTURAL STYLES - PHOTO GUIDE ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES ROT, TIMBER FRAME SEARS KIT HOUSES SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS STAINS & FINISHES, INTERIOR STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS STUCCO WALL METHODS & INSTALLATION TRUSSES, Floor & Roof TRIM, INTERIOR WALL SIDING TRIM & FINISHES WALL FINISHES INTERIOR WATER HEATERS WATER PUMPS & TANKS WINDOWS & DOORS WOOD Burning Heaters Fireplaces Stoves WOOD FLOOR DAMAGE More Information |
This article provides a guide to estimating the age of all types of flooring materials in buildings as a guide to determining building age. The age of a building can be determined quite accurately by documentation, but when documents are not readily available, visual clues such as those available during a professional home inspection can still determine when a house was built. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.In this flooring age determination article we list some helpful clues using an inspection of interior flooring materials to help answer the question "how old is the house?" and we provide photographs of key visual clues useful for determining the age of a building. Readers should see FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS and also see FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS where we describe history, dates, and description of the production process and ingredients in asphalt floor tiles, asphalt-asbestos floor tiles, & vinyl-asbestos floor tiles.Also see ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION. © Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website. Flooring Materials as Indicators of Building AgeList & History Resilient Floor Coverings Used in buildingsResilient floor coverings include organic flooring materials such as asphalt tile, cork tile, linoleum, rubber flooring, vinyl tile, vinyl sheet flooring. See these articles on types, ages, characteristics, ingredients, & inspection of different types of floor coverings:
Asphalt Tile Flooring as an Indicator of Building Age - 1920 - 1974 (est)
In the U.S. the 1940's saw a tremendous expansion in the sales of this flooring material, largely because other materials were more difficult to obtain. At the end of World War II and combined with the reduction in military consumption of the product, asphalt floor tile sales increased to about 12% of the flooring market (1946), selling 41 million square yards. By 1949 the post-war construction boom led to asphalt floor tile sales of 61 million square yards. By 1952 "asphalt-asbestos" floor tiles contained much less asphalt or gilsonite. Those binders produced only dark tiles. IN the 1950's manufacturers changed to use of synthetic organic resins and solvents made of vegetable or petroleum pitches. These new synthetic binders permitted manufacture of lighter colored, brighter floor tiles in a wider range of colors. But asbestos continued to be the main filler ingredient in these tiles. Vinyl asbestos floor tiles were produced from approximately 1954 to 1980. Early vinyl asbestos flooring was made in 9" x9" floor tiles, and also sold as decorative or accent solid color strips, typically 1" wide by 24" long. By 1960 12" x 12" vinyl asbestos floor tiles were produced by Armstrong™, particularly their Excelon™ line. Asbestos was also used in sheet flooring. By 1973 only a small portion of flooring was produced as asphalt-based floor tiles (9"x9") as vinyl asbestos flooring was dominating production. The size, thickness, color, and patterns of floor tiles can distinguish between asphalt-asbestos and vinyl-asbestos flooring. While asbestos-containing floor tiles were made in a wide variety of colors and patterns (see ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE), if you encounter black or very dark asphalt floor tiles they are probably particularly high in asbestos fibers. We discuss floor tiles as an asbestos fiber source in buildings in more detail at ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION. Colors and Patterns of Resilient Floor Tiles Can Indicate When They Were ProducedAsphalt -asbestos tiles manufactured early in their life (1920's) were either black, near black, brown, or a gray-brown tone. Brown asphalt-asbestos tiles were made by substituting gilsonite as a binder. In both cases the tiles were hardened by evaporating a solvent used in the fabrication process, or by cooling of hot asphalt used in the mixture. Gilsonite could be used to produce a wider range of mixtures, but required some asphalt as a softener. Dark vinyl-asbestos tiles used, for example, a mixture of 40 parts asphalt or gilsonite, 60 parts asbestos floats, 30 parts powdered limestone, and pigments (parts by weight). Another typical mixture cited by Rosato contained 70% asbestos fiber. See these articles on asphalt and vinyl-asbestos floor tile identification:
Cork Floor Tiles or Cork Planks as an Indicator of Building AgeCork floors, real cork flooring, were and are a wood product made out of cork from the cork oak tree (Quercus suber) native to Mediterranean countries, primarily Spain and Portugal. The bark of the cork oak is or was harvested once every nine or ten years, without injuring the tree. The epitome of a resilient floor, cork flooring can compress up to 40% and still return to its original shape. Armstrong Cork Floor TilesIn the U.S. Thomas Armstrong, a Scotch-Irish immigrant, began his business as a cork cutter in 1860, delivering hand-carved bottle corks by wheelbarrow. The use of cork expanded to the construction of corkboards (bulletin boards) and cork-insulated brick. By 1909 Armstrong had begun producing linoleum. "Corkboard led to fiberboard, fiberboard led to ceiling board, cork floor tile led to linoleum that ultimately led to vinyl floor coverings, in both tile and sheet vinyl forms. Armstrong's familiarity with cork grew into today's Armstrong Corporation worldwide as one of the largest flooring producers. See Armstrong flooring history. Dodge Cork Floor TilesThe Dodge Cork Company, a second Lancaster PA flooring company, also has a long history in floor covering production, dating from its founding in 1926. Dodge Cork notes that their cork floors were used by Frank lloyd Wright at Falling Waters and of course in many other buildings and that the company was producing a million square feet of cork floor tiles a month by 1962, probably a peak in the cork floor market. As our photograph below indicates (Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY new cork flooring), cork flooring installations from various manufacturers continue to be placed today. But as the company indicates at their webgsite, "Dodge Cork Products are manufactured in Portugal in accordance with USA specifications and regulations."
Watch out: vinyl-asbestos flooring was produced by several manufacturers in patterns that closely resemble actual real cork. See ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE for examples. Examination of a flooring sample in cross-section (above) shows the use of cork materials throughout the 5mm (3/16") thickness of this sample that was painted or coated on its upper surface with a light white/beige coating. Laminate Flooring: Determining the Age of buildings Using Laminate Flooring Products
Keep in mind that even when we can identify specific types of building materials and building methods, precise dating of the time of construction of a building remains difficult: old building materials were often re-used, so beams, siding, and other components may appear in a building built later than when the materials were first made. Also, in the U.S. various states had machines for making cut nails, screws, and sawmills at different times. For example, New York State was industrialized earlier than some western or southern states, so machine-made nails appear earlier in New York than elsewhere. Age of Linoleum Flooring & Older Sheet Flooring Materials Indicate Age of a Building (1890 - 1960 est)Details about linoleum flooring products and the history and ingredients of linoleum are found at LINOLEUM FLOORING. Excepts are below. Prior to the development of linoleum sheet flooring, floor coverings were made of painted canvas. According to Rosato, "The original resilient floor coverings were developed during the latter part of the Nineteenth Century by Frederick Walton. The original covering was linoleum for use as a floor decking on British naval ships." The composition of the original products included asphaltic binders to which an asbestos filler was added by mixing on a rubber mill. As discussed at ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE that Linoleum may be used as a generic term for older sheet floorings (sometimes incorrectly). Linoleum was invented as a ship deck, later floor covering in 1860 by Frederick Walton to describe sheet flooring.
At below left is Congoleum Gold Seal Jackstraw pattern, and below right, Congoleum "Square Dance" sheet linoleum sold in a 9" x 9" tile pattern.
Also see Congoleum Flooring History and FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS. Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles as an Indicator of Building Age - 1954 - 1980 (est)
Non-Resilient Floors Used in buildingsExamples of non-resilient flooring used in buildings include
Wood Floors Used in buildings - Indicators of Building Age
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