You don’t need to wait any longer. Check it out. You may want to begin in an area that is away from constant traffic or view; that’s up to you. Grab your needle nose pliers and start in a corner of the room. You’ll want to pull up both the carpet and the carpet pad, of course, but until you’re sure of what you have, start with a small section.

Is it really vintage hardwood flooring?

There are a few ways to tell if the flooring underneath the carpet is actually hardwood. Flooring contractors are typically familiar enough with their materials to know simply by the look and feel. Hardwood has a certain sound to it when it’s tapped on, due to its density. We know that even the best of luxury vinyl flooring can never duplicate the sound and feel of a wood floor. If you’re able to pull up a loose plank and look at it from the side, you’ll easily be able to see if it’s solid wood versus a composite, as you’ll be able to follow the grain. Upon closer inspection of the grain along with the color, you may even be able to identify the wood species.

What if it’s not old hardwood flooring?

You may simply find plywood under your carpet or linoleum. Did you really want to keep that old carpet (or whatever it may be)? You can if you want to, but you can also replace it with an actual hardwood floor if that is your desire. Again, it just may bring up the value of the home.

If you're thinking about making the switch, here are the top reasons to choose hardwood over carpet that go well beyond appearance.

A few things you will need before getting started:

• Respirator or face mask
• Needle nose pliers
• Utility knife
• Pry bar
• Heat gun
• Flashlight
• A truck or other means by which to haul off the old carpet … and hopefully, some nice weather (you don’t want to be handling old carpet in the rain) 

Once you’ve determined that indeed, you have vintage hardwood floors under your carpet (hooray!), you can begin pulling it up in 4-foot squares, folding it back on the existing carpet as you go along. But before you really get going, you’ll want to put on your face mask or perhaps even a respirator. Remember, that carpet has been there for a while, and you have no idea what kind of action it has seen throughout the years –– animal messes, human messes –– you name it. Old wall-to-wall carpeting can be downright gross, and you do not want to be breathing that in. Plus, there is a risk of damaging your newly discovered floor during the removal process. That said, you may want to ask your flooring professional to work carpet removal into the estimate.

Having completely removed the carpet, you can now get an idea of what is next. You can see if there are any major scratches, scuffs or dents in the floor, or if there is any other type of damage, such as rotting or mold, paint, etc.

For renovating or refinishing hardwood floors, call a BCC

When you’ve come to the conclusion that the hardwood flooring under your carpet is worth keeping and renovating, you now have another decision to make. Who will you call to refinish your hardwood floors? To ensure your restoration is beautifully and professionally handled from A to Z, call a Bona Certified Craftsman (BCC).  A lot can go wrong with restoring or refinishing hardwood floors, but your BCC will make sure that things go right. With over 100 years of experience, we’ve seen the mishaps as well as successes, so we know what to avoid, and how to prepare, proceed and succeed! Here's what to expect when sanding and finishing hardwood floors once they're uncovered.

From our dust-free sanding machines and systems to our waterborne finishes, we have all the best tools and products needed for the task ahead, and the knowledge to use them well. From start to finish, your BCC will follow the Bona System that we have spent decades developing and will continue to develop.

Bona Waterborne Finishes and Sealers

Bona’s line of waterborne finishes and sealers have low VOC levels to give you the best, most beautiful results while providing the safer choice for you and your family.

We’ve gotten pretty good at avoiding the former and achieving the latter. We can quickly assess the nature of the work, go over style and color options with you, and provide you with an estimate, complete with a delivery timeline. We work quickly and skillfully without creating messes so that your world doesn’t get too disrupted for too long. Best of all, you get Bona’s guarantee of superior quality workmanship. We want you to have beautiful floors. If your floors are in good condition, you may only need to recoat hardwood floors instead of refinishing.