Some people buy an old home under the impression that they can “flip” it and earn themselves a hefty profit.
The actual efficacy of house flipping is a mixed bag. While the practice is largely considered profitable, profits earned from house flipping are going down. Additionally, it takes significantly more time and money than one might expect. The average time it takes to flip a house is around six months, and by the end, flippers can expect to earn an average of $66,000 in profit.
If you’re lucky, you might have a home that requires little structural work and can reach profitability with a little painting and redecorating. If you’re unlucky, however, getting the house to a sellable state involves top-to-bottom reconstruction—and a heck of a lot of patience.
During the renovation process, random discoveries can be made that delight and excite the homeowner. One such discovery recently went viral, garnering over 411,000 views on TikTok.
What Did He Find Under The Carpet?
In his video, actor and TikToker Jake Thomas (@jakethomas) explains why he believes he “may have just hit the carpet lottery in my 100-year-old home.”
According to Thomas, his house is presently covered in unexciting carpeting. After peeling back the carpets, he discovers a major surprise: not hardwood floors, but “original, 1930s or 40s … polished concrete.”
After making this discovery, Thomas decides to look further. To his delight and surprise, the hardwood in other rooms also has the polished concrete underneath. And so, he decided to restore it all.
“When I restore this, it’s gonna look so much better than just having carpet in here,” he announces.
Restoration took a considerable amount of work. Patches in the floor had to be filled. Grout lines had to be scraped out. Glue had to be removed. When all that was done, the floor had to be repeatedly sanded with increasing grits of sandpaper until it was finally time to add sealant.
Finally, Thomas revealed the finished floor. Where there was once carpet is now brilliant red polished concrete tiling.
“That’s some great floor,” Thomas announces.
Why Did Polished Concrete Go Out Of Style?
Seeing this floor, some may wonder why polished concrete isn’t as popular as it used to be.
While polished concrete has seen occasional resurgences over the past few decades, it’s fallen out of favor for a lot of home renovators.
One of the reasons for this is the fact that concrete is porous. While polishing and sealing concrete significantly reduces the natural porosity of concrete, it can still stain and require resealing. This makes it more work to maintain than other flooring options.
This idea recently reached public awareness after concrete tiles became a Pinterest trend for kitchen backsplashes. While they can look beautiful, experts warned that the nature of concrete made these tiles high-maintenance and prone to stains.
The potential work involved with polished concrete may be one of the reasons why the previous homeowner covered it up with carpet and hardwood.
Why Did Old Homeowners Cover Up Good Flooring?
This video, along with other home renovation videos in which owners discover beautiful flooring under ugly tiling, has viewers wondering, “Why did the old homeowner cover up this perfectly good flooring?”
The answer is, more than likely, “It was the style at the time.”
While easier to maintain than many think, hardwood floors were still considered high-maintenance in comparison to other, then-new innovations like linoleum. Additionally, while wood could scuff and stain, other materials did a better job of resisting wear without breaking the bank.
Furthermore, it should be noted that not all old flooring is created equal. Advertisements for wood floor installation in the 1920s suggested that homeowners could save money by using cheaper cuts of wood for the center of a room and more expensive cuts for the border, as, at the time, the center of the room would likely be covered by a rug.
Today, a homeowner exposing this wood floor may be disappointed to learn that its brilliance and quality vary considerably across the floor.
Still, there’s always a chance that someone peeling back a floor will discover a happy surprise underneath. It’s just important to remember that restoring that floor to its former glory will likely take a lot of work.
Commenters Love It
In the comments section, users offered their thoughts on the newly rediscovered tile.
“I know that they added the carpet to dampen the echo, but there were other options than covering up that beautiful tile,” a commenter wrote.
“The way some people cover up perfectly good flooring with carpet needs to be studied,” another declared.
“I respect the heck out of you,” a third stated. “I cleaned my room today and had to lay down after an hour.”
@jakethomas Weeks of floor work boiled down to 3 minutes 😅 #homerenovation
BroBible reached out to Thomas via email and Instagram direct message.