Flooring in Lakeview
Lakeview is one of the established southwest communities near the Glenmore Reservoir, built largely in the 1960s. The trees are full grown, the lots are generous by modern standards, and the houses are bungalows and split-levels with the room proportions of their era — more separate spaces, smaller openings, and the odd hallway that a modern builder would have opened up.
For flooring, homes of this age are the most interesting work we do. They almost always have a history under the current floor, and quite often that history is worth restoring rather than removing.
What the Homes Are Like Here
Most Lakeview homes were built with oak strip flooring through the main living areas — typically narrow boards, nailed down over a wood subfloor. Over the following decades, carpet went over it, then sometimes laminate over that.
Underneath, expect the construction of the period: board subfloors in many homes rather than sheet panels, basements with slabs poured as working surfaces, and framing that has done sixty years of seasonal movement.
The Flooring Work We Do in Lakeview
- Uncovering and refinishing original hardwood, the most common request.
- Weaving in new boards where walls have been removed during renovations.
- Preparing board subfloors for modern floating floors or tile.
- Levelling basement slabs before new flooring.
- Renovation-coordinated installs, sequenced with other trades.
The Floor You Already Own
When carpet comes up in a 1960s Lakeview bungalow, the floor underneath usually looks terrible: tack-strip holes around the perimeter, staple marks across the field, dark patches where furniture sat, and a dull grey cast from decades under a pad.
Almost none of that matters. Tack-strip holes are hidden by baseboard. Staple marks disappear in the first sanding pass. The grey is oxidation in the old finish, not damage to the wood. What is left, in most cases, is a solid oak floor with plenty of thickness above the tongue — a floor that can be sanded, stained in any colour you like, and finished to look better than the day it was laid.
The exceptions are specific and easy to identify: black pet staining that penetrated the wood, water damage that cupped the boards, and floors already sanded so many times that the fasteners sit close to the surface. We check for all three before recommending refinishing.
Renovations and Walls That Moved
Lakeview homes get renovated, and renovations move walls. That leaves a strip of missing or unfinished floor where the wall used to be.
The fix is weaving: cutting back the existing boards in a staggered pattern and fitting new boards of matching species, width and thickness into the gap, so the repair follows the same rhythm as the rest of the floor. Done well and followed by a full-room refinish, it becomes invisible.
That work is also why we prefer to see the floor before the renovation finishes. Knowing what will be exposed lets us plan the patch, the transitions and the refinishing schedule alongside the rest of the project.
Board Subfloors
Many homes of this era were built with diagonal board subfloors rather than plywood or OSB sheets. They are solid, but they present specific challenges: gaps between boards, cupped edges, and a surface that is not flat enough for large tile or thin glue-down products.
Nail-down hardwood handles board subfloors well. Floating floors and tile usually need an added panel layer first, which raises the floor height slightly — a detail we work into door clearances and transitions before ordering material.
Floors That Suit Lakeview Homes
- Refinished hardwood where the original oak survives.
- Hardwood repair for renovation patches and damaged boards.
- Engineered hardwood in basements and over concrete.
- Porcelain tile in updated kitchens, entries and bathrooms.
Pricing in Lakeview
Materials cost the same as anywhere in Calgary — hardwood $8 to $16 per square foot installed, tile $8 to $15, vinyl plank $8 to $15 — while refinishing is quoted by area and scope and typically costs a fraction of replacement. Older homes carry higher preparation lines: removal $0.50 to $3 per square foot, subfloor work $1 to $4 where board subfloors or uneven slabs need attention. We give a realistic allowance up front rather than discovering it later. See the Calgary flooring cost guide.