Bruh, that hardwood floor was likely in terrible shape (sure looks like it), and it was probably a hell of a lot cheaper to cover it with linoleum than to replace the hardwood.
Even just repairing it can get really expensive. Get too many scratches and the only way was to sand them out. But you can't just sand one area you had to sand all of it or it would be uneven. So you had to either rent the machines or hire people to come in to do the job. But the sawdust goes everywhere. So you'd have to move everything out of house, or completely seal off the area you were sanding. Then you get to clean it up. Which if you've ever tried to clean alot of fine dust spread all over a room is just a down right pain. Then you get to maybe stain the floor then treat it or wax it. Now you get to move everything back in and repeat in all the rest of the rooms.
Yes. And you can I t sand a hardwood floor so many times in its life- easy sanding makes it lesser as you remove wood. The thing many people ignore as well... low of those floors are ancient, shit wood full of knots. In modern times that’s become cool- but what is old, real wood and a fortune today- was shabby cheap flooring that was embarrassing. Popcorn ceilings were big for awhile- the trend for some time in the present has been get rid of them. Someday some kid will probably ask why anyone would get rid of popcorn ceilings, or why they’d remove good wood paneling from a “captains wall” or why people removed charming late 20th century lights and such and replaced them with gaudy “smart” crap.
Well fashion and design change over the years. There was a time when walls must have wall paper to look nice than and a different time where wall paper was ugly no matter the print and simple one color was proper there was many times were a scene painted was better.
Don’t blame boomers for carpet or linoleum. When they were getting homes it was not right to have bare wood
Others have covered well some facts about real hardwood floors. Here are some others for you- you may not realize that older hardwood floors needed to be stripped and waxed- 1-2 times a year for most folk. Ever stripped and waxed your floors? Everything needed moved to do it- and until the wax dried you had to stay off. If you didn’t clean and dust you could eat it trapped in your wax. Tacky. Sealants and stains and waxed weren’t what they are today- chemical technology and such. You needed tools or a lot of elbow grease to wax a floor and chemicals didn’t tend to last as long and could be real pains in the ass- often dangerous too.
Also- it generally isn’t linoleum that was used to cover wood, but vinyl. Vinyl floors offered many choices of pattern and color, would protect floors (which aren’t just for beauty- but are an expensive structural part of the home that inevitably degrades with use and refinishing) and they were WAY easier to clean and care for.
Another big benefit? Many older wood floors weren’t very tight. Not only did they possibly allow critters and other things into the home, but they weren’t great for heating or cooling either. Wood floors are obviously hard- and they can get rather cold- and “real” “natural” wood without proper finish is susceptible to moisture damage and can warp with humidity- visibly sometimes. Covering wood floors can help eliminate or mitigate these problems.
You also must remember- the 1950’s was the dawn of a new age. This is when our modern world started to take shape. Disposable items like napkins and paper towels and utensils and plates etc- cheap affordable materials like plastic glasses and flat wear that weren’t prone to breaking and could handle abuse and didn’t need finicky care to look their best.
Technology for every day use and a previously unheard of standard of living appeared almost overnight. You literally probably can’t image the world as it was- a generation where even a television wasn’t common for a good portion of their early lives. The “TV dinner” and “instant meals,” precursors to microwaved or ready we’ve meal we’re coming down the line. Most food didn’t have preservatives until the first boomers were in middle school or so.
This was all crazy stuff. Kids born during the war grew up in a world where a new record- almost 59% of people- had a high school education. During the time boomers would be in school- that rate rose and by the late 1960’s was in the 70% range. Today- it’s in the mid to high 80% range.
It was a time of progress and change. The life of the average person changed dramatically. Aluminum foil was invented about as far ago for them as the computer was for us. Aluminum foil. The very first car ford ever sold- and essentially America’s first car- had stopped being made about the same distance in time for them as when The original He-Man was cancelled.
So on this one point- as much as I personally prefer real wood to vinyl or linoleum- I have to cut them some slack, and I think you should too. While so much that is wrong in the world happened under their watch- or was caused by them- the boomers also are the generation that shaped the world you live in in ways you like.
Don’t blame boomers for carpet or linoleum. When they were getting homes it was not right to have bare wood