Protecting hardwood floors

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Madeleine

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We have hardwood floors in the dining room and living room and we've been suffering a bit lately with guests sliding the chairs without standing up first. I've got the 'carpet' feet glued onto the bottoms of the chairs but if a guest is rather large the carpet feet shift, the floor gets gouged and then the glue holding the carpet feet on sticks to the floor and leaves a black, gummy mess.
So, how do you keep your floors from being gouged?
 
I have an area carpet in my dining room. It is easier to vac than worry about gouges. The first one lasted about 10 years. I get a large piece of carpet from the warehouse outlet store, have them cut and bind a reverse L for my downstairs hall and then square-off and bind the remainder for my dining room. Works well. The carpet is 9 x 13. The room is about 15 x 19.
 
Before we put in hardwood floors we had carpet in the dining room and coffee bar area. Someone dropped a plate of very hot food on it and the carpet melted. And there was also the lovely iron burn. Not to mention the lingering sour milk smell from coffee spilled onto it.
So, I need a solution that involves outfitting the feet of the chairs with some sort of prophylactic.
 
We use plastic feet rather than carpet feet. The ones we use screw on to the bottom to the chair legs, rather than glue on. We get them from our local Ace Hardware store.
These are the ones we like, even though they say they are for carpet: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3678405&cp=2568443.2568451.2626210.2627543.2627582
Here are the ones they advertise as being for hardwood floors: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3678415&cp=2568443.2568451.2626210.2627543.2627583
They come in different sizes.
 
We use plastic feet rather than carpet feet. The ones we use screw on to the bottom to the chair legs, rather than glue on. We get them from our local Ace Hardware store.
These are the ones we like, even though they say they are for carpet: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3678405&cp=2568443.2568451.2626210.2627543.2627582
Here are the ones they advertise as being for hardwood floors: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3678415&cp=2568443.2568451.2626210.2627543.2627583
They come in different sizes..
And no problems with the chair legs cracking from those being screwed in? My chairs are oak but they are kind of old.
 
[quote/[
So, how do you keep your floors from being gouged?
[/quote]
We use the old fashioned rubber feet on the tips of the chair legs. So far, so good.
They just slip on like boots. Home Despot had them.
 
[quote/[
So, how do you keep your floors from being gouged?
We use the old fashioned rubber feet on the tips of the chair legs. So far, so good.
They just slip on like boots. Home Despot had them..

[/QUOTE]
Can you slide the chairs with the rubber feet on? I was thinking of those but figured everyone would be bouncing the chairs on the floors because the rubber feet don't slide.
 
I think this may call for a test match! I may just go buy a bunch of different types of feet and see which work best here.
 
I think this may call for a test match! I may just go buy a bunch of different types of feet and see which work best here..
Please post when you decide. I'm not happy with my present solution.
 
okay, you are going to think i'm nuts but what about felt or fleece booties (socks) that slip over the chair feet? i am thinking of socks really i'd probably make my own funky things with elastic to grip the chair leg (yeah, right, in this lifetime with my sewing skills. ha! )
... but i searched and found these
http://www.chairslippers.com/request.aspx
you can request a free sample, see if they work on your chairs. it seems they were designed for classroom chairs but maybe they'd work.
 
We use plastic feet rather than carpet feet. The ones we use screw on to the bottom to the chair legs, rather than glue on. We get them from our local Ace Hardware store.
These are the ones we like, even though they say they are for carpet: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3678405&cp=2568443.2568451.2626210.2627543.2627582
Here are the ones they advertise as being for hardwood floors: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3678415&cp=2568443.2568451.2626210.2627543.2627583
They come in different sizes..
And no problems with the chair legs cracking from those being screwed in? My chairs are oak but they are kind of old.
.
You do have to pre-drill for the screws.
 
Before we put in hardwood floors we had carpet in the dining room and coffee bar area. Someone dropped a plate of very hot food on it and the carpet melted. And there was also the lovely iron burn. Not to mention the lingering sour milk smell from coffee spilled onto it.
So, I need a solution that involves outfitting the feet of the chairs with some sort of prophylactic..
Madeleine said:
So, I need a solution that involves outfitting the feet of the chairs with some sort of prophylactic.
I made a prophylactic post a few days ago and nobody seemed to appreciate it.
embaressed_smile.gif

 
okay, you are going to think i'm nuts but what about felt or fleece booties (socks) that slip over the chair feet? i am thinking of socks really i'd probably make my own funky things with elastic to grip the chair leg (yeah, right, in this lifetime with my sewing skills. ha! )
... but i searched and found these
http://www.chairslippers.com/request.aspx
you can request a free sample, see if they work on your chairs. it seems they were designed for classroom chairs but maybe they'd work..
Quite frankly, I thought about making something myself along the lines of some heavy fabric. But I think they would wear out really quickly given the amount of traffic and that I can't yell at guests to be careful. ;-)
They would really have to be funky eclectic to not be scorned by some of the folks we've had lately. Maybe if I made them look like lobster boat boots?
 
okay, you are going to think i'm nuts but what about felt or fleece booties (socks) that slip over the chair feet? i am thinking of socks really i'd probably make my own funky things with elastic to grip the chair leg (yeah, right, in this lifetime with my sewing skills. ha! )
... but i searched and found these
http://www.chairslippers.com/request.aspx
you can request a free sample, see if they work on your chairs. it seems they were designed for classroom chairs but maybe they'd work..
OK, I looked at those and they would work if they didn't look SO much like tennis balls! Love the colors. I found these with your help (getting different terminology for the search)...
http://www.lowboz.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=LB6
Similar idea but they look more 'grownup'. (I might keep the tennis balls for my own dining room!)
 
We just use these rubber tips on our kitchen chairs and they do not really slide easily, which could be a good thing. They do slide some. You actually have to get up to really move the chair in & out. They are inexpensive, too so not a lot of $$$ to replace. I actually put them on the legs of my wicker porch furniture because the plastic (or silicone) feet that are nailed or screwed into the legs were starting to nick up the painted porch floor.
 
okay, you are going to think i'm nuts but what about felt or fleece booties (socks) that slip over the chair feet? i am thinking of socks really i'd probably make my own funky things with elastic to grip the chair leg (yeah, right, in this lifetime with my sewing skills. ha! )
... but i searched and found these
http://www.chairslippers.com/request.aspx
you can request a free sample, see if they work on your chairs. it seems they were designed for classroom chairs but maybe they'd work..
Quite frankly, I thought about making something myself along the lines of some heavy fabric. But I think they would wear out really quickly given the amount of traffic and that I can't yell at guests to be careful. ;-)
They would really have to be funky eclectic to not be scorned by some of the folks we've had lately. Maybe if I made them look like lobster boat boots?
.
Madeleine said:
Quite frankly, I thought about making something myself along the lines of some heavy fabric. But I think they would wear out really quickly given the amount of traffic and that I can't yell at guests to be careful. ;-)
They would really have to be funky eclectic to not be scorned by some of the folks we've had lately. Maybe if I made them look like lobster boat boots?
well you know me ... eclectic should be my middle name. hmmm ... i think they would be adorable. and, yes, it's a down maine thing or whatever. maybe i will figure out the material, use something like the shamwow ... patent them and make my fortune. i will see if i can create some and then you can ask your guests ... what do you think of this PROTOTYPE (not prophylactic) jeez
 
[quote/[
So, how do you keep your floors from being gouged?
We use the old fashioned rubber feet on the tips of the chair legs. So far, so good.
They just slip on like boots. Home Despot had them..
Can you slide the chairs with the rubber feet on? I was thinking of those but figured everyone would be bouncing the chairs on the floors because the rubber feet don't slide.
.

[/QUOTE]
They slide well enough, more like a skootch. Not noisy either.
 
Depending on the floor I prefer to use the felt feet that do not use the sticky stuff bit have a sharp inner ring that you pound into the wood with a hammer to attach the felt base. Some areas if its a table that I need to slide for cleaning...I use a plastic nail in type foot bottom so its slides like butter on a hot skillet for me. So the pump organ definitely has the plastic feet. I also order in a gallon bucket of a wax that really is more like the wax you use on your car (it uses a carnauba as its base wax which is stronger)
 
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