I am about to finally gain a sewing room! I've decided on the only bedroom with no carpeting, and its also the largest one. But I'm afraid to damage the 75-year-old oak flooring with my rolling chair, and maybe rolling over a dropped pin. The steel shelving legs will also do damage. And I'm also limited to what I can mount to the walls which are lath and plaster, so I'll be using those stick-on hooks wherever possible. Any damage will be MY job to fix (DH has always claimed he's not handy with that sort of work, although he's the first to jump in and tell me how to do it!). Man, I wish I'd thought of that declamation first!! So anyway, has anyone ideas of how to protect the floors short of carpeting? Those plastic protector mats are meant for carpet, they have grabby nubs on the back

I too have old wood floors. I don't have a rolling chair though, or a sewing room lol. Anyway,what about a mat like a treadmill mat to go under the chair or even under the plastic chair mat with the nubs.

No more rolling chair since we moved into this house. I now sit on an old dining room chair that DH put felt pads under. The same down stairs in the kitchen. We have white oak through out.

Just squares of carpeting under each leg of your storage units - they only need to be two or three inches square, unless the legs are much larger.

We have just redone oak floors in a 50 year old cape and I have an office chair with small wheels at my sewing machine. I got a floor protector mat at IKEA without the nubs. So far, so good.

there is a plastic floor protector that you can get that goes under your rolling chair. It is just like the one that people use under their computer chairs on carpet but it is different on the bottom so as to not mar the wood floors. Our Staples has them but I bet you could get or order one from any office supply store!

My house is another 75+year old with hard wood floors... I put an old (tightly woven) rug under my sewing table for that same reason... it's worked OK, but I'd rather have a protector mat... I'll be looking for the one without the nubs!! My walls are the old lath and plaster, too... They're a mess to hang stuff, especially shelves... I've been using free-standing shelves.. Let us hear what you end up using??

and Happy Quilting!!

Ahhh THANK YOU! I just knew you all would have the answers!!!!!! :D :-D :-D

for the heavy furniture get those round furniture mover things that fit under the legs; you can glue felt to the backsides of them for extra protection and it will allow you to easily move your equipment should you need to. How about a piece of indoor outdoor carpet for your desk area where the chair is. I have it under mine and it works great; those large vinyl chair protectors will mar the hardwood if you use them.

I have a small throw rug under my sewing swooper [it isn't a chair.] It is easy enough to remove the rug and shake it out.

ali

We got one of those floor protector mats for hardwood floors. When we moved the desk & chair a year later, we found that the entire area under the mat was abraded, like it had been sanded. I think the whole mat moved a smidgen each time we rolled the chair. Now we just have the wheeled chair right on the oak floor. Doesn't seem to have caused any damage at all. I would put something under the cabinets. Carpet scraps are a good idea, and I would put them with the pile down, so you can slide them around if needed.

There are protective mats for hardwood floors. I have them and they work fine. My floors are 133 years old and no damage from rolling chairs.

You know those grippy rubber things they sell to keep area rugs from sliding all over hardwood floors? Use that with either the plastic mats (without the nubs) or with small area rugs. The grippy rubber keeps everything from shifting around and scratching the floors :thumbup:

I have finish plaster walls,They can be patched just like dry wall.But the stick on is a good way too.

I bought a mat without the nubs, made for hardwood floors. I got it at Staples or Office Max. Works like a dream.

I have laminate floors and they are practically bullet proof.
I do use small carpets under wheels or I lose control and end up across the room.
Walmart carries cheap carpets that are the same size as the plastic mats for chairs.

spam reported. Moldy post. Still curious what a "sewing swooper" is though. 😆

You got me curious too so I asked Dear Google and came up with this.
Basically it's a stool with a big spring.:rolleyes:
https://www.furniture35.com/swooper-stool

I would put an area rug (at least 5x7) under my roller chair to protect my wood floor. There are sets of rubber cushions sold in home improvement stores for putting under furniture legs - they can be used under your shelf legs.

My house is also over 100 years old with unfinished (i.e., I stll have to wax and buff) hardwood floors and plaster walls. I have nothing under my chair, roll from machine to machine. Have no damage to my floor. I use those round pads for moving heavy furniture under my larger pieces like my cutting table. I also use command strips/hooks to hang things on the wall. I recently removed some that had been up for over a year with no damage to my walls.

I honestly would find the best floor finisher in your area and ask what they recommend for protection. My floor finisher said to not put any rubber back rugs on the floor and also plastic floor protectors. Now, I live where it is humid during the summer and that may be the reason as they might trap moisture close to floor. He used several coats of urathane floor finish and his recommendation was to have hime come back every 7 years and do a lite buffing and reapply the finish layers.

You guys. This is a really old post, revived by a spammer.

EazyPeezy - thanks for the info! You did better on the googles than I did - all I got was sewing "sloper". 😉

Too bad. I has a whole lecture on how to hand stuff on plaster walls ready to go...

At work, we had a large clear mat under our chairs with wheels.

Bonnie Hunter has devoted some of her blog posts to how she is protecting her wood floors from the constant comings and goings of retreaters. She just redid her floors and so there are lots of helpful hints there. https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2024...rs-floors.html This is the first link where she is talking about the current process. She has floor coverings and wheels that she uses on all the chairs listed in her amazon affiliate store if you want ideas on what is working for her. But I think the true reason her floors stay good is that she had them profesionally refinished to be as protected as a basketball course from constant use. Her newest helpful gadget is a chairpad that swivels so you don't have to roll around in the chair so much. One of her retreaters brought it. That is discussed in one of the blogs, too.