Can we be sure there is hardwood underneath the carpet?

Q: My wife and I just bought a house in OR. It’s about 30 years old. The house is carpeted now. Can we be sure there is hardwood underneath the carpet?

What else could the floor be? How would we know besides seeing it for ourselves?

A: You are going to have to pull the carpet back from a corner of the room. If the house has forced air heat, you could remove the floor grill and check the edges of the opening. You could have hardwood. Could also be plywood.