Quick and Dirty Guide to Wood Flooring
by: MJ Plaster
If you've always longed for hardwood floors, you're in good company. While soft
wooden floors date back to the Colonial era, hardwood floors first burst on the
scene in the late 17th century. If you only know that you want hardwood floors
gracing your home, read this quick and dirty guide so that your head won't spin
when you talk with your contractor. This ten-minute read will guide you through
the basics of wood species, grades, types and styles.
Wood Species
With over 50 wood species available for wood flooring, red oak accounts for more
than 50% of hard wood flooring sales. Its popularity stems from its elegance,
durability and cost-effectiveness. Maple ranks second in popularity for new wood
flooring. Newer trends indicate a growing appetite for bamboo, cherry, and white
oak. Some of the more esoteric imported woods used in hardwood floors include
Brazilian cherry, Australian cypress, African padauk, and Burmese teak.
Color options are plentiful. If color is a priority, and you want the natural
beauty of the wood to shine through, select a wood species that most closely
matches your color preference.
Wood Grades
Grade refers only to the beauty of the wood, not to its durability or
serviceability. Not every grade applies to every wood species. A wood species is
graded as Clear, Select or Common, or it is graded as First, Second or Third.
Clear/First, Select/Second, Common/Third grades are not identical, but they are
close enough to present a shared consumer definition. The six basic wood grades
include:
* Clear or First – free from most visible defects and discoloration, contains
only minor visible imperfections
* Select or Second – may contain slight imperfections, such as color variations
* Common or Third – contains knots and color variations, often classified as
"rustic" wood
Solid vs. Engineered Wood
Many people believe that hardwood and solid wood are synonymous. They're not. If
you're hearing the term engineered wood for the first time, you most likely
think that it is somehow inferior to solid wood. That's not necessarily true.
Solid wood is milled from one solid ¾" piece of wood. Solid hardwood floors
expand and contract more than engineered woods and are particularly susceptible
to moisture. As the wood expands and contracts, it may buckle or it may leave
gaps. Two common methods of counteracting these gaps include beveled edges and
leaving expansion gaps—gaps between the wood and the wall—hidden by the base
molding.
You'll find most of the popular wood species, such as oak, maple, cherry and
others available in engineered wood. Sometimes called pressed wood, engineered
wood comes in 3-ply or 5-ply versions—three or five bonded layers of wood.
Engineered wood floors succumb to little, if any expansion and contraction and
are perfectly suited for rooms susceptible to moisture. If you want wood floors
in the bathroom, the kitchen or in any room where moisture accumulates, consider
engineered wood for its greater stability. If you plan to lay a wood floor
directly over concrete, you must install engineered wood to maintain structural
integrity.
Wood Styles
Once you've determined the species, wood grade and decided between solid and
engineered wood, you can move on to the fun stuff—the style. Common wood styles
include:
* Parquet
* Plank
* Strip
Strips and planks are long, linear cuts of woods. The main difference is the
width of the wood. Strips range from widths of 1 ½" to 2 ¼", while planks range
from widths of 3" to 8". Consider strips if your goal is to create the illusion
of a larger room. Series of small wood pieces create parquet's geometrical
design. Parquet floors complement large, airy rooms.
Select your hardwood floors with care; they can add beauty and warmth to your
surroundings for a very long time, even a lifetime.
About The Author
M J Plaster is a successful author who provides information on shopping online
for http://www.a1-wood-flooring.com/bamboo-flooring.htm and
http://www.a1-wood-flooring.com/ in general. M J Plaster has been a commercial
freelance writer for almost two decades, most recently specializing in home and
garden, the low-carb lifestyle, investing, and anything that defines la dolce
vita.
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