Ten Things You May Not Know About Selecting Hardwood Flooring
by: Doug Bolton
1) Red Oak is not the only choice
If you want your home to look like everyone else’s, this is a great choice. If
you want your home to be unique try hickory, cherry, walnut, white oak, maple or
many others. Go to flooring retailers or search the Internet and see what is
available. If you really want red oak try using wider widths or character grade
for variety and uniqueness.
2) 2 1/4 inch is not the only size available
If all you ask your builder for is a hardwood floor – you are going to get a 2
1/4 inch red oak floor. Why? It is the most common, most produced, most stocked,
cheapest option available. You can buy sizes in 3” through 12”. You can put down
a single width for a uniform look or multiple widths for a more random look.
Typical random flooring patterns are 3”-4”-5”, 3”-5”, 4”-5”-6”. Have fun! Make
your home unique! The wider the floor the more seasonal separations between the
flooring planks can occur.
3) Import Species don’t support jobs in the United States
While there are vast amounts of imported species available, there are fantastic,
interesting species of flooring available right here in the United States. Not
all countries have managed forests and renewable resources. This is an important
time to support our own economy.
4) All flooring is not select (clear) grade
The most common floors are select grade. These floors contain none of woods
naturally occurring character marks. Look around your flooring showroom, almost
every display is showing clear flooring. There are warm and inviting options.
Look at a character grade or other grades. Make sure to see a photo of what the
floor looks like, not just one piece.
5) Prefinished flooring is convenient
Have you ever been forced to leave your home for three days while the flooring
contractor sands, stains and recoats your floor? If not ask a friend who has had
it done. A professional flooring contractor will leave your home spotless,
others can leave dust on all your furniture. Today’s factory finished flooring
can be installed today and entertained on tonight with very little mess. With
prefinished flooring each plank is allowed to move independently with humidity
changes in your home. This makes those seasonal separations (cracks) in your
floor less noticeable.
6) Colors can be cool – but mother nature is hard to beat
Some species of flooring are so beautiful in their natural color, they do not
require any added color. Look up hickory, cherry or walnut flooring on the
Internet and you will see what I mean.
7) Prefinish warranties are a gimmick
50 year warranty – WOW! Lifetime warranty – fantastic! Oh really? These are
wear-through warranties only. Your floor will loose its “sheen” or luster and
require refinishing long before you ever wear through the finish. The best way
to make a floor last is to vacuum it often to keep away abrasive material that
might scratch your floor. Remember a lower sheen floor shows less wear.
8) Not all flooring is smooth – texture is popular
Hardwood flooring does not have to be smooth. Many companies are offering hand
scraped, distressed and reclaimed flooring. These floors have a classic look and
add great value to upscale homes. They do not show much wear or scratches since
they have a great deal of character interest to draw attention to different
parts of the floor. These floors will be a guaranteed conversation piece with
your friends and neighbors and are often the focal point at luxury home tours.
9) In a basement use engineered flooring
Most people use engineered flooring to glue down to concrete or in higher
moisture areas. This flooring has a thin layer of hardwood with a cross banded
plywood base. This makes the flooring more stable and does not require nailing
like a solid hardwood floor.
10) Laminate flooring is not Hardwood flooring
A great steak does not taste the same as a picture of a great steak. If you want
the beauty and warmth of hardwood flooring in your home – buy the real thing,
not a cheap imitation.
About The Author
Doug Bolton is the owner of Homerwood Hardwood Floors located in the heart of
the Pennsylvania hardwoood region - Titusville PA. You can learn more by
visiting their website at http://www.homerwood.com
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