How do you approach remodeling a room in your house? It’s crucial to choose the flooring’s style and material. The colors, textures, and overall style can significantly influence the vibe of your place. Considering specific family needs such as children, pets, and overall traffic can affect your hardwood selections.
Homeowners frequently choose hardwood flooring because of its coziness and all-natural beauty. Additionally, it gives clients many customization possibilities, so there are more options than just picking a wood stain color. Check out our article on choosing hardwood flooring to make your home flooring reflect your dreams.
First: Choose your type of Wood Flooring
Solid Wood Flooring and Engineered Wood Flooring are the two main categories of wood flooring products. Although both varieties give the same natural beauty of hardwood, the main distinction between solid hardwood and engineered flooring is in the materials used to construct the floors.
- Solid Wood Flooring: The long and short edges of solid wood flooring are traditionally tongue and grooved together when the solid wood logs are milled. Solid wood is offered in strips and boards with thicknesses ranging from 5/16 to 34 inches, both prefinished and unfinished. Planks range in width from 3 to 8 inches, while strips are 112 to 214 inches broad. This type of flooring is susceptible to high moisture and humidity; therefore, it should only be used on main levels and above stories. It should not be installed in basements or bathrooms.
- Engineered Wood Flooring: Engineered wood flooring is made up of several layers of plywood and composite material, with a solid hardwood layer on top. Engineered wood flooring is available in thicknesses between 38 and 34 inches and widths between 3 and 10 inches; the hardwood layer on top has a thickness between.6 and 4 millimeters. Because of the composite properties of Engineered Wood, it is suitable for all areas of your home, including areas that may experience high humidity.
- Now You Have Options: After choosing your wood flooring material, the next step is to consider the many options when it comes to your flooring. Some of the most important factors you need to consider are listed below.
- Board Width: Choose from short (less than three inches), broad (more than three inches), parquet squares, and—a new option—squares, and rectangles. Planks create a rustic appearance, while strips, the conventional option, give the impression of more room. Formal settings work well with parquet floors because of their distinctive geometric pattern.
- Species of Wood: Hardwood species differ in terms of toughness, grain patterns, and color. Due to their hardiness, cherry, oak, and maple are some of the most popular species. Even if exotic woods like mahogany and Brazilian cherry aren’t as strong, people nevertheless value them for their eye-catching look.
- Color: A hardwood floor’s color is a combination of the wood species’ natural tones plus any stains and finishes that have been used. Some wood species have more distinct natural color changes on individual planks and between individual boards, giving the wood a distinctive character. Others are more homogeneous in appearance with less variance. Depending on the species and finish, hardwoods come in a variety of colors, from light to dark.
- Texture: You can buy hardwood floors that are sparkling and new or brand-new wood that looks old and gives your area a worn-in feel. Many manufacturers provide distressed and hand-scraped hardwoods, which will hide years of severe use and give the floor an attractive, aged appearance as soon as it is placed.
- Hardness: It’s a good idea to select the hardest wood species feasible for active houses with children and pets. Hard species, such as red oak, can survive wear and tear, whilst softer species, like pine, are more likely to exhibit scratches. Location, subfloor, and preferred installation technique will most likely dictate whether to use solid or engineered hardwood. If you’re still undecided, keep in mind that solid hardwood allows scratches from a dog’s claws or dings from a child’s toy to be sanded out and refinished again. Whichever option you pick, preventive maintenance and regular cleaning can keep your floors looking great for many years.
- Finish: Hardwood treatments give floors color and gloss in addition to protecting the surface. A lot of the hardwood that is sold commercially is prefinished, which makes installation easier and gets rid of waiting time, dust, and chemical odors. Because they are more enduring and robust than finishes applied on-site, these factory-applied finishes typically have a longer warranty.
What We All Want to Know: The Cost
Your choice of flooring will affect how much your hardwood floors will cost. Additionally, you should think about the finish you choose and the price of hiring a technician to install it. Flooring made of solid prefinished wood might cost anywhere from $2.40 to $13 per square foot. Engineered prefinished hardwood can cost between $1.69 and $9 per square foot, which is a little less expensive.
Lastly: Installation: DIY or Professional?
The kind of wood product, the breadth, and the thickness of your planks will all affect which installation technique is best for your hardwood flooring. Your flooring supplies may come with particular installation instructions if you decide to do it yourself. Getting the appropriate tools, such as a drill, pry bar, saw, and pneumatic flooring nailer, is also a smart idea.
For the typical homeowner, installing hardwood flooring in the home can be somewhat difficult. Since real wood floors require a significant financial outlay, it’s crucial to install them right the first time. Hardwood flooring dealers can also dispose of your old floorboards properly. Because they have the knowledge and tools necessary to complete the task, professional flooring companies are frequently chosen by those who want to beautify their home with hardwood flooring.