How Do You Choose Your Hardwood Floors?
You now have the option of at least three types of floors to choose from. They each have a different purpose they are intended for. A solid wood floor will give you the most options out of them all. You may want to have an engineered wood floor if the rooms you are putting them in are high traffic areas. These floors are made of a core wood and then the type of wood you choose is glued to the core to make slats for your floor. It is normally a cheaper option. Last you have acrylic impregnated wood floors. These floors are made of hard wood that has the finish forced into the wood to create an extremely hard surface. These hardwood floors are mostly used for commercial uses since they are so durable.
There are many styles for your floor but there are three basics types that most people have. The first type of floor is a strip floor. These floors are made up of pieces of wood about two inches wide laid against each other in patterns. You also have plank floors that use bigger pieces of wood to make up the floor. The last type of floor is a parquet hardwood floor. This normally is a compilation of different shapes to create the design for your floor. They usually come in squares or rectangles.
The next thing you need to look at is the species of the wood you are choosing. Each species can have a very different look and color. There are at least forty different species you can choose from. The pricing can vary widely depending on whether the wood you choose is domestic or exotic.
Now you need to decide what color are you looking for in your new hardwood floor. You can get many different colors when you use different stains and polyurethane to them. You can get a very unique look if you choose the right stain. You really have no limit to your choices with all the different species and stains on the market now.
You also need to decide what grade of wood you are looking for. You have a variety of choices here as well. You can have wood that has no imperfections in out and no knots or you can have wood with some flaws that looks more natural. This is really up to you and how you plan to decorate your house. The grade of the wood normally doesn’t affect the strength of your floor unless you have a lot of big knots in it. The lower grades are also normally a little cheaper.
The last thing you need to look at is the cut of the wood you are getting. You once again have three main choices to choose from. The most used cut is the plainsawn. This cut gives you a lot of natural grain and a little rougher look. The quartersawn looks more even since it is cut in shorter lengths. And finally the riftsawn which is close to the quartersawn. The main difference in these two is that it is cut at a different angle.
You now have everything you need to start your search for the perfect hardwood floor for your house. Good luck on your search.
