Hardwood Flooring Basics
Michael Olnick
Hardwood flooring has been a very popular, and sturdy, flooring choice for decades. It raises the re-sale value of a home, is made from recycled materials, and it brings a warm feeling to the room that it is in.
Choosing the Flooring - You may be surprised when you walk into a flooring dealer's showroom. Hardwood flooring comes in all kinds of wood types and colors like wenge, rustic pine, oak, and bamboo. You can also get many different types of hardwood for different needs in your home. For example, solid flooring is a solid wood throughout the piece, a true traditional choice that takes stains well.
Choosing Flooring - Hardwood flooring comes in many different wood types, colors, and installation styles. Some wood and color choices that will be available to you may be wenge, rustic pine, yellow pine, maple, oak, and bamboo. The type of hardwood flooring you choose will depend on what type of space it will go in.
Solid flooring is a solid wood throughout the piece. It is sturdier than other types and lends itself to different stains well. Engineered or laminate flooring is not a solid piece of wood. It is several layers of wood pressed together to make one piece in either 3 or 5 plies, or layers, with the grain going in several directions. This kind of wood is great for places that may be exposed to water, such as a bathroom or laundry room. Acrylic impregnated floors is flooring where acrylics are injected into the wood to make an almost concrete-like harness in the wood. This is great for high traffic areas that will get a lot of wear and tear.
You will also need to decide what kind of installation style you would like. Strip flooring is long strips of wood that are 1/4", 1 1/2", or 3 1/4" wide. Many people love this because the wood strips are very long and not broken up. This creates a long line, making your room look longer. Plank flooring is a lot like strip flooring, but the strips are a lot wider at 3, 4, 5, or 6 inches. Parquet flooring is large pieces of wood that is laid out like quilt pieces to make an interesting design.
These floorings can come in several different shapes. The most common is strip flooring and plank flooring. These are long strips of wood that are from one-fourth to six inches wide. Another choice is parquet flooring. This is large pieces of wood that are laid out like quilt pieces on the floor in geometrical forms to make an interesting design.
Other than that, the wood only needs to be mopped with a wood floor cleaning product recommended by the manufacturer, periodically, and waxed once or twice a year. A note of caution: vinyl cleaners and standing water should never be used on hardwood flooring. These can stain, discolor, and even permanently ruin the wood's finish.
Hardwood flooring is an overall good choice for any home's flooring needs. Just a little thought when buying, and a little loving care when cleaning, is all a family needs to have a beautiful floor for years to come.
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