Do You Really Want To Buy Hardwood Flooring

Whether you are looking to renovate your home by having classy wood flooring, or furnish the lovely home you have just brought, hardwood floors are your best bet.

 

One of the greatest benefits of hardwood floors is that these are highly versatile. This means that you can install them almost anywhere in your home, apart from kitchens and basements which demand special considerations. With hardwood flooring, you can have a chic and modern look, or a more traditional look, or even a minimalistic and rustic look.

 

Now, before you go to your local shop and buy the first product that your eyes fall on, there is one thing you need to know first. There are 2 kinds of hardwood flooring solutions: unfinished and finished.

 

2 Kinds Of Hardwood Flooring

In case of unfinished flooring, after the installation and staining, several coats of a protective fluid are applied. Unfinished hardwood flooring is perfect if you desire the colour of your new wooden covering to match the one of your existing floor. It is also ideas as a flooring option if you want the stain to be applied to the wood prior to the final finishing coating at the very end. One of the best things about this variety is that it is suitable for all rooms, including the kitchen. This is because the finishing fluid seeps between the gaps of the wood planks, which effectively blocks water from entering.

 

Finished or prefinished hardwood flooring comes completely prepared from the factory itself, including sanding and sealing. Due to this, your flooring can be installed faster than you thought possible! Another benefit of this variety of hardwood floors is that these shall have no VOCs, no foul odours and shall be ready to be traversed on the minute they are installed. Perhaps the only downside to finished hardwood flooring is that these cannot be customized.

 

Difference Between Solid And Engineered Hardwood

As the name suggests, a solid wood flooring is composed completely of a single block of wood. Generally, these are between ¾ and 5/8th inches thick. The benefit here is that this type can be sanded several times over the course of the product life cycle as it is a solid piece of wood. The downside is that it can be damaged easily by humidity.

 

Engineered hardwood is more complex. It comprises of a multiple layers of plywood topped by a layer of authentic wood. The advantage of this variation is that it gives exceptional stability which makes it ideal for any part of your home. The downside of these products is that these can only be sanded and refinished a couple of times during their entire lifetime. However, the thickness of the planks has a role to play in the number of times they can be sanded. The thicker they are, the more times they can be sanded.

 

Which One To Buy?

Unless you want to buy the more exotic wood flooring at a premium price such as jarrah, teak and mahogany, you should choose wood that is more easily available. This includes oak, maple and cherry wood.

 

If you want to cut down on your costs, buy from salvage yards. You can easily get reclaimed hardwood flooring from these places. While they may not be as good as the new ones, you’ll be paying at least half for them! In case these salvage yards do not have what you seek, ask to be signed on the waiting list. Using salvaged wood is ideal if you are renovating an old home.