If you are in the middle of choosing your flooring, you may be having a hard time. It’s one of the most basic but also the most crucial decision for your home. The best of them is a hardwood floor.
There are many things you need to learn before adding hardwood flooring. There are many options you can pick as well.
Even then, choosing hardwood flooring is difficult because not all them are equal. Picking a product is never as simple as choosing color.
In this guide, we’ll teach you how to choose hardwood flooring. What should you consider when buying hardwood flooring? What factors do you pick?
Here’s what you need:
1. Choosing Hardwood Flooring: Solid or Engineered Wood
When you select hardwood flooring, picking the right one should start with quality. You need to limit your choices between solid wood flooring or engineered wood flooring.
Solid hardwood flooring is traditional thick planks of solid timber. This tends to be more on the expensive side, but it is authentic. It provides the most genuine feel when buying hardwood flooring.
Engineered wood floors are thinner planks coming from the top layer of hardwood. These provide a specific advantage: they prevent floor shifting during contraction and expansion cycles.
Engineered flooring provides easier installation since you can glue them straight to concrete. If you don’t plan on refinishing or sanding in the future, these are the best choices. Solid wood or engineered wood are your two main options.
2. Select Hardwood Flooring By Wood Species
When choosing hardwood flooring, you need to understand that there are different wood species out there. Each species has its own wood flooring advantages and disadvantages for your home. Each can suit a different household’s needs.
Some of the best species when buying hardwood flooring includes:
- Ash
- Pine
- Birch
- White Oak
- Red Oak
- Cherry
- Walnut
- Maple
- Hickory
- Mahogany
- Bamboo
Consider the three most crucial factors when you select hardwood flooring. These are costs, styles, and durability.
3. Consider Finish and Grain Pattern When Buying Hardwood Flooring
While buying hardwood flooring, consider the finish and grain pattern every time. These are some of the most important questions to ask.
Prefinished or site finished flooring? Oils, oil-hybrids or urethane finishes? Plain-sawn, rift-sawn or quarter sawn grain patterns?
Prefinished hardwood flooring gives you knowledge of what you’re buying. Even then, site finished floors give you custom options.
Choosing the floor finish in mind is crucial. Oils give a better, softer matte looks with a natural feel. Polyurethane gives better topcoat, making it impervious to damage and stains.
Select hardwood flooring that matches your lifestyle and your needs.
What To Do When Choosing Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood is the best, gold standard when it comes to flooring. When choosing hardwood flooring, keep in mind the aesthetics, durability, and ease of installation. Installation should be for professionals so you can get advice and do a seamless lock.
If you want to learn more about flooring and wood floors, check out our other guides. From your home to your daily living, get the best tips and tricks that can improve your quality of life.
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