Selecting The Right Flooring For Your Home
Interior designers and builders agree that the first element to consider when beginning to finish a room is flooring, because it sets the mood.
More and more professionals these days are choosing wood flooring over tile and carpeting. But what kind of wood should you go with? Solid hardwood? Engineered wood? Reclaimed antique wood? There are a lot of options out there, but making the right choice according to your tastes and circumstances is easier than it appears. Following are some important factors to consider, as well as advice from the experts.
Which Wood-Flooring Type Should You Choose?
Solid Hardwood: This wood expands and contracts and sometimes creaks, but its natural beauty add value to your home. Even better, it can be re-sanded and refinished, so it retains its value.
Engineered Wood Floors: These floors are constructed of thin sheets of wood glued together and finished at the factory. The resulting product resists buckling and warping, make it more staple than solid wood. Engineered wood floors were developed to be glued over concrete, but they can also be nailed or floated, whereas solid wood can only be nailed to a subfloor.
Reclaimed Antique Wood: For customers with a unique vision, this is the best flooring option. Reclaimed antique wood is custom made one plank at a time according to customer specifications. It can cut from the center section of a beam, which makes this flooring option very stable.
Finished vs. Unfinished
One of the benefits of solid hardwood flooring is that it’s available finished or unfinished. This is really helpful if you’re trying to match an adjacent floor. Then you can go with an unfinished option and stain it to blend. By finishing the floor on site, you will insure a more uniform color and finish. Remember, however, that an unfinished wood floor may take several days to install, stain, and finish.
One of the benefits of finished wood, whether solid or engineered, is that it’s factory sanded, stained, and finished, so it’s much easier and quicker to install. You also avoid the mess of sanding and finishing on site. Finished wood is durable and is therefore a great option for high-traffic areas. And don’t forget that it’s less expensive than unfinished wood.
Important Things to Consider
If you have radiant heating in your home, where the heat source is under the floor, then engineered would be the better option over solid hardwood because of its durability. The National Wood Flooring Association backs up this claim, recommending quarter-sawn or rift-sawn wood in this circumstance, again because of durability. According to the NWFA, since narrow boards fare better than wide ones when there are changes in temperature and humidity, with this type of heating, strip flooring is preferable over plank flooring.
If you live near the beach, Stoddard recommends an engineered wood. Not only is it scratch-resistant and less likely to be damaged by sand tracked in from the beach, it requires less maintenance. For cottages, summer homes, below-grade installations, and any other interior that’s not environmentally controlled, engineered hardwood flooring is a clear choice.
Some Simple Design Tips
When personalizing a room, understated detail is important. One nice option is to use a lighter wood overall and then add a dark border. Another great idea is to drop in a maple medallion that looks like an area rug.
More and more people are mixing woods from room to room. For a cozy room such as a den or bedroom, a dark wood like walnut or cherry would work well. But a lighter wood, like maple or birch, would brighten up any kitchen.
If you are going for a formal, traditional, or historic look, then darker wood is the way to go. Country, casual, and contemporary homes are better suited to lighter woods. Design your floor to complement fabrics, furnishings, and accessories.
Current Trends in Wood Flooring
If you’re looking for the latest trend in flooring, consider hand-scraped wood or an “exotic” wood from a far-off land. Woods such as Brazilian cherry, Santos mahogany, and Amendoim have delightful grains and colors. All are available both in solid hardwood or engineered wood.
The old look and simplicity of woods such as Old Groove Eastern White Pine is becoming increasingly popular among owners of historic homes on the Eastern seaboards. For owners of historic homes on the Eastern seaboard, woods such as Old Groove Eastern White Pine are prized for their old look and simplicity. Likewise, dark woods have definitely become the “in” thing, with walnut being the most preferable option.
DIY and Maintaining Your Wood Floor
Almost 30 percent of homeowners install wood flooring themselves. Anyone who can operate a nail gun and a saw can do it. There are also many resources to help you available online and at your local bookstore.
Once your floor is installed, you’ll be pleased to discover that wood flooring is extremely low maintenance. If you keep a step-off mat at any doorway to collect incoming dirt, then a regular schedule of sweeping and vacuuming is all you really need. One thing to remember is clean up any standing water immediately. It’s not a bad idea to keep an extra box of wood in case you need to replace a strip.
Natural hardwoods will survive a household accident much better than laminates and synthetics, since their grain and pattern go all the way through. Even those scuffs and burns that would become permanent in a synthetic floor can be repaired with relative ease.
For the past 25 years Avo Barsoumian has helped home owners with their home flooring and interior decorating needs. He is the owner of Carpet Wagon, a family owned flooring company in Orange County. The offer the largest selection of elegant hardwood flooring, beautiful laminate flooring and plush carpeting under one roof. Searching for carpet instalation for your new town home or custom carpets to redecorate your older house? Then Carpet Wagon carries everything you need.
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