How to Choose a Hardwood Floor
Hardwood floors are attractive, durable, and add value to any building. However, choosing the right floor can be confusing due to the large number of variables. Here's a simplified guide to choosing the right floor for you.
1. Solid or Engineered? Solid wood flooring is made from 3/4" thick solid wood and has tongue and groove sides to join the boards. The main advantage of solid wood flooring is its ability to be resanded and refinished over many years. It is not uncommon for solid wood floors to last 50, 100 years or more. These floors come unfinished or prefinished and in almost any wood species you can imagine.
Solid wood is susceptible to expansion and contraction due to humidity changes. To accommodate this movement, these floors are installed with a 5/8" to 3/4" gap around the perimeter of the floor along the wall and the gap is covered up by the baseboard and shoe molding.
Engineered wood consists of 3 to 10 layers of wood (usuallly 5). Each layer of wood is called a "ply" and they are oriented in different directions for strength, then glued under pressure. This results in a wood floor that is less susceptible to shrinkage and expansion than solid wood. These floors are easier to install with either nails or glue, and are suitable for below-grade installations. If your room is below grade, such as in a basement, you MUST use engineered wood.
Engineered wood is just as beautiful and durable as solid wood, but is available in a smaller selection of species.
2. Pre-finished or unfinished? A finish is a top coat that protects your floor from everyday wear and tear. The finish is also what gives the floor its color and luster. Pre-finished flooring saves hours of labor and cleanup, while unfinished wood floors allow you to customize the color and appearance of the floor. While unfinished wood is usually cheaper than prefinished, more labor is involved. Do-it-yourselfers should choose prefinished unless they have experience in sanding and finishing floors.
3. Species of Wood? Hardwood floors are available in a wide array of domestic and exotic species. Each species has a unique color, grain pattern and hardness. See this page for a complete list of the species we offer, and this page for a scale which compares the relative hardness of woods. Then, request a quote. Questions? We are happy to share our years of experience with you.