Know About Hardwood Flooring And Its Types

Are you renovating your home? Have you decided to install hardwood flooring to make your home look elegant? Well, then your decision shall definitely reap results, but it is advisable to know about the hardwood flooring and its types so that you make a wise selection. There is a wide variety of hardwood of choices of hardwood floors in the market. There are several aspects that you would need to decide upon such as solid vs. engineered hardwood, dark vs. light, textured vs. smooth, wood hardness, etc. Each of these factors plays a vital role in the look of the final flooring.

Solid Hardwood floors are solid wooden planks that are milled from individual pieces of wood and are generally cut in ¾ inch thickness. It must be installed above the ground areas and is not suitable on concrete slabs as the moisture content shall damage the solid wood. On the other hand, engineered hardwood flooring contains several thin of layers of wood that have been glued together and laminated and treated with high heat to make it a ¼ inch plank. Engineered hardwood flooring can be installed anywhere including the high moisture areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and basements.

Once the type of hardwood flooring is decided, the other factor that needs to be considered is the material variety. You can find hardwood flooring in maple, white or red oak, Brazilian and American cherry. Each of these boosts their own unique characteristics and features. For instance, American cherry is an elegant material and very easy to work on. It is the ideal selection for making of cabinets. On the other hand, Brazilian cherry is notorious for its exotic reddish brown color that changes into burgundy as it ages. Cherry is an ideal for both traffic as well as moisture areas.

Oak has a natural pale color complimented with streaks of pink.  White oak is harder than the red oak variety and hence is more durable.  Oak is the perfect choice if the area of installation is subject to heavy traffic and not recommended for moisture areas. Maple is even much harder than oak and is preferred for its uniform texture.

Dark colored hardwood flooring no doubt looks very rich, but they show scratches and dust, whereas light colored hardwood flooring makes the room appear larger and do not show scratches that much.