A First Look At Hardwood Flooring


By Ted Iddings

Hardwood flooring refers essentially to a product that is made out of timber and which is used as flooring for either its aesthetic appeal or for structural requirements. When it comes to picking hardwood floors that are solid you will come across numerous options regarding different dimensions as well styles and each individual plank will also be made from wood that is not only solid but which is milled from one section of timber.

In regard to solid hardwood flooring, these were at first used mainly because they offered good structural value though as construction techniques evolved and improved, these floorings soon came to be used mainly for their decorative value. However, before purchasing solid hardwood floors you must understand what their limitations are.

Mostly, the limitations occur because of the nature of wood and not from any manufacturing defects. For example, wood will expand and contract depending on whether it comes into contact with moisture or because of changes in temperature.

As for engineered flooring, these are made up of at least two (but can be more) wood layers that make up a single plank. In the top layer of the plank is the part of wood that you will see after the flooring has been installed and this will be stuck with the help of adhesive to the core layer which gives the flooring greater stability.

Comparing hardwood solid flooring with its engineered counterpart is difficult because of the variety of qualities that you will find in the engineered flooring products. In regard to solid hardwood, as mentioned it suffers from many limitations that restrict the scope of its use. For example, you must not install solid wood flooring directly over a concrete surface and it should also not be installed below ground level such as in a basement. It must also not be used when using a radiant floor heating system in the home.

Engineered wood flooring, on the other hand, offers more benefits including better stability across the wood and it also lends to use in almost every application. In fact, certain installation methods are very quick and whats more, even replacing a board can be very simple and easy. And, because such woods can be used in floating installations you can easily affect repairs and also cut down on installation time in a manner that is not possible when using solid wood flooring.

As a matter of fact, when it comes to picking hardwood flooring you will find two types to choose from. One is the unfinished flooring while the other is the prefinished flooring. In the former case, you get a chance to be more creative and you can also experiment with different colors and it is also possible, with the help of treatment, to make installing such floors very easy. And, you can also innovate with such flooring options.

With prefinished flooring you get greater convenience in so far as installing the flooring goes and the warranty periods are generally very long, typically between fifteen and twenty five years. It is also more affordable but since the finishing is already done, it leaves you with no scope to make any changes.



 
About the author

Considering installation of hardwood flooring in your home or office? Check out our site for the inside scoop on hardwood floors now on http://www.truehardwoods.com


from http://www.ContentHere.com


Terms and Conditions

If you agree to not change or modify this article and author bio in any way then you can use this article for free on your website, blog or newsletter. You must also agree to keep all links active and clickable.

Note from Webmaster

Could you use an extra $300 to $1,000 a month? Did you know you can make good money filling out online surveys sitting at home in your pajamas? It's easier than you think, and SurveyScout can show you how. Click here for more information.