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To be happy about your floor choice for many years to come, before making your purchase you should consider these simple recommendations.
There are two types of wood floors available on the market today – solid and engineered. Each type has its own benefits and advantages. Knowing which type to choose will depend on where you want to use it in your home.
Solid wood flooring can be used in any room that is on or above ground level in your home.
One of the many benefits of solid wood flooring is that it can be sanded and refinished many times.
Engineered wood floors are real wood floors that are manufactures using three to five layers of different wood veneers. The grain of each layer runs in opposite direction, making the product very stable. This means that the wood will expand and contract less than solid wood flooring during fluctuations in humidity and temperature.
Engineered floors can be nailed or stapled to a wood subfloor, or glued down to a wood subfloor or concrete slab. This makes engineered floors ideal for slab and basement installations, but they can be used in any room in your home.
Engineered flooring can be sanded and refinished, but not as many times as solid wood floors. | | Hardwood flooring is manufactured in three styles: strip, plank and parquet.
Strip flooring ranges from 1 ½” to 3” wide. Strip flooring creates linear effect in a room, often making the room appear larger.
Plank flooring ranges from 3” and wider. Plank flooring is a better choice for large open rooms, where strip flooring may create a “busy” look.
Parquet flooring can vary in size, and usually generates a geometric, non-linear look.
Hardwood flooring is a product of nature, and it responds to changes in temperature and humidity. When indoor humidity is high, wood absorbs moisture from the air and expands. When humidity is low, wood releases its moisture to the air and shrinks. These movements in the wood might lead to cupping or gapping in your floor. The wider the floor boards, the more dimensional changes will occur.
The ideal humidity range for a home with hardwood floors is 35% - 55%. If humidity controls in your house do not guarantee required humidity range throughout the year, it would be wise to go for more narrow style, or even consider engineered floors for better dimensional stability. | | | | Plain Sawn Vs. Quarter Sawn |
What is so unique about quarter sawn flooring?
The most obvious feature of quarter sawn flooring is its exceptional grain pattern. In contrast to plain sawn flooring that is characterized by traditional heavy grain, quarter sawn flooring has delicate vertical grain with shiny reflective surface flecks. Quarter sawn flooring is highly rated for its dimensional stability. While traditional plain sawn oak expands and contracts in width, quarter sawn oak mostly moves by height, meaning your floor will stay flat and gap-free through all seasons.
Due to the direction of the grain, quarter sawn flooring has reduced twisting, warping and cupping, it wears slower and more even and does not surface check or split. | | When choosing the right type of finish for your hardwood floor, it is important to consider your lifestyle and maintenance preferences.
Lacquered floors compared to UV-Oiled floors are very smooth and have a higher sheen level. Because of that they will show dust, scratches and other damages stronger, especially darker stains.
UV-oiled floors, on the other hand, will mask small defects and damages, and are easier to care for. If you have pets in your home – UV-oiled floors would be definitely a better choice.
Lacquer finish (ProAlumTech+) has very high wear resistance. Wear warranty on finish is 25 years. It means that original finish will last for 25 years, and will not wear down to bare wood for that long. The only reason to sand and refinish this type of floor before the term would be physical damage to the wood – scratches, dents etc.
UV-oiled finish doesn’t have high wear resistance. It can wear to bare wood in a couple of years. That is why UV-oiled floors have to be re-oiled every couple of years. To re-oil the floor you have to apply a thin coat of oil to clean floor without sanding or screening. Floor is ready for normal use in a few hours. Regular re-oiling restores uniform sheen and makes floor looking brand new.
Other important factor to consider when you decide on type of finish to choose– temperature and humidity conditions in your home. For a cottage that might stay vacant or without heat or AC for a good part of the year, oiled floors would be more reliable choice. Lacquered finish is not elastic enough to withstand significant expansion stress. Major variations of indoor temperature and humidity will cause high stress in surface finish film, and might lead to cracks and other finish damages.
Each of these types of finish will help to protect your floor from normal wear and tear. Deciding which finish to use will depend greatly on your needs and expectations.
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INSTALLATION
