Wood flooring, without any doubt, is a classic, simple, and elegant look that has transcended centuries of style. People from many years ago have been on wood flooring for its numerous benefits. These benefits include being natural, eco-friendly. And highly durable has outweighed its other alternative flooring options.
Flooring is the foundation of any beautiful room.
Choosing The Right Flooring:
One of the main costs of maintaining large and luxurious homes comes from the flooring. Either by maintaining the flooring or by replacing the damaged one. Hence, it is very important to consider the right type of flooring for your homes. Here are the three things to consider before choosing whether you require a wood flooring or one of the other alternatives:
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Function:
Like the Floors Direct Marketing Manager, Helen Marshall, once said, “The function of a room influences the flooring required.” You need to therefore consider the functions of a room before taking the decision of whether wood flooring or tiled flooring will suit the room.
For instance, wood flooring will be the best fit for a living room but not for the bathroom as it will be more slippery with water.
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Maintenance:
For a home that entertains family, friends, and guests now and then continuously, it’s better if you avoid flooring that requires constant care and floor maintenance. In this case, laminate floors do wonders! Dirt can simply be mopped away using a mop or damp cloth.
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Future Needs:
If you’re looking for something that is going to be unreplaced for a long time, solid wood flooring is a great option! This is because it is a permanent fixture. However, if you are sure that your design scheme is about to change in the near future, you need to go for laminate flooring which is easier to replace.
All About Wood Flooring:
Although there are so many flooring options out there, wood flooring is the most preferred and sustainable option due to its naturally renewable and durable quality. Besides, solid wood flooring will also last for hundreds and hundreds of years, hence, you won’t have trouble with spending a fortune on replacing it or even maintaining it, in that matter.
There are three popular wood flooring types used in millions and trillions of homes around the world, and they are as follows:
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Solid Wood:
Solid wood is the original form of wood flooring. This means, the whole floor, from top to bottom through its entire thickness, is made up of natural, solid wood. It can be beautifully refinished several times during its service life. Species of sild wood flooring include both, softwood flooring and hardwood flooring.
Softwood comes from coniferous trees like pine and hardwood comes from deciduous trees like oak. From these two species, the most stylish, stable, and durable wood flooring include the ones made out of an oak tree, hence, hardwood flooring.
The solid wood flooring can further be divided into three categories from hardwood and softwood, based on the method they are sawn:
- Flat-Sawn:
These are the most commonly used wood flooring types as this method displays a natural variation of wood in the flooring.
- Quarter-Sawn:
This method requires the logs to be cut into quarters before the strips are created.
- Rift-Sawn:
This method includes the logs being cut at an angle aimed at eliminating natural flecking. It is highly important to know that when you are using rift-sawn wood flooring, you are using less wood from the tree and more waste. Which is part of the reason behind the pocket-emptying price of such rift-sawn wood flooring!
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Engineered Wood:
These types of wood flooring include the top layer consisting of real, natural wood and a composite product on the opposite side. Although these are not made of 100% natural wood, these floorings look similar to natural wood flooring. It is important to be aware of the fact that most markets sell engineered floors with a one-millimeter wear layer. Which cannot be sanded or refinished today.
Hence, like a carpet, you have got to use these floors and throw them away after about 5 to 10 years of use. You need to therefore make sure to check and purchase the right one as per your requirements.
There are engineered floors with a wear layer that can be sanded and refinished every 5 to 10 years like solid wood flooring as well. You will be able to quite figure the difference between the two in their selling prices as the ones that can be refinished are costlier than the ones that cannot be sanded and refinished.
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Reclaimed Wood:
Reclaimed wood is a type of solid wood that can be used more than once for its distinct material. Anything consisting of reclaimed wood can be guaranteed to be somewhere around 100 to 200 years old. These wood floorings are way too costlier than the other two types of wood flooring because the wood is not only older. Hence not only are these antique products but also there exists a great amount of labor that goes into the salvaging process of making these.
Anyone who cares about sustainability should seriously consider reclaimed wood flooring for their homes!
These wood flooring types are so popular that most people end up using all three in their homes based on each of the rooms’ functions and requirements.
Benefits of Wood Flooring:
- Easier Installation:
Installing hardwood flooring not only enhances the quality of your homes but is also an easier job. Laying hardwood has never been a hard task as long as you hire the right professional and get the job done!
- Organic:
It’s not a secret about how wood flooring is organic and is a healthier option for its organic origin, something that is highly biodegradable.
- Baby-Friendly:
Wood floorings are one hundred percent baby-friendly, particularly, the ones that have learned to crawl recently. Besides, its non-toxic and harmless features, wood flooring is also great for the babies’ motor skills.
- Hygienic:
Vacuuming, mopping, or simply wiping it off using a damp cloth, with wood flooring keeping clean and neat is way too easier than with alternative flooring options. Further, wood flooring doesn’t attract too much debris, dust, or dirt because of the non-electromagnetic nature of their flooring.
- Ageless Quality:
Yes, we heard your fuss right here! And we agree, carpet and vinyl flooring need to be replaced after a certain usage period, however, with wood flooring, it only needs to be re-sanded to be refurbished or refinished. Like a fine wine, wood flooring only gets better with age and is less prone to damage.