If you have decided to use hardwood material for your flooring system, then you have to know that there are actually several types of wood floors that you can choose from. Acquiring first-hand knowledge will give you a proper understanding on the various hardwood and hopefully point you to the general direction as to which is the best type of wood floor would be the most suitable for your home. So here are a quick list and details on the popular types of wood floors available in the market today:
Pre-Finished Solid Hardwood
This particular variety are the ready-to-install planks of wood that have already been stained, sanded and finished using a multiple coating of polyurethane and aluminum oxide solution to provide it with a protective finish. While you can choose to purchase the unfinished wood planks, the pre-finished ones that are factory-applied are definitely worth the extra expense since even with the most expert finishing job could not hope to rival the machine application in an ideal and controlled environment. Next, you need to choose on the full selection of wood species that are usually available in varying grades, colors, shine and sizes that would best blend with your current interior. Since all real wood would naturally require the same care and maintenance and lifetime durability, you can concentrate in choosing one primarily base don the aesthetic value. Pre-finished hardwoods are among the popular types of wood floors since it is generally easy to install and home dwellers are actually not require to move out of the house during the whole installation process.
Pre-Finished Engineered Hardwood
This variety is also sold in strips that are made from hardwood surfaces that are glued on some plywood base. This is especially designed for regional areas with high humidity to contend with and can actually offer a more superior stability that the natural wood floors. These wood strips are then glued directly in the concrete floor or on an acoustic underlay, which ultimately means lesser installation time. If you do not prefer glue, all types of engineered wood floors can also staples into place or nailed right into the subfloor plywood. Developers of condominiums and other commercial spaces prefer to use this material if they want top install hardwood flooring in buildings. If you are shopping if engineered hardwood floors, there are four major factors that you need to consider: the thickness of the hardwood surface or the was is known as the wear layer, the number of plies in the plywood used, the surface cutting procedure and the precision of the cut. Choose the planks that has no less than 5 plies in order to get the best stability and make sure that the tongue and grove that perfectly joined in every side, which the best indication of superior quality.
Acrylic Impregnated
This is known to be the most extremely durable material among all types of hardwood floors and is more ideal in areas with very high foot traffic, especially for commercial uses. The acrylic is injected into the wood to create a very hard surface and is usually available in solid parquet and engineered strips and planks. Shopping malls, restaurants and even busy households have been known to use this type of wood flooring because of the high activity that would naturally require a sturdier wood.
So now that you have a clearer and a more detailed understanding on the different wood types, you can have make a more educated choice and a more critical eye when shoping for your new hardwood flooring. All the above-mentioned mentioned flooring treatments may require a sizeable investment on your part but are guaranteed to last a lifetime. It’s definitely worth every penny you spend once you see the rich patina and elagance of your floor.
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