Wood Flooring Basics: Making the Right Decision
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If you want a natural earthy look and feel for your home, then wood flooring is the best flooring type for you. The problem is, wood floors come in many types and styles, and the road to choosing the perfect wood floors involves a lot of crucial decisions to make.
The first decision you have to make has to do with your preferred type of wood floor. There are solid natural wood floors, engineered wood floors, and acrylic impregnated wood floors. Solid wood floors refer to the most natural form of wood flooring and these come in various thicknesses. Engineered wood floors refer to those especially constructed with several layers placed on top of another with grain placed in between each layer for more stability. Acrylic impregnated wood floors, on the other hand, are those that are injected with an acrylic material to add more strength and hardness to the wood. Your decision should depend on where you plan to use the wood flooring and how much traffic the room gets. For high-traffic rooms, solid wood will easily become scratched and damaged, so acrylic impregnated is the best choice.
You also have to choose whether you want wood flooring in strips, in planks, or in parquet style. Stripped wood floors range between 1.5 inches and 2.25 inches in width, while plank wood floors are wider, with widths ranging between 3 inches up to around 12 to 14 inches. Parquet style wood flooring on the other hand, uses especially cut pieces of wood arranged into a certain pattern to add more style and dimension to the room.
Wood floors are also rated based on the type of wood used; they are classified as domestic or exotic. Some wood floor materials are rated for handling humidity or for exposure to radiant heat, while some are not. This will affect your decision significantly; for example, if you are looking for wood flooring ideal for your kitchen, you better choose one that can withstand radiant heat. Furthermore, wood floors are also divided into 3 different grades. Higher-grade wood is clearer and more expensive.
Finally, you have to decide on the specific color of the wood you choose. Wood floors tend to look different on pictures, so ask your wood flooring professional for a sample of the final wood color and finish to be sure your wood floors come out exactly the way you want. If you want a light natural look, you will never go wrong with oak and maple. If you want something darker, check out walnut and ebony. For extra light-colored wood, choose ash or holly. If they look too bland, go with elm, which has more prominent patterns.
But remember, wood flooring can be expensive, so you may want to check out other alternatives that can give you the same earthy look without costing too much.
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Author Resource:-
Ryan Garcia writes for L & S Carpet Inc. a carpet shop and flooring located at 7007 Laurel Canyon Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91605 - Phone (818) 764-7524
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By :
ryan garcia
Submitted
2011-10-10 11:34:05 |
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