If you're planning a wooden flooring job, you'll be forgiven for feeling that the entire thing is much more complicated than you had ever expected! Many years ago, a timber floor was a wood flooring. In this era, there are many different kinds of wood floor: engineered hardwood flooring, solid wood flooring, brushed and oiled hardwood flooring, tongue and groove hardwood flooring and so forth. So, where do you start when you are attempting to work out that wooden for could be most suitable for you?
That might seem like an odd question, but outdoor wood flooring is present, in the form of decking. Decking, like flooring, comes in a whole assortment of options, which you will find here, but for the purpose of this guide we'll assume you're undertaking an indoor wooden flooring project.
Strong or engineered?
Among the most basic decisions you are going to need to make is your choice between engineered and solid hardwood floors. In brief, solid hardwood flooring consists of single planks of timber and engineered wood flooring is constructed from layers of different kinds of wood which are secured together. You'll get a complete, comprehensive guide to what's engineered hardwood floors.
Suffice to state that solid hardwood floors is exactly what its name implies, strong, wooden floorboards cut from solid parts of the timber of your own choice. Even though the differences between solid and engineered hardwood floors are rather important, the one over-riding aspect to keep in mind is the engineered hardwood floors may be utilised in areas where temperatures and humidity levels vary, whereas solid hardwood should not.
Even though you'll find that plank widths, plank thicknesses and plank lengths of both engineered and solid wood flooring change, which you opt for will depend to a large extent on the appearance and durability you desire. When it comes to durability, solid hardwood is more lasting than engineered hardwood floors since it can be sanded, re-sanded and re-finished more often than engineered wood flooring. That said, an engineered plank with a thick lamella or high layer should have the ability to withstand a good 5 or 6 sandings in its lifetime.
Which finish?
Both engineered and solid wood floors include distinct coating, or finishing options and some of the very frequent you're likely to come up against are:
Unfinished
Unfinished wood flooring is wood flooring that's supplied with no finish. This is the perfect flooring solution if you are looking for a blank canvas on the flooring project. Nevertheless, if you choose this option, do remember to budget for some sort of finish in your general job costings.
Oiled
Oiled finish wood flooring gives a warm, natural appearance. An oiled end makes the actual character of the wood stand out with no shine. A hardwearing option, as a result of the strength the oil brings to the wood, oiled finish wood flooring is ideal if you are trying to retain and increase the natural good appearance of the wood.
Brushed and oiled
Brushed and oiled finish flooring is wood flooring that's been brushed to open up the grain, then oiled to create the finish. Brushing is carried out by machine and helps enhance the grain of the wood, providing brushed and Engineered hardwood floors a highly textured appearance.
Lacquered
Lacquered finish wood flooring is ideal solution if you're searching for a low maintenance alternative. Basically a pre-varnished flooring option, lacquered wood flooring normally ends in a smooth, very shiny finish even though there are matt lacquers out there. This choice is excellent for high traffic regions of the home.
UV Lacquered
UV (or ultra violet treated ) lacquered finish hardwood floors is ideal if you are concerned about the negative consequences on your flooring brought on by sunlight. With the exact same look as lacquered hardwood flooring, UV engineered hardwood flooring gets the additional advantage of preventing any harm brought on by UV light. This end is well worth considering if you are buying a dark colored floor.
Hand distressed
Hand distressed finish wood floors is wood flooring that has gone through a deliberate process of damaging to make it appear old. This sort of flooring has a worn, jagged, irregular appearance.
What grade?
When you've decided on the ideal end for you, then you will have to take into account the caliber of timber that would best fit your job and, of course, your budget. Wood flooring drops into 4 ranges:
Prime or AB tier
Select or ABC tier
Organic or ABCD tier
and Rustic or CD tier
Here are some of the characteristics of each grade:
Prime Grade is your highest grade of timber flooring and is often described as AB-high grade. Cut from the middle of the log, this grade of timber is extremely uniform in its appearance and has very few knots.
Select Grade is another grade of timber flooring. Often called ABC grade, this timber includes some knots plus some colour variation.
Organic Grade comes alongside the wood floor grading ladder. Often referred to as mill jog or ABCD grade, this wood grade sport knots of up to 30mm in size, comprises sap and has some color variants.
Rustic (or nation fashion ) is the final grade for wood flooring. As the name implies, this caliber of wood has color variation, sap and generally has knots of up to 35mm in size.
Which colour?
Wood flooring colors range from pale blondes to black in its natural state and from reds, to greens, to blues and to yellows if you're prepared to opt for brightly colored options.
The color you select is going to depend to a large extent on personal taste and the look you're trying to attain. Paradoxically, modern interiors might call for the lightest of woods or the most mysterious, whereas a state style or rustic interior layout would ordinarily involve a more golden, reddish colouration to finish the look. Irrespective of your selection, you can be sure that there will be a hardwood flooring color to meet your requirements.
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