Hardwood Flooring. We all love it. It's so pretty, so posh, so nice. But there's more to know than just that it's pretty. Here's some information on hardwood flooring.
When you make the decision to go with hardwood flooring, you will have three choices: reclaimed wood, solid wood and engineered wood.
Reclaimed hardwood floors. Reclaimed hardwood floors are basically recycled floors mostly of solid wood. They are usually taken out of an old house or barn that's going to be torn down. They are lightly cleaned but that's it. You can expect to find lots of scratches, scrapes, marks, etc. on these floors but then that is part of the appeal.
Reclaimed hardwoods are a bit difficult to find. Personally, I've had it in lofts, where it was taken out of barns. Once in a while you luck out and find it in a store that sales reclaimed or used products. I currently have them in my house, only because it's an old house. I love these floors because I don't have to worry about Maxie-Poo the pooch or my stiletto wearing friends scratching them. They are already scratched!
Solid wood flooring. Solid wood floors are made of one piece of wood. The biggest appeal of solid is that it has a thick wear layer. This means it can be sanded and refinished several times over its lifespan. Solid wood is more sensitive to moisture which means it has more of a chance of being affected by high moisture levels. The picture to the right is a profile view of solid wood flooring.
Engineered wood flooring. Traditionally, most engineered woods have thinner wear layers. This means they can only be recoated and not sanded. However, recently, we are seeing several new engineered hardwoods with thicker wear layers. This means that they can be sanded and refinished 4-5 times over its lifespan.
Engineered wood is real wood, real hardwood at that. It is made of 3-9 thin layers of hardwood. The thickness of the planks is made up of these thin layers. Each layer is stacked in a cross grain configuration and bonded together with heat and pressure. As a result it is less likely to be affected by moisture. This alone adds to the appeal of engineered wood especially in high moisture regions of the country like Houston. This is the reason that 90% to 95% of installed wood flooring are engineered. Because most of the floors installed in Houston are engineered, you will find that there is a bigger variety of choices in price as well as color and style when looking at engineered over solid.
Notice the top sample to the left has three layers while the one on the bottom has seven. The thick, bottom layer on the second sample is actually the sample board. Only the top seven layers are part of the wood floor.
Things to remember when deciding to go with hardwood floors:
1. Not in wet areas. Avoid the kitchen but especially the bathrooms with showers and / or tubs.
2. They will get scratched. I've had customers have parties and make everyone take off their shoes or wear booties. In my not so humble opinion, you don't want to do that. You want your home to be a place of comfort and friendliness. So, just know that your floors will get scratches and scrapes by Junior, Poochie-Poo, your girl friends and OOPS even you.
3. The harder the wood, the better.
4. Try to buy from companies with reforestation projects. Mohawk, for instance, has a program that for every tree they cut down, four are planted.
5. In Houston, or other high humidity areas, try to keep your air conditioner no higher than 80 degrees at all time.
xoxoxoox,
M.
The Kitchen Chica
www.beitabrothers.com
This is their view from the balcony.
