Selecting a hardwood floor

Before you decide to purchase a hardwood floor, there some important things to know first. In this article I will cover the basics of hardwood flooring and try to make purchasing hardwood a little easier.


Hardwood flooring is an upgrade to laminate and has a variety of options. Available options are: Engineered, solid, hand-scraped, wire-brushed, distressed and traditional smooth finishes. If your home has a concrete foundation, engineered hardwood is the floor of choice. This product is made to glue down to a concrete slab and is available in many species and colors. Solid hardwood flooring is recommended for plywood sub floors and should not be glued directly to concrete. In my opinion, the single most important aspect of hardwood flooring is its hardness. With that being said, all hardwood floors will dent, some more than others. Also, hardness does not always equal durability. For instance, maple flooring is harder than oak but does not have as much graining as oak, thus making it more prone to marring and scuff marks. Harder woods that are distressed and hand-scraped are going to be the most durable. On the left hand portion of this page is a Janka chart, this chart measures the hardness of wood. If you have an active home I do not recommend purchasing American Walnut or American Cherry. These two hardwoods are essentially the softest domestic wood floors available. Hickory/Pecan are the hardest domestic woods available in the market and both are very durable. There are several domestic species to choose from, however if you cant find a domestic hardwood you like try looking at an exotic wood. Many of the exotic woods are much harder than domestics and are still very affordable. Hardwood flooring can be much more expensive than laminate, so there may be some sacrifices that need to be made. Ask yourself this one question. Is hardness and durability more important than color, or vice-versa? The finish of the product is also an important factor. The three main finishes to consider are: Water-based urethane, oil-modified, and natural oils. Water-based finishes are the most durable, however they are not always the easiest to maintain. There are three different sheen levels to consider and they are: Satin, semi-gloss and gloss. Low matte and satin finishes are becoming more popular because they tend to hide scratches better than semi-gloss or gloss finishes. Natural oil finishes are gaining popularity because of its ease of maintenance and natural look. Another thing to considered is the length of the individual planks, within the hardwood floor. Longer planks tend to look better in larger rooms. I would recommend products that are random up to seven feet. Shorter boards tend to give the floor a butcher block look and in my opinion do not look as good as the longer plank floors when finished. If you need more information or need a recommendation, I would be glad to help. Just leave a comment or send me an email to cooperjm68@yahoo.com
Thanks,
The Floor Man