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Types of wood flooring:
Wood floors are produced in both solid and engineered
plank strips from a wide variety of wood species.
Solid wood floors are one piece of wood and are
generally ¾ inch thick. These are generally produced
from red & white oak, ash, American cherry, hickory and
maple, and are available in several widths. Because
solid hardwood floors are more susceptible to moisture
than engineered wood floors they should only be
installed above grade over approved wooden sub floors
and must be nailed-down. Solid wood floors can generally
be recoated and refinished several times.
Engineered wood floors are produced by laminating
several hardwood plies together to form the planks. Most
engineered floors can be glued-down, stapled-down or
floated over a variety of sub floors including wood, dry
concrete slabs and some types of existing flooring.
Engineered hardwood floors have cross-ply construction
which reduces the expansion/contraction of planks caused
by variations in humidity and allows these floors to be
installed anywhere in the home.
Grades & Species:
Wood flooring comes in many species each with its own grade.
The appearance of a hardwood floor depends on the species of tree from which it
is made. Each species has its own identifying grain pattern, like a fingerprint.
Oak’s pronounced grain, for example, is distinctly different from the subtler
grain of Maple.
Determining the
right species of hardwood floor depends on what you are looking for in terms of
color, style, grain and overall fashion.
Traditional
Hardwoods
Traditional hardwoods include oak, maple and hickory. Each has a unique grain
and coloring, creating a different look and feel.
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Oak has
prominent grain lines and a traditional look that makes it the most popular
hardwood, accounting for almost 90% of the market.
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Maple has
lighter grain lines, tends to be more whitish in color and doesn’t take
stain as well as oak (so it looks good with a clear coat or light stain).
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Hickory
features tighter grains which look better with darker stains.
Exotic Hardwoods
Exotic refers to hardwoods that come from countries other than the US, such as
Brazilian Cherry and South America Mahogany.
The name “Exotic”
comes from the fact that the wood has a “foreign” look, with unusual
eye-catching colors and grains.
Rustic Hardwoods
This refers to hardwoods that are “distressed” during the manufacturing process
to give them an aged, antiqued or hand-milled look.
Hardwoods can be
distressed with metal chains or a wire brush to give it the look of old,
reclaimed wood that has been walked on for centuries. Or it can be hand scraped
to create the look of old fashioned, hand milled wood.
These woods have
the same performance characteristics as traditional hardwood: but they are put
through a time consuming, labor intensive process to give them the distinctive
look of aged, reclaimed wood. Not surprisingly, they are relatively expensive.
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