The wood flooring is durable, hypoallergenic, and easy to clean. One need not wonder why wooden flooring seems to be a timeless and highly popular choice. However, it is imperative to select the right kind of wood for your home. This is what makes the process complicated and it would not be as simple as picking one and slapping it on the floor. Read on further to get some expert tips to help you while shopping from the right wood flooring stores.
Lifestyle:
Are you having a busy life with pets and children around or you are a single who stays out for most of the day? This is a factor that is going to determine the kind of hardwood and the finish that is going to be the best for one’s home. In a high-traffic household, a matte finish with a distressed look can hide a lot of scratches and dents in place of high-sheen or clear grain wood.
Type of the wood:
There are two choices when it comes to hardwood. These are solid wood with thick planks that we perceive as hardwood, and engineered wood made from hardwood on the top with several layers of plywood.
The engineered wood is more stable in an environment that has a lot of moisture like in the basement. This means one can sand down the engineered wood floor just like sanding the solid wood floor.
The high-quality engineered flooring bought from reputed wood flooring stores provides the look similar to the solid wood. However, the other benefit that one can get from engineered hardwood is the adjustable size.
Moreover, engineered wood is highly stable. The wood won’t buckle as there is no room to expand in the planks fitted 90 degrees to each other.
Location:
One should preferably not use solid wood for floors with a high degree of moisture like in basements. Here engineered wood works the best. Moreover, the engineered wood can be installed on a concrete slab floor. But in the above-ground floors, one can choose either solid wood or the engineered wood.
Style:
Consider the design elements of the wood used in making furniture, cabinets, and the paint colors used thereon. In case there are a lot of windows in your home, you can opt for darker shades of flooring wood to neutralize the excess glare. However, if you have a darker house, opt for lighter shades of wood flooring.
Apart from the plan your budget well to meet the flooring requirements and also other renovation or construction needs for your living space. You can find out various kinds of flooring woods for your home at affordable rates from reputable wood flooring stores.
Finish:
Choosing the finish is a matter of personal taste. You can bring in samples to home and observe how they look in the light conditions of your premises. Wood can be oiled, lacquered, or unfinished. The laminated wood usually carries sheen.
If you choose lacquer, it would protect the wood while giving a shiny finishing look. Oil also protects the wood and it keeps gathering luster as it wears over time.
You should check with the manufacturers or the wood flooring stores if they recommend installing a damp proof membrane for the best results.
