Get the Hardwood Floors You Always Wanted

Thinking about changing your flooring to hardwood? Choosing the right hardwood flooring for your home may be harder than you think, given all the options available. 

Changing your floors also changes the character of your home. It’s as simple as that. It is therefore important to pick the floor that will harmonize with the existing interior. Not all wood floors are equally appealing or appropriate for every space. 

The wood flooring industry has evolved considerably in recent years, as wider planks have increased in popularity and finish and installation options have expanded. Given all the choices now available, here are some tips on how to navigate the various decisions you’ll have to make. First, you will need to decide on: 

Solid vs Engineered Wood 

Solid wood is just what it sounds like: a plank of your chosen wood, cut from a log. An engineered wood floor is composed of a thinner layer of your chosen wood on top of a manufactured base of layered plywood. 

Pros and Cons: 

Engineered wood has many benefits. It’s built to be more dimensionally stable therefore, it will expand and contract less, reducing the chance that the boards will warp or shrink over time. 

Engineered flooring is especially useful in basements, in high humidity areas such as kitchens and bathrooms, and over radiant heating systems. 

Engineered flooring can be glued directly to the slab, whereas solid wood floors require a plywood subfloor so it can be nailed in place. 

The cons are that solid wood floors last for centuries and can be stripped and refinished many times over while engineered hardwood floors will need to be replaced in the event of damage. 

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Choose the Wood Species and Color 

Browsing through flooring samples to choose a type of wood and a color for your new floor is probably the most enjoyable part of the process. At this stage, much depends on personal preference and your overall vision for your home. 

One of the most trending floorings now is white oak, which is widely available, durable and can take stain very well. That means it allows for customization and blending into your existing interior designs. 

Hickory – This wood has a lot of color variation, from light tones to dark tones and is considered a hardy wood. 

Walnut – is a good choice for those that want a rich, darker brown. 

Maple or Birch – are the go-to choices for those that prefer blonder woods. 

And there are more of course, but these are the most popular ones.

Where stain is concerned, the current trend is toward subtle colors that leave the wood with a natural look. 

If you find selecting the type of wood and color for your home challenging, consider the other wood elements in the room. For example, if you have walnut cabinetry, a walnut floor is an easy match; if you have oak doors, oak floors are a natural choice. 

Consider Wood Grain and Character 

How the wood logs are sawed into boards has a big effect on the grain pattern that’s visible on the floor. 

Flat-sawn (or plain-sawn) boards, the grain has a wavy appearance. The defining feature is this arching ‘cathedral’, which is the industry name for the pattern. 

In contrast, quarter-sawn boards offer a more linear appearance, with faint striping which some people call tiger stripes. 

Rift-sawn boards feature the cleanest, straightest grain, whereas live-sawn boards may include all types of grain patterns. 

What is interesting to point out is that a floor can be compiled using one cut exclusively or can incorporate various types of cuts. A popular option these days is a mix of a quarter and rift-sawn boards producing flooring with understated grain patterns. For a warm, woodsy appearance, using only flat-sawn boards might be the best option. 

Additionally, to the way the wood is cut, you can also choose how many knots and other distinguishing marks you want to see. People commonly refer this to “character”. The options here are “clear” (no knots), “light character” (a few smaller knots), as well as “character-grade” (the most, and largest, knots). 

Another very popular choice we now see is reclaimed wood. Many flooring companies offer wood salvaged from barns, factories, and other structures, which can have even more character — with nail holes, cracks, and saw-blade marks. Funnily enough wood with lots of character has become so popular that flooring manufacturers have started to offer distressed wood floorings simulating reclaimed wood. 

Prefinished or Site-Finished? 

Another major decision is whether to buy prefinished flooring or unfinished flooring. Prefinished flooring was stained and top coast applied in the factory whereas site-finished means that the planks will need to be stained and finished by an installer after it’s put down. 

There are pros and cons associated with either option: 

The main advantage of prefinished flooring is that it can be installed very quickly, and you will know upfront what the finished product will look like. 

When floors are finished on site, the home has to be vacated to allow for sanding, staining, and finishing, including drying time. This is messy work and you may not be able to step on the floor for days on time. On the positive side, on-site finishing allows for total customization. 

A key difference, however, is that prefinished boards usually have beveled edges to allow for slight irregularities, which creates more pronounced lines between the boards after installation. Because unfinished flooring is sanded flat after it is installed, the finished floor typically looks more like a solid plane, without gaps. 

Plank Widths and Installation Pattern 

Wider planks seem to be all the rage now. But how do you decide which board width and installation pattern are best for you? Consider the proportions of your space and the style you want: As a rule, bigger rooms tend to look better with wider boards, and a herringbone or chevron pattern adds a touch of tradition. 

On a side-note, more complicated installation patterns require additional labor for installation, thus increasing the cost of labor. They also result in more wasted wood from the multitude of cuts. 

Choose the Finish 

Most hardwood floors today have a finishing coat of clear polyurethane which protects the wood from moisture, wear, and staining for years. Water-based polyurethanes have grown in popularity in recent years, and the finishing sheen can range from matte to glossy. 

An alternative is an oil-based finish. The oil penetrates the wood, making it look richer. The added benefit to oil is that it allows for relatively easy spot repairs because it doesn’t leave a film on top of the wood. 

As you can see, there are many things to be taken into consideration to get the floor you always wanted. That is why we offer an exclusive design service from our Napa and Vallejo showrooms. Just give us a call to arrange for a visit.  Cheers!

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from Hardwood Floor Refinishing Vallejo https://hardwoodfloorrefinishingvallejo.blogspot.com/2020/08/get-hardwood-floors-you-always-wanted.html
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