Flooring for Each and Every Home

Hardwood flooring is highly desirable among residential property owners. The installation of a hardwood floor can add elegance, durability, and value to your home. Many different options are available to you when it comes to choosing materials for your new hardwood floors.

It can be helpful to take some important features into consideration so that you end up with the type of flooring that will enhance your living space over time.

1. Plank Width

Modern hardwood flooring can be purchased in any plank width that you desire. It's important that you think about the width that will be best suited for your home.

Narrower planks tend to be more cost-effective, and they are easier to install.

Wide planks can lend a feeling of luxury and customization to your home, but you may find that the seams become more noticeable over time because there are fewer planks to camouflage changes in the seams.

Carefully weigh the pros and cons of each option before you choose between narrow, traditional, or wide-width planks for your hardwood floor.

2. Grain Pattern

Hardwood floors will always embody a unique grain pattern because each plank is cut from real wood. You must factor the grain pattern into your selection when choosing hardwood flooring for your home.

Plain-sawn planks feature a traditional wood grain that is commonly associated with hardwood floors. This traditional appearance makes a plain-sawn grain the perfect choice for a rustic or cottage home.

Quarter-sawn and rift-sawn planks tend to have a bit more character to them. These planks feature a grain that is long, linear, and has striking rays that reach across each plank. Quarter-sawn and rift-sawn planks are the perfect option for an industrial or ultra-modern home.

3. Finish

All hardwood floors must be finished with a protective coating to help them withstand the traffic inside your home. Multiple finishes are available, and each will offer a unique set of benefits.

An oil finish will give your wood floors a soft, matte appearance. Oil finishes are not known for standing up to significant abuse, so this finish might not be your best option if you have young children or pets in your household.

Polyurethane is another popular finish. Polyurethane creates a hard topcoat on the surface of your wood floors. This topcoat is impervious to water, and it allows your hardwood floors to withstand scratching. Choose a polyurethane finish for wood floors in high-traffic areas.

To learn more, contact a hardwood floor installation contractor.