Various Types of Home Flooring Provide Many Options For Today's Homeowner
By Dola Raheem

As a home owner looking to add value and appeal to your home it is often a wise decision to look into and investigate new flooring. A new floor in any room will certainly change the environment, add warmth, take on a new look, and add to your investment. A change may be exactly what you are looking for and of course add to the quality of any room. There are many Various Types Of Home Flooring that may be the perfect answer to building a new floor. With so much of these flooring available as a do-it-yourself project you will find that it is relatively inexpensive to add new flooring and at the same time add to the enrichment of your home as well as increase the value of your investment.

One of the most popular types of flooring on the market is vinyl plank flooring. This will provide your room with the beauty of a hardwood floor with none of the pain and expense of real hardwood. You must realize that putting in a real hardwood floor takes money and a contractor. It is not a project for an amateur carpenter. This flooring gives you the beauty of hardware with the design and comfort of hardwood but is easier to clean, install, more durable, and only costs a fraction of the real stuff. It is available in rolls and strips and is easy to install by yourself.

If you are looking for flooring that is high tech you should consider an engineered floor. An engineered floor is layered to provide durability, insulation, and the beauty of hardwood. At the core is a hard wood with a veneer clued on to it to create the design and look of real hardwood. It will not warp, swell, or split apart like hardwood floors that are subject to moisture, heat, cold, and wear and tear. This flooring is engineered to provide beauty and stability that will last for years.

Unfinished hardwood flooring is another option for constructing a new floor in your home. This is all natural solid wood flooring that is cut right from the tree in long thin strips. It can be stained in any color or left untouched for a natural wood effect. It is most likely the most expensive option because you are dealing with a solid wood floor. It is also the most difficult to install. You will need professional help with a project like this. Among the most popular choices is red oak flooring. It provides a natural beauty unlike any other hardwoods that are available. These Various Types of Home Flooring will provide you with many options for your own home.

Dola Raheem writes about Unfinished Hardwood Flooring at http://www.cherryflooringfx.com/

Engineered Hardwood Flooring - The Basics
By Michael Russell

Engineered hardwood flooring is more popular these days than natural hardwood flooring. This is because the construction of engineered hardwood flooring gives it qualities that natural hardwood flooring does not have. This allows engineered hardwood flooring to be less expensive and more resistant to moisture.

There are several differences in the construction of natural hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring. Natural hardwood flooring is constructed entirely out of a piece of hardwood. The only hardwood used for engineered hardwood flooring is for the top layer. The possible types of hardwood that are used for engineered hardwood include oak, pine, ash, teak, and bamboo. The top layer allows engineered hardwood flooring to have the same visual beauty as natural hardwood flooring. There is a core layer that is glued to the bottom of the top layer. The core layer consists of layers of replenishable and affordable wood. These layers of wood might be medium-density or high-density fiberboard or plywood. The number of layers that are used for the core vary from one flooring manufacturer to another. Most flooring manufacturers will use three layers of wood in the core. However, there are several flooring manufacturers that are beginning to construct core layers that consist of five to seven layers of wood. They are adding more layers of wood to the core because the extra layers will make their engineered hardwood flooring more durable.

During extreme changes in the weather, natural hardwood flooring can expand and contract so much that it will buckle or warp. The core layer of an engineered hardwood floor gives it the ability to expand and contract without buckling or warping as natural hardwood flooring would. This means that engineered hardwood flooring is less affected by environmental conditions and can be installed in more areas than natural hardwood flooring. For example, unlike a natural hardwood floor, you can install an engineered hardwood floor in a humid or damp basement. An engineered hardwood floor can also be installed over radiant heating system without suffering any damage. If you install a natural hardwood floor over a radiant heating system, the natural hardwood floor could buckle, cup, or shrink.

Engineered hardwood flooring can be installed as a floating floor. This means that you can install an engineered hardwood floor on a surface without using glue or nails. A floating floor will allow you to have a floor that is free of gaps between the hardwood panels. But before you install the engineered hardwood floor, you have to place a vapor barrier between the surface and the floor. A tongue and groove locking system allows the engineered hardwood flooring to be installed as a floating floor. With this system, you can just click and lock the engineered hardwood planks together. This means that the engineered hardwood flooring can be installed very quickly. Also, if you are moving, you can easily take the hardwood planks apart and take it to your new home. This locking system also makes it pretty easy to replace any planks that are damaged.

The finish of engineered hardwood flooring is durable. An engineered hardwood floor will still look good even after years of heavy use. However, if it is necessary, engineered hardwood flooring can be refinished. But this is not a task that you should take on yourself. This is something that you should pay a professional to do. But each engineered hardwood floor can only be refinished a limited number of times before you destroy the top layer.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Flooring

How to Install a Hardwood Floor
By Susan Atkins

Hardwood flooring comes in both unfinished and pre-finished materials. These products are made from solid wood, which gives you three-quarters of an inch of wood that can be sanded and refinished if necessary in the future. Pre-finished flooring has an extremely durable finish already applied at the factory, which not only saves time and labor, but can also provide a better finish than you could apply yourself. Other wood flooring products include those made from press board laminated to a thin layer of wood, but although this product is inexpensive, it just will not wear as well as solid wood flooring.

Wood flooring comes in standard grades, which vary according to visual appearance and price. Clear grade is of the highest quality, with the wood containing very few knots and very little variation in overall coloring. Select grade flooring varies a bit more in color and has a few more knots, but is still considered a fine flooring product. Common grade flooring contains more of the natural variations and imperfections of the wood, but can still be used in less formal rooms to create a beautiful hardwood floor.

Floor boards should be laid perpendicular instead of parallel in relationship to the floor joists. It is also important to measure carefully so that an accurate base line can be determined, in order to keep the first rows of wood flooring straight. Standard tongue and groove wood flooring is installed by nailing the flooring board directly through the tongue, and then sliding the next piece over the nailed tongue. Although the process can be completed by hand, there are pneumatic tools that can be rented that can make this job much easier. These tools can quickly and easily drive the staples or nails at the perfect angle, making it easier to do a good installation without missing the tongue or damaging the floor boards. However, it is generally necessary to hand-nail the first row or two of because you will not be able to get close enough using the pneumatic tool. The boards will be installed in a staggered fashion, with the end joints being offset by at least sixteen inches as the rows of flooring boards are installed. Spacers are used between the wall and the flooring planks to allow room for expansion, and the last row of flooring will need to be cut to size and face nailed into place.

Since hardwood floors are becoming an increasingly popular, it may be a good DIY project to attempt. Although some people think that a hardwood floor installation might be difficult, in actuality it can be a relatively easy project, as long as you have some experience with basic carpentry work. You'll not only end up with a beautiful floor, but save yourself a lot of money too.

Prefinished Versus Unfinished Hardwood Floors

By Adele Joy

Deciding between prefinished versus unfinished hardwood floors can be difficult. You need to consider the pros and cons of each before making a decision.

Unfinished hardwood flooring is delivered raw then sanded, stained and finished on site. It is available in more widths and wood species than prefinished flooring and can be matched to existing wood floors.

Prefinished hardwood flooring has been engineered and finished at the factory, so it does not require any further treatment once it has been installed.

Prefinished hardwood flooring is relatively quick easy to install. Since it has already been coated at the factory, it is also far more convenient as no sanding or finishing needs to be done on site. This is a time consuming and dusty process that you may wish to avoid.

The multiple coats of finish applied at the factory give prefinished wood flooring a very durable wear layer and the finish itself is under warranty by the manufacturer. Such a durable finish can't be achieved on floors finished on the job site.

Prefinished hardwood floors are more versatile as they can be installed over a wider range of subfloors than unfinished hardwood floors. Because prefinished flooring can be floated, that is, not attached to the subfloor, they can be installed over almost any type of subfloor including concrete. Also, the durable coating on prefinished flooring and its engineered design makes it more resistant to moisture and humidity, making it suitable for climatic regions with high humidity or large variations in temperature, or when the subfloor is below grade and more prone to moisture.

However, when refinishing engineered prefinished flooring, it is necessary to remove a lot more wood to achieve a level floor, so you will lose more life of the floor in the first refinish than with a solid hardwood floor. Also prefinished hardwood floors are harder to clean between the cracks, as they are not sealed at the job site like unfinished hardwood floors.

A custom sanded hardwood floor is perfectly flat looking, with a tabletop appearance that can't be achieved with a prefinished hardwood floor. If the subfloor is uneven, then a pre-finished floor will be uneven. Since unfinished flooring is sanded flat on site, it is more forgiving of slight irregularities in the subfloor.

If your prefinished floor is damaged, the whole section of flooring will need to be removed and replaced, whereas in most cases, site finished hardwood flooring can be easily fixed with a quick sanding and finish.

Over time, it is easy to forget who the manufacturer of the prefinished hardwood flooring is, making it difficult to get an exact match if part of the floor needs to be replaced. There is also the possibility that your prefinished flooring will be discontinued in the future and so you will be unable to order replacement boards.

There are several factors to consider which should make your decision a little easier:

• Is your home of historical significance? Unfinished flooring would be more appropriate - to capture the old-world charm and keep the look authentic, or to match existing historical flooring, hand-distressing and aging techniques can be used.

• Are the fumes and dust resulting from finishing the floor on-site a concern, eg if children or pets will be present?

• Consider the location of your new wood floor - will it be in a high traffic or moisture area such as the kitchen or bathroom? If so, prefinished flooring is best as it has a more durable finish.

• Are you looking for a specific plank width, unusual wood species or color? Unfinished wood provides many more options.

• Are you installing wood floors throughout the entire home, or just in isolated rooms? If throughout your home, unfinished wood may be best. Having your floors finished on site will help ensure a uniform color and finish.

• What type of installation technique is required? Only prefinished flooring can be floated above a concrete sub floor. If the flooring is to be installed below grade, prefinished flooring is the recommended choice.

• Does your new wood floor need to match with an existing wood floor? If so, unfinished flooring is easier to stain and match.

• What is your budget? Unfinished flooring is typically the more expensive option.

• Do you live in an area with high humidity? If so, prefinished flooring is the better option as it is more resistant to buckling and warping.

http://tamalpaishardwoodfloors.com
http://www.thehardwoodfloorguys.com/prefinished.html

Finishing and Caring For Unfinished Hardwood Flooring
By Dola Raheem

There are many things to consider when choosing the right Unfinished Hardwood Flooring for your home. From Solid to engineered, and dramatic to moderate grains, A few tidbits to get you started include some small but important differences between types of Unfinished Hardwood Flooring. An engineered floor can withstand humidity better than a solid floor, even though the solid floor is built from one piece of wood and has a better potential of lasting in a longer time period. The next item to decide is the type of wood. Oak and Cherry are among the most popular, but many consumers are now going with more exotic woods such as bamboo, teak and Brazilian Cherry. Choosing the wood is important since the longevity of each type of wood can make a difference in when the flooring will need to be replaced. Another important quality is to find out which type of wood is best suitable for your climate since wood expands in weather and humidity.

One of the great things about choosing Unfinished Hardwood Flooring, is the adventure of creating the look that best suites your home and personality, and even other wood in the home. a pre-finished floor can be much faster to the end result, but in the end you are limited to the styles and colors available. For the more adventurous, sanding and finishing the wood yourself can be quite satisfying. The most important thing to remember in finishing the wood yourself is to make sure it is sealed.

If, the decision is made to leave the wood unfinished, extra care is needed to make sure the floor is properly maintained. To clean Unfinished Hardwood Flooring, a vacuum, broom, bristle brush, TSP (trisodium phosphate), rags, and the occasional use of a sanding block are some necessary supplies. A word of warning, is that commercial products are usually made for finished floors and can ruin an unfinished floor. Its important also to watch out for oil based products or waxes as these can build up, making it hard to finish the floor later.

Installing Unfinished Hardwood Flooring is pretty simple with the ways the wood is now cut to match ends is much easier than in the past. Just remember to let the wood acclimate to its new environment before installation, and make sure it has the room to expand and contract to avoid splitting and damage. Wood floors add an unsurpassed beauty to any home and can also with the right installation, added overall home value.

Dola Raheem writes about Unfinished Hardwood Flooring at http://www.cherryflooringfx.com/