A guide to choosing the right hardwood flooring
Charlotte hardwood flooring can completely change the appearance of you home or room. With the right flooring selection, you can make your home look cleaner, brighter, and more modern all at the same time. But with so many different selections, how do you know what type of flooring is right for you? Today we’ll talk about the different options that you have when it comes to hardwood flooring in hopes of shedding some light on which is the right option for you and your home.
Hardwood Flooring Options to Consider:
Solid vs. Engineered Flooring
One of the first things you will want to consider when selecting a hardwood floor is whether you want solid or engineered flooring. What’s the difference between them? To put things simply, a solid hardwood floor is one that is constructed from a solid piece of wood. An engineered floor, on the other hand, is one that has a thinner layer of hardwood combined with layers of plywood. There are benefits of both:
Solid hardwood flooring benefits:
- Can be sanded and refinished more often than engineered flooring
- Extremely durable and long lasting
- Maintains value
Engineered hardwood floor benefits:
- Durable, high-performance
- Helps to prevent warping and bowing
- Helps to protect from moisture
- Easy care and maintenance
Finished vs. Un-Finished
Once you’ve selected what type of Charlotte hardwood flooring you want, you’ll then have to decide whether you want to purchase it finished or unfinished. Prefinished hardwood means that the stain and topcoat has already been applied. That means all you have to worry about after purchase is the installation.
Unfinished hardwood means that there is no stain or topcoat applied, so you will have to do it yourself after installation. The main benefit of the first option is that it’s much less work. The main benefit of the latter option is that you will have complete control over the final look of your hardwood.
What type of finish?
If you opt for prefinished hardwood, you won’t need to worry about this. But if you’re going with the customizable route, you’ll also need to select what type of finish you will use – and there’s a lot of options out there. With that being said, most finishes fall into one of two categories: polyurethane and oil. Here’s what to expect from each of them:
Polyurethane finishes:
- More resilient to stains, damage, and wear and tear
- Are more difficult to scratch, but also more difficult to repair
- More difficult maintenance, but required less often
- Need to be refinished every 7-12 years
- Protects against moisture damage
- Cannot be spot repaired
- Inexpensive to clean
- Can be wiped and cleaned easily
Oil finishes:
- Penetrate the wood
- Give a natural, soft, matte look
- More susceptible to stains and damage
- Scratch more easily, but are easy to repair
- Easier maintenance, but is required more often
- Requires re-oiling every 3-5 years
- Does allow for spot repairs
- Cost of cleaning is higher
What type of wood?
When it comes to Charlotte hardwood flooring, there are many different types of wood that you can select from. These include, but are not limited to:
- Bamboo
- Maple
- Rosewood
- Walnut
- Cherry
- Brazilian Cherry
- Pine
- Hickory
- Ash
- Lyptus
- Mahogany
- Oak
What type of Grain Pattern?
Woods can have one of three different types of grain patterns: rift sawn, plain sawn, or quarter sawn. We could describe the types of grain patterns on here, but it’s really better if you just see them for yourself. So go ahead – Google “different grain patterns” to see what the three different types look like.
- How wide will your planks be?
At one point in time, all planks came in the same width. But nowadays, they come in almost any width you like. In most cases, people choose wider planks for larger rooms and thinner planks for smaller rooms, but it really just comes down to personal preference.
So what will you choose for your Charlotte Hardwood flooring? Contact Zack Hardwood Flooring today to learn more about your options.