Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Wood Floor is a Good Floor

But have you ever wonder that what makes wood floor so popular when so many other natural and man made flooring material is available.

In Wood Flooring you actually have three basic options, which are:

  • Solid Hardwood
  • Engineered Wood
  • Laminate Flooring


Solid Hardwood is made from the solid piece of wood that either comes in finished or pre-finished form. The solid hardwood is glued or nailed down to a sub floor that is generally made by plywood as most of the solid woods cannot be installed directly on the concrete floor.

Engineered Wood is made with the help of cross-directional laminated construction. To make this 3-5 layers of cross-directional laminates are used and the top layer consists of only premium hardwood. You can either fix this wood floor or keep it floating. The biggest advantage of engineered wood floor is that it can expand and contract.

Laminate Flooring is made from a a material that actually is not a wood. To make this thin sheets of paper that is impregnated with melamine is used.


What are Different Types of Wood for Flooring?
There are different types of wood for wood floor so selecting the one among all is not that easy task. You must consider the budget, lifestyle, weather, humidity and style preference while buying any kind of wood for wooden flooring.

Traditional Wood Floor
Traditional wood floor is made from oak, maple, hickory and birch wood. This is the most popular choice among all other types of wood. Cost vary with width, thickness and size of planks. But this wood is extremely durable.

Exotics
Exotic wood gives a very distinctive style to the floor and the whole place. Brazilian Cherry, Santos Mahogany, Sumatra Rosewood and Brazilian Walnut are few of the exotics wood choice. This is a very limited list. You can visit the nearest wood store or search online for a detailed list of exotic wood floor.


Reclaimed Wood Floor
Reclaimed wood floor is another very nice and stylish option for wood floor. Reclaimed wood is quiet sustainable wood that is mostly used in buildings and bridges.

Bamboo Wood Floor
Bamboo a grass not a wood can give the feel of hardwood and if you compare the properties then bamboo is more natural, stable and less is cost. Its cost is comparable to that of oak wood. It is also a renewable so considered as a :green” choice. Although bamboo is considered as natural but bamboo flooring might not be considered as green. So before installing this you must ask the contractor or professional regarding this.

Cork Flooring
Cork again is not a wood but the bark that is scrapped from the Cork Oak tree. It is very durable, fire resistant, microbe resistant. Cork flooring is also very easy to install.

Coco Palm
Coco Palm is another eco-friendly option of wood floor that is made from the multiple layers of palm. It is not only durable but has very rich texture, feel and look.

Wood floor can be installed with different techniques like nailing, stapling down, glues and floated. The type of installation depends upon the type of wood and flooring you are using.

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