Different Types of Hardwood Floors Explained
The knowledge of hardwood flooring types comes in handy when you want to make a choice. It is always important to have background information of anything you want to acquire. Wood flooring is preferred mostly because of its durability, restoration degree and ease of maintenance. Wood flooring is described as any floor product that is made from timber. However, the floor made of bamboo trees are categorized as exotic hardwood flooring types. This is because the similarity in terms of characteristics.
Different Types of Hardwood Flooring
Wood flooring being manufactured by leading names today such as Wood Floors Plus is categorized into two major types – solid and engineered wood floors. These two hardwood flooring types differ in terms of manufacturing, installation and maintenance. To give you a better idea on how they look like and how exactly they are constructed, this article has described them briefly for you.
- Solid wood floor
The solid wood floor is made from planks of wood which are milled from one chunk of timber. The solid wood floor comes in various types. Their finishing is either done to completion at the factory or carried raw in which case the finishing is done during installation. The solid wood floor is made of timber which three quarters on an inch. This thickness gives them large allowance for tear and wear.
- Engineered wood floor
On the other hand, the engineered wood floor is made by joining two or more layers of timber to form a single plank. The top most layer is the one which remains visible, the other layers just forms a base for the floor. The base, also known as the core, can be made of different kinds of wood. For instance, the veneer floor core is made of composite wood product while the acrylic wood floor uses a layer of wood impregnated with acrylic liquid and hardened. The engineered floor does not have a large allowance for grinding and sanding. However, when the top layer gets worn it can be replaced by new layer which gives the floor a perfect new look.
The Engineered Floor Misconception
There is a misconception that the vinyl and laminated floors are types of engineered floors. This misconception comes about due to their appearance. However, it is important to note that they are not wooden floors. For instance the laminated floor is just a layer of floor which is designed to resemble a wooden floor. On the other hand, vinyl floor is made of plastic which look like wood.
Minor Types of Hardwood Flooring
There are other minor classifications that bring up hardwood flooring types. For instance there is the floating wood floor and those that are glued to the underlying sub-floors. The floating wood flooring as the name suggest is not glued to the sub-floor, on the contrary a piece of foam is placed between them. During installation the floating floor is glued onto the layer of foam to give better comfort, less risk of injury, less breakage when fragile materials fall off, and many other benefits in store.
Hardwood Floor Benefits
If you are still skeptical about using hardwood flooring, well these benefits should convince you to pursue with the switch:
- Clean and safe, especially for people with allergies
- Low maintenance, simple mopping will do
- Sustainable because it is made from wood, a renewable material
- Unmatched quality and value since it never goes out of style
The Ultimate Choice
The choice among different types of hardwood floor is driven by the intended use. For instance, if you want a wooden floor for the living room, the solid wood flooring comes in handy. This is because the floor can withstand the high level of wear and tear. For your bedroom or study you can for the engineered floor, they are not friendly to high level of wear and tear.