How Much Wood Would A Woodchuck…Order For His Living Room Floors?
Most people agree that wood flooring adds tremendous warmth and richness to a home. Most realtors will add that wood flooring adds far more value to your home versus laminate.
To answer a common question, wood board sizes can vary in width from 2 1/4” up to 10”! The most common sizes being sold currently are the 3” and 5”.
Another area of confusion: What’s the difference between Solid Hardwood and Engineered Hardwood flooring? Read on…
As the name implies – solid hardwood flooring is just that – solid planks of wood. What you see on the top surface runs through to the base of the entire board. Solid wood is pricier than engineered wood and is perceived by some as the higher end and better choice. Not necessarily better.
By contrast, engineered hardwood flooring only looks just like solid hardwood on the surface (the part you look at and walk on). In engineered hardwood, the upper layer of “veneer” rests on top of multiple layers of base woods that are intelligently stacked one atop the other – one against the grain of the next – layer upon layer. The logic at work: this criss-cross of the grains helps stabilize the boards against warping as the boards naturally encounter the unending temperature and humidity changes that occur in our homes. And because the “fine wood” is used only as the top layer, engineered hardwood will be less costly than solid hardwood.
To summarize, a few nice benefits of engineered wood flooring is that it:
- Can be installed below grade (basements)
- Most have numerous install methods (staple or nail, glue, and floating) so installing on a concrete slab is not a problem
- Resists warping, bending, stretching and buckling better then a solid hardwood and better than a laminate floor
- Is a much “safer” option to use when you want to go with a wider width plank since solid woods are more susceptible to warping when the planks are wider.
I hope our stroll down “Wood Lane” has helped “whittle down” and focus your thinking about wood floors for your home. Wood would be nice…”woodn’t” it?