Every homeowner wants to make the best statement through their home and what can be better than the luxurious feel of a wooden flooring. There are hundreds of options available to choose from hence, the statement you want to make can be customized to your tastes. Hardwood floors are easy to maintain. There’s common myth that it can be quite a hassle to manage the wooden floor of your house however the reality is totally opposite. Yes, the installation of this type of flooring is time consuming and requires expert labor,once installed it can keep your house looking great for years even decades in some cases.

You can never go wrong with putting some wood on the floor or making your entire floor out of wood. The natural beauty of wood is unparalleled and gets along extremely well with all sorts of design themes. Consequently, your house can be a traditional one, a modern one or one that belongs to the countryside, hardwood flooring is the right choice for it. There are multiple types of wooden flooring options to choose from and we have listed them below to help you out.

Finished or Unfinished Hardwood Flooring

When people want to give a custom stain to their wooden floor, they opt for an unfinished type flooring. Custom stain is required either to match the existing floor or to give a unique character to the wood. After the installation, multiple layers of protective coating are applied to the wooden floor. For the kitchen, this type of hardwood flooring is perfect as it prevents the water from seeping in between the boards. The seams are sealed because of protective coating hence the watertight nature of this flooring.  Finished flooring is directly shipped from the factory ready for installation. It is sealed and sanded beforehand to make the installation quick and odor free. You can immediately start walking on it right after the installation.

Engineered v/s Solid Hardwood Flooring

When the veneer of a real wood is glued to multiple layers of wood underneath it, it is called as engineered wood. This type of hardwood flooring has excellent stability hence can be installed in any area of your house including the below-grade basements that can be found in many homes. The thickness of the veneer makes re-finishing and sanding of this wood tough. Because of this, throughout its lifetime you can only get it re-finished once (or twice if the veneer is thick). The solid hardwood is a complete block of single wood that is available in thickness ranging between 5/8th of an inch to ¾th of an inch. Since this one is a single piece of wood hence it can be sanded as well as re-finished as many times as you want. The only disadvantage is that this type of hardwood flooring will remain to susceptible humidity hence if there is a lot of variation in humidity or if the area is generally humid, you are not advised to install solid wood floor.

The best kind of woods that make good flooring are the hardest ones. Also, easy availability is a factor when choosing one for your floors. Maple, Cherry and Oak are the common ones while Bamboo, Ash and walnut are also trendy options available these days. For exotic species, the prices rise exponentially hence you should avoid them if you are on a budget. Sustainable harvesting of forests should be practiced while sourcing wood for your home so make sure you let your contractor know about this. If you are environmentally conscious, then salvage yard or reclaimed wood is your best bet. Renovations can look great using reclaimed wood.