Flooring can make a difference. They come in many styles and can complement any decorating scheme. They can be stained to match any color scheme or left unfinished to showcase the natural beauty of the wood grain. You also have many types of wood to choose from – hardwood species like oak, cherry, and maple are popular choices for their durability and unique appearance. When selecting wooden flooring, there are several things to consider, including what type of wood will be used; whether or not the room needs carpet underneath them; what kind of underlayment should be used; how much maintenance is required (if any); whether or not pets will be allowed on them; etc.
Things to keep in mind while installing wooden flooring in your home:
1. Choose Prefinished or Site Finish
You can choose between pre-finished and site-finished wooden floorings. Pre-finished floors come with a protective coating already applied, while site-finished floors require additional steps after laying them down. Pre-finished floors have advantages like low maintenance and easy installation. For example, if you want to change the color of your floor, it won’t be easy because the finish has been applied over the entire surface area of the plank.
Site-finished wood does not come with any protective coating on it; therefore, it needs to be sealed or waxed before being laid down for it to last longer without getting damaged by moisture or other environmental factors such as sunlight and humidity levels in your home or office building which may affect its longevity.
2. Wood type
Flooring made from solid wood is typically the most expensive but is also the most durable and long-lasting. Solid wooden floorings can be sanded, refinished, and repaired if needed, which isn’t possible with engineered wooden flooring. Engineered wood is lighter than solid wood, making it easier to move around and install on your own.
Laminate flooring is inexpensive because it’s thin and lightweight — perfect for high-traffic areas like kitchens and bathrooms. Laminate’s surface can be damaged by water or heat, so it’s not recommended for basements or bathrooms where moisture may cause damage over time. Vinyl flooring has an embossed pattern that gives it a wood appearance but doesn’t require sanding or refinishing as natural hardwood does over time; however, vinyl will scratch easily if not properly maintained.
3. Determine Plank Width
The size of the planks used in solid and engineered wooden floors can vary widely. The most common sizes are 3/4 inch, 1 inch, and 1-1/2 inches. The larger the plank width, the more stable it will be. This is because wider planks have fewer seams, which means minor splitting or cracking over time. However, if you have high-traffic areas in your home where you frequently walk, such as around doors or near stairs, smaller planks may be better for durability since they’re easier to replace when needed.
4. Consider the room’s purpose
When choosing wooden flooring, your most important step should be to consider the purpose of each room in your home. For example, if you have a family room where children play and dogs lounge, you might want to opt for laminate or engineered wooden flooring instead of solid wood. The size of your room will determine how many pieces of wood are needed to cover it with wooden floorings. It would help if you also considered whether or not you want any gaps between each piece of wood, as this will affect how much money you spend on them and how easy it will be to clean up spills.
5. Quality of the wood
The quality of the wood is one of the most important factors when choosing wooden flooring. It is recommended that you always select high-quality woods that are durable and have a good finish. Its quality affects its price. So it may be better to spend money on quality rather than using cheaper ones that might need repairs later.
6. Maintenance
If you live near water or have pets, you’ll want to ensure your wooden floorings are sealed with an oil-based sealer. That resists water damage and makes cleaning easier. You don’t want to use a water-based sealer such as linseed oil because it will eventually dry out and crack over time due to its low viscosity (or thickness).
7. Consider your budget
Your budget is another essential factor to remember when shopping for wooden flooring. If you’re looking at solid hardwood, expect to pay more than you would for engineered or laminate floors. Due to higher material and labor costs associated with the installation and finishing of solid hardwood floors. Solid hardwood floors are also more prone to defects and natural variations in color that may affect their appearance over time. If price is an issue, consider laminate or engineered flooring instead because they’re less expensive than solid hardwood and easier to maintain by yourself.
8. Pick Your Grain Pattern
When choosing wooden flooring, it is important to consider the grain pattern. They can add warmth and texture to a room but can also be overwhelming if they don’t go with the rest of your decorating scheme. The good news is that there are so many different kinds of grain patterns out there — from rustic to modern — that there’s bound to be something that works for you! The appearance of your wooden flooring can be affected by how the light hits the wood. A hardwood floor with a smooth grain pattern will reflect light and appear shinier than a wavy or undulating pattern. Softer woods like pine or cedar have a more pronounced grain that absorbs light rather than reflects it, making them seem less shiny.
9. Select Solid or Engineered Flooring
Solid wooden flooring has more character than engineered, but it’s more expensive and must be installed perfectly to avoid warping. Engineered flooring is less expensive than reliable and easier to install because it doesn’t require as much precision during installation. However, the edges may look slightly different from the rest of the board once you place them in your home due to their construction method.
10. Choose the Type of Finish
The finish is the protection applied to the wood after it has been sanded and polished. The finish enhances the natural beauty of the wood and protects it from damage caused by water, heat, scratches, and stains. There are three types of finish: matte, satin, and high gloss. Matte finishes are much less shiny than other finishes. The more light you have in the room, the less reflective the finish will be — so if you’re looking for something with a little more shine, consider satin or glossy finishes. High gloss floors are often too shiny for areas like bathrooms and kitchens, where they can become slippery when wet. The sheen on these floors is also more prone to showing scuffs and scratches over time. Satin finishes fall between matte and high gloss in terms of sheen and reflectivity. They’re generally not as reflective as high gloss floors but not as dull as flat floors; they’re perfect for most rooms in your home.
How to Install Hardwood Floors?
Installing hardwood floors is not for everyone. It takes a lot of patience and precision, but the results will last you for decades. If you’re installing hardwood floors for the first time, don’t worry — even if you make some mistakes, they are easily fixable.
Below are some useful tips on how to install hardwood floors:
1. Tools and Materials
When installing hardwood flooring, it’s essential to have the right tools and materials. Hardwood flooring installation requires a few tools that are specific to the job. You’ll need a hammer, a utility knife, a chisel, an electric drill with bits, a measuring tape and square, a chalk line, and a drywall square. The materials you will need include wood glue, nails or screws for attaching the baseboards and quarter round moldings (if applicable), sandpaper for smoothing out any rough spots in the wood after installation is complete, a tack cloth for removing excess sawdust from your work area before applying stain or polyurethane finish
2. Determine the Installation Method
Before installing hardwood floors, you’ll need to decide which method is best. There are several methods of installation, including floating, glue-down and nail-down. Floating is the easiest method: The wooden flooring is laid on top of the existing subfloor without additional support. Glue-down is similar to floating, but instead of just laying the flooring on top of the subfloor, nails or screws are used to secure it onto the subfloor and into place. Nail-down requires additional materials like underlayment and adhesives; it’s slightly more complex than either floating or glue-down.
3. Let Your Floors Acclimate
Before installing your hardwood floor, it needs to acclimate to your home for at least 24 hours. Wood expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity, so if you install a new hardwood floor on top of an old one that’s been in place for any time, there could be problems later on. To avoid this problem, wait for your new hardwood floor to acclimate before starting installation. This means allowing them to sit in your home for at least 24 hours after arriving so that the wood’s moisture content can equalize with the ambient humidity level in your home. This process is called “seasoning” and helps prevent cracking or warping.
4. Prepare the subfloor
The subfloor is the surface directly below the flooring. If possible, start by removing everything from the room that will be receiving new flooring. This includes furniture, appliances, trim, and cabinetry. You may need to move heavy items into another room or onto the driveway during installation. Ensure it’s level, clean, and dry before installing wooden floorings. If you have a concrete subfloor, seal it with an appropriate product before installing wooden flooring, especially if your home has a crawl space or basement with moisture problems.
5. Install the Flooring
Once you’ve gathered all of these materials together, it’s time to get started on the actual installation process! Installing hardwood flooring involves cutting boards to fit around doorways, windowsills, electrical outlets, and other obstructions; laying planks perpendicular to one another along walls; locking them together by resting one plank on edge against another; then nailing them together using unique nails called pneumatic nails that have tiny heads that compress as they are driven into place, so there is no risk of splitting them apart when driving them into place (pneumatic means air-operated)
6. Finish the Edges of Your Flooring
Make sure all your wooden floorings are level and flush with each other. The best way to do this is by using a laser leveler, a long, rectangular piece of equipment with lasers on it. It allows you to see where your wooden flooring is uneven and make adjustments accordingly. If you don’t have access to one of these devices, you can use the old-fashioned method: making marks on the floor at various places throughout the room with tape or chalk and then checking those marks against one another when you’re done laying down all of your wood planks.
Also Read: Get Customized Furniture with ABIKO