Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring continues to be a popular, warm, beautiful choice for residential homes. Is it a green product? Well, hardwood is a genuinely natural product that is a renewable resource. You can purchase FSC wood - wood that is grown and harvested in a sustainable manner. Also, if you have access to local wood from a mill or lumberyard, you will save on shipping costs and lower fuel consumption. Hardwood has never gone out of style for good reasons. It is a durable, natural, warm product that adds value and beauty to any space.
Although typically not used in bathrooms due to water concerns, wood is an option for just about any other room in your home. Types of Hardwood FlooringThere are three basic types of hardwood used for floors, any of which may be available unfinished or pre-finished.Solid Strip HardwoodStrip flooring is enormously popular and is possibly the least expensive of the three types. Simply, strips of wood are placed end to end, often in a tongue and groove pattern. The natural grain of the wood are placed so they run in the same direction.Thicknesses of the wood can vary. Even though thicker strips are more expensive, keep in mind that they can most likely be re-sanded and refinished after a number of years. Some of the super-thin wood would disfigure with any attempt to refinish. Solid Hard Wood Flooring also carries the advantage of having no engineered components that may be glued together with a formaldehyde resin. Thus, out gassing of toxic formaldehyde gas will not pose a problem if the solid hardwood flooring is sealed correctly. (If the sub floor is made of engineered wood, you will want to be certain that it is sealed off completely from the living area.)
Wide Plank Wood FlooringWide plank wood may be substantially wider than the strip type, and it comes in various widths.Again, you will want to know if the planks are solid hardwood or if they are engineered in some way.
Laminate may carry the wide plank look, or it may be in strip form or parquet form. However, although less expensive, laminate may have some health concerns. Wide planks of wood used to be common in the older days, and is enjoying somewhat of a comeback currently. Some people prefer the look. You will likely know with one view which style you prefer - strip or wide plank.
Parquet FlooringA parquet floor is for those who like more of a design on their wood floor. It is often shaped into wide squares, with numerous smaller pieces of wood contained within the square.Parquet has many patterns available, and also comes in engineered and
laminated
forms.
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