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Important Decisions
There are three (3) main decisions to make in selecting hardwood flooring:
1. Type of wood flooring (strip, plank, or parquet)
2. Solid wood flooring vs. engineered wood flooring
3. Wood flooring species (hardwoods, softwoods, exotic woods)
Types of Wood Flooring
Strip Flooring is the most common wood floor found in older homes. It has a tongue-and-groove edge and end, can be pre-finished or unfinished, and comes in bundles of random lengths and several widths, 3" wide or less
Plank Flooring is similar to strip flooring, but the strips are wider (3" to 9"). It, too, has a tongue-and-groove edge and end, can be pre-finished or unfinished, and comes in bundles of random lengths.
Parquet Flooring is easier to install than strip and plank flooring. It is usually sold in 12" x 12" square tiles which are laid in a variety of geometric designs.
Solid Flooring vs. Engineered Flooring
Solid Wood Flooring:
is sold as unfinished or pre-finished. With unfinished boards, you get a wider
range of sizes, species, and finish options. With pre-finished boards, fewer
choices are available, but you get a floor you can walk on right away.
Engineered Wood Flooring:
looks like solid wood from the top, but is actually made up of several layers.
The top layer is hardwood; the other wood layers are less attractive and
less expensive, but are very stable. The layers are glued together with their
grain running in opposite directions to reduce the amount of expansion and
contraction.
Wood Flooring Species
Your choices in wood flooring species involve the wood's appearance, stability, and cost. The common hardwoods listed below are all extremely durable. Their colors/textures vary from coarse-grained ash and oak to the lighter, finer-grained maple, birch and beech.
- Oak: good stability rating, low cost
- Hevea: good stability rating, low cost
- Ash: good stability rating, moderate cost
- Maple: poor stability rating, moderate cost
- Birch: poor stability rating, moderate cost
- Beech: poor stability rating, moderate cost
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