Hardwood flooring is one of the most popular types of flooring. It offers a timeless, classic look that transcends styles and can add considerable value to a property.
A variety of wood species including maple, oak and hickory among others are used for hardwood flooring. The hardwood is stained to bring out grain and colour and then sealed to prevent dents and damage. Hardwood floors are rated from soft to hard depending on wood species but even the softest hardwood is still reasonably tough.
What Is Solid and Engineered Hardwood?
Hardwood floors are available in two types: solid and engineered. Solid hardwood flooring is made from a single wood species, while engineered hardwood is made from layers of wood.
Engineered flooring can be installed in more places than solid flooring. Engineered hardwood can be floated, glued or nailed over a variety of surfaces including concrete. Solid hardwood, however, must be nailed or stapled to a subfloor and should not be installed in basements.
With time, any hardwood floor will start to show wear. The good news is a hardwood floor can be refinished and restored to its original appearance for much less than purchasing and installing a new floor. Here again there are differences between solid and engineered flooring.
- Solid hardwood flooring can be refinished over and over, while engineered flooring can be refinished from one to three or four times depending on the thickness of the outer wood layer. Therefore, solid flooring lasts much longer.
- Solid flooring is slightly more expensive than engineered flooring but the price difference is not substantial.
How Do I Choose a Hardwood Floor?
When deciding on a hardwood floor, the key factors are type (solid or engineered), wood species, board size and brand. One factor that can be overlooked is foot traffic through a room. Harder wood species are less likely to be damaged by high traffic.
Narrow boards are less expensive than wider boards but wider boards have fewer seams. Also, the wider and longer a board is, the more expensive it will be per square foot. Cost per square foot also depends on wood species. Prefinished wood is a little more expensive than unfinished wood but won’t need to be finished after installation.
One of our most impressive hardwood brands is all Canadian. Mirage, based in Quebec, offers a completely customizable, very high-end hardwood flooring with many sizes and board widths including some that are not widely available. Mirage is known as the #1 hardwood flooring brand in North America for good reason and has won 37 awards.
At Straightline Custom Flooring, we have decades of experience with hardwood flooring installation and we offer a large selection of hardwood floors to choose from, making us your one-stop flooring store where you can shop with complete confidence. Contact us today to discover the exciting world of hardwood floors!
We carry the following Hardwood Flooring brands:
