Enjoy the Looks of Hardwood Flooring in your Home
When renovating your home there are so many factors to consider there’s just not enough space to list them all. No homeowner has an unlimited budget and picking and choosing which projects to complete first can be a difficult task. Installing hardwood flooring in your home will not only increase its resale value, it will also add a sense of warmth and style that you just can’t get from tile floors.
Hardwood flooring is an ideal choice for family rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and even kitchens. Their natural beauty and ability to be stained in any shade imaginable compliments any room there installed in. There are two main categories that hardwood flooring can be broken down into: unfinished and prefinished.
The most common species of wood used for hardwood flooring would have to be oak followed by maple. Other species commonly used for both unfinished and prefinished wood floors are walnut, cherry, mahogany, and bamboo. Unfinished wood flooring arrives from the factory in its natural state, ready for installation. The most common widths for hardwood flooring are 2 ½” but manufacturers make flooring in 3 ½”, 4” and 6” widths as well.
The emergence of pre-finished hardwood flooring has quickly become a popular choice since it eliminates the time consuming steps required to finish the floor. Pre-finished wood flooring is offered in oak, maple, mahogany, cherry, bamboo and walnut in the widths mentioned above. Pre-finished wood floors also come in countless stain variations to please even the most demanding of homeowners. After to the stain process, wood flooring also receives several coats of polyurethane at the factory to complete the pre-finishing process. The polyurethane helps to protect the floor from everyday wear and tear enabling the manufacturer to provide warranties of up to 15 years. Since the pre-finished floors are solid wood they can also be re-finished once their luster begins to fade.
There are several steps in the installation process for unfinished hardwood floors that are not required for pre-finished floors. Before the flooring is installed a layer of rosin paper must be installed over the plywood subfloor. The rosin paper acts like a vapor barrier between the subfloor and hardwood floor. When installing the rosin paper its recommended to overlap the seams by at least 6” to ensure proper coverage.
After the rosin paper is installed, the installation of the wood flooring can begin. Whether you decide to go with a pre-finished or natural wood, the installation of the actual flooring is the same. All hardwood flooring is tongue-and-groove meaning that the tongue section of one piece fits perfectly into the groove of another piece. The floor is then nailed to the sub floor with a special nail gun that uses either flooring nails or staples. When laying out the floor, it’s important to remember to stagger the butt end seams of each row so that they are at least 8” away from each other.
If a natural unfinished wood floor has been installed then there are several steps required to finish the floor. Once all the flooring has been installed then the finish process can begin. First the floor must be sanded to remove any imperfections. If a certain color is desired then a mix of stains can be concocted to achieve any color imaginable. After the stain is applied the floor must dry for at least 24 hours. Then at least two more coats of clear polyurethane will be applied to give the floor a great glow and help protect it against fading. If the homeowner prefers the natural look of the wood selected, than the polyurethane can be applied directly after the flooring has been installed. The whole process takes about 4 days to complete during which there can’t be any type of foot traffic on the floors.
Installing a hardwood floor is no easy task, especially if it’s going to require a natural or stained finish. The initial sanding of an unfinished floor requires a delicate touch so as not to leave any visible marks on the flooring. Not to mention the sanding equipment required to perform this work is quite expensive.
Homeowners who spend the time to research the best hardwood floor for their home coupled with a reputable contractor to install it will enjoy all the benefits a beautiful hardwood floor can bring to a home.
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