How to Select Wood Flooring Supplies?

Answer 1

Today, no other flooring material is as popular as hardwood floors. The natural warmth and beauty of hardwood is hard to resist and will create an elegant look in any home that will last for years. Anyone who has shopped for hardwood flooring supplies knows how many choices are out there and may feel overwhelmed by the number of choices. Luckily, the only real choice that a person shopping for wood flooring supplies needs to make is the decision among choosing solid hardwood, engineered hardwood, or laminate floors.

Solid hardwood planks are the most traditional types of hardwood flooring and are constructed out of solid pieces of lumber. They are either glued or nailed into place, depending on the structure of the subsurface. Engineered hardwood floors are slightly different than solid hardwood floors. This type of flooring is created from chips and strips of wood that have been compressed and held together with some sort of binding agent. The top layer is a thin slice of wood, which gives the finished plank the look and feel of solid hardwood. Finally, homeowners can buy laminate flooring, which is made out of resin that has been treated to look like real wood.

As far as price goes, solid and engineered hardwood floors are much more expensive than laminate flooring. Although one might expect solid hardwood flooring supplies to cost more than engineered floors, this is not the case. In fact, they are almost equal in price.

Many people are also concerned about the durability of their hardwood floors. The one negative aspect about having solid or engineered hardwood floors is that they can be damaged after prolonged use. They can scratch and discolor over time. Solid hardwood floors can be sanded and restained many times. On the other hand, engineered hardwood floors can only be sanded and restained a couple of times due to the way that they are constructed. At the opposite end of the spectrum, laminate flooring supplies never need restaining or sanding. They are highly resistant to impacts, scratching, and discoloring, making them ideal choices for high-traffic areas like kitchens and entry halls.

Finally, the choice on flooring supplies may also depend on the underlying substructure upon which the floor will sit. Solid hardwood floors can be difficult to install over concrete slabs since they need to be nailed into place. In order to install a solid hardwood floor over a slab, contractors will have to glue down plywood and possibly sand the slab down to the correct height. Engineered floors can be glued directly to concrete, though. As for laminate flooring, it can be installed above any type of substructure without any problem.