Hardwoods - Plain and Simple

As you search through the different types of wood floors available, you will undoubtedly hear many new terms that describe the varied types of wood flooring products that are available to you.  We at Floor Coverings & More, Inc., want to help you understand the language of wood flooring, so that you can make the right decision for your home.

Floor Coverings & More, Inc. provides the finest in wood flooring products.  From traditional custom crafted job-finished wood flooring to high quality pre finished wood floorings, you will have the finest materials and installation available to you!

Why Choose a Real Hardwood Floor?

Real wood floors made of Maple, Oak, Pine, Beech, Elm, and Pecan should be familiar to you as the countless city streets that are named after these trees. Their rich natural colors and handcrafted quality are what we have come to expect in American homes.

Some quick reasons why you should choose real wood:

• Natural, warm, authentic color.
• Simple, yet decorative for any room in the house.
• Rugged, yet charming.
• Durable, yet easy to care for.
• Beauty that's hard to tire of.
• Adds real value to a home.

Wood vs. Laminate

Plastic laminate flooring looks and acts just like a real wood floor, right? Well, not exactly. The countertop industry has entered the world of floor covering in the past few years with a product called plastic laminate flooring. While these floors have somewhat the appearance of wood, upon closer inspection they can be seen to be more closely related to cardboard. The printed wood image can be as thin as a human hair and when chipped it exposes the fiberboard core of the panel.

The visual appearance of the printed wood pattern may look great in a small sample, but in a large area you will notice how the pattern of the flooring panel repeats - usually about every five boards. Also, when you walk upon a plastic laminate floor your footsteps make a hollow, tip-tappy sound.

So why "fake it" when you can have a real wood floor that adds real value to your home?

Wood vs. Carpet

Carpeting is more economical, right? Actually, carpeting lasts between seven and ten years under normal residential use. Hardwood floors can last a lifetime and are always in style.

Here's a 30-year comparison test you can use when trying to decide between carpeting or wood flooring. Say you installed a hardwood floor. It would typically last for 30 years. During that same period you probably would have to install new carpeting four or five times. At that rate, the hardwood flooring actually costs less than the cumulative cost of all the carpeting you would have to install.

Another thing you need to consider is the cleanliness of your home. A large American company that recycles old carpeting has stated that most used carpeting it receives for processing contains at least 35% of its weight in household dirt. The families who owned this old carpeting were actually walking, or crawling on dirt. Hardwood flooring is simply cleaner. If it is dirty, the dirt is plainly visible to the eye, not hidden within carpet fibers. Hardwood flooring may be your best buy and most solid investment.

Different Types of Wood Flooring

• Oak
  Red Oak is a strong, open grained wood that has a range in color of white, yellow and pink.  Red oak is sometimes streaked with green, yellow and black mineral deposits and may contain some wide grain.
• Cherry
  Cherry is an elegant, multi-colored hardwood, which may contain small knots and pin holes.  Natural or light stains accent this color variations making a distinctive statement in a full kitchen (or bathroom). Cherry wood will darken or "mellow" with age.  This mellowing is a natural occurrence and the benefit of owning a solid Cherry kitchen.
• Maple
  Hard Maple is a strong, close-grained wood that is predominantly off-white in color, although it also contains light hues of yellow-brown and pink.  Hard Maple occasionally contains light tan or small dark mineral streaks.
• Birch
  Natural Birch is a medium density hardwood with a fine, moderate pattern.  The predominant sapwood color is white to creamy yellow, while the heartwood varies in color from medium or dark brown to reddish brown.  This range in color makes a distinctive statement in your Birch cabinetry selection.

Understanding Wood Floors

• Square Edges. A square edge means that there are no grooves in the floor.  Planks or strips blend together, creating a focus on the overall floor rather than the individual boards.  Typically, the polished look of this treatment makes it a natural for more traditional homes.
• Beveled Edges. When laid side by side, the angled edges of the beveled planks form grooves that seemingly outline each individual board.  This effect, created when the edge of the board is milled at a slight angle, is most often utilized in more casual, relaxed rooms.
• Micro-Beveled or eased edges. The edges of each board are slightly angled during the milling process, making the outline effect around each individual board less pronounced than a beveled edge, but still apparent.
• Factory Finished Floors. Save time and headaches by purchasing wood that has been prefinished during the manufacturing process.  This eliminates on-site sanding and staining (which creates a big mess) and potential delays.  Perhaps most importantly, you also get a consistent finish quality with every floor.
• Strip flooring.  Strip flooring is 2-1/4" wide.  It creates a linear effect in a room and promotes the illusion of having a larger space.  This type of flooring looks great in any décor, particularly contemporary ones.
• Plank flooring. Perfect for capturing a more casual style, plank flooring varies in width from 3" to 7-11/16".
• Floating wood floors. Manufactured in large, wide, pre-assembled wood panels that make installation fast and easy.  The individual boards actually 'float' above the subfloor or slab with no direct attachment.
• Trim and Moulding.  The finishing touches for your hardwood installation, trim and mouldings are often prefinished and are milled for an accurate fit.  Trim and mouldings are available in a complete array of colors and profiles (transitional and threshold moulding, quarter-round trim and stair nosing), to complement your selection.

Hardwood Floor Maintenance

Check out our Hardwood Flooring Maintenance section to learn how to care for your wood floor investment.