Types Of Hardwood Floors

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Solid Wood (Strongly Recommended )

Solid wood comes in three basic types:

•        STRIP - This flooring accounts for the majority of installations.
Strips usually 2-1/4 inches wide, but also come in widths ranging from 1-
1/2 inches to 3-1/4 inches. They are installed by nailing to the sub-floor.

•        PLANK - flooring boards are at least 3 inches wide. They may be
screwed to the sub-floor as well as nailed. Screw holes can be covered
with wooden plugs.

•        PARQUET - flooring comes in standard patterns of 6" x 6" blocks.
Specialty patterns may range up to 36" square units. Parquet often
achieves dramatic geometric effects of special design patterns.
Solid wood floors can be installed on a concrete slab as long as the floor
is on or above ground level. They can be sanded and refinished over
several generations of use.

Solid wood flooring expands and contracts with changes in your home's
relative humidity. Normally, installers compensate for this movement by
leaving an expansion gap between the floor and the wall. Base
moulding is the traditional "cover-up" for this gap.



Engineered wood

Made of several layers of different woods or different grades of same
wood stacked and glued together under heat and pressure. Engineered
wood flooring is less likely to be affected by changes in humidity and can
be installed above, on, or below ground level. Some engineered wood
floors with thicker top layers can be sanded up to three times. Some
can't be sanded at all.


Wood laminates

A plywood base topped with a layer of veneer. Plies and thicknesses
vary, but three-ply, 3/8 inch flooring is most common. (Remember that
solid hardwood floors, at 3/4 inch, are twice as thick as wood
laminates.) The veneer topping of wood laminate floors (commonly 1/8
inch thick) can be sanded and refinished (in rare cases, three times.)
Most manufacturer warranties cover the finish for five years.


Synthetic/plastic laminates

Usually 1/2 inch thick, plastic laminate flooring consists of a fiberboard
center wrapped in top and bottom layers of high-pressure laminate -- a
tougher version of the same material used in many kitchen countertops.
These floors cannot be sanded or refinished and must be removed
when they wear out. They usually come with 10- or 15-year
manufacturer warranties against fading, stains and wear.

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