Real hardwood flooring offers many well-known advantages.
Its surface can be renewed and its color changed numerous times.
It is the only type of flooring that will add structural strength to your house.
It’s natural, beautiful, warm, and easy to maintain.
It costs about as much as other quality floor coverings, but it lasts dozens of years.
It also creates a healthy environment, minimizing the risks of dust allergies.
Available in many styles with a wide variety of features, hardwood flooring can complement any decor. A real hardwood floor enhances a home’s interior and adds much to its resale value. Take the time to compare the many possible floor coverings and consider their benefits over the long term. Think about the feeling you want to give your home. Avoid imitations, especially wood-look laminates. Natural is beautiful! Above all, choose wood for your home because you love its warm, classical beauty.
Unfinished hardwood will have a square edge, and you can customize the color or sheen of the finish. It can be installed over an imperfect subfloor that cannot be easily leveled. You can re-coat this type of floor after years of use and bring its looks back to life without having to refinish it. When you see signs of wear like dullness in the top coat and scuff marks everywhere, a light buffing and one or two new coats of finish will restore the look of your floor. Never let the finish wear completely out. When that happens, exposed wood will get dirty, and coating it over will not make it go away. You will need to refinish the floor. Solid or engineered pre-finished hardwood will have either a microbevel or a full bevel edge. This type of edge is used to help level minor disparities between hardwood flooring pieces, especially if there is a height difference between two pieces. Some manufacturers add an easing edge to both the length of the planks as well as the end joints. When you look at a pre-finished floor, you will see the contour of every single board. If this floor gets scratched or scuffed, it cannot be recoated. You need to refinish it. I refinished kitchen floors with this type of flooring that were 5–6 years old. You also need a very flat subfloor. Milling imperfections create gaps that can’t be filled; boards that are slightly higher than the rest of the floor because of imperfections in the subfloor cannot be sanded flat.
If your hardwood floors are dull, worn or scratch spot areas begin to appear.
Re-coating involves abrading or screening the old finish on the existing floor to make it compatible for applying another layer of new finish. Minor surface scratches and markings from moving furniture can usually be removed; however, deep scratches or impressions would probably not be removed and a full sanding would work best. Full sanding involves removing all the old layers of finish.
The recoat process is dust-free.
The full sanding process is 99.9% dust-contained. Most of the dust is extracted through a vacuum system, and we always take the extra step of cleaning once the work is done.
Don’t be surprised to find pet stains or other similar stains on the hardwood floor. Most of the dirt, grime, and stains can be removed. Pet Stains? In some cases, pet stains can be removed with sanding, but only if the stain has not penetrated deep inside the wood. Damaged beyond sanding? If wood floors have significant damage, such as being rotten, then the wood boards would need to be replaced. What does wall-to-wall carpeting do to your living environment? (There are many issues with wall-to-wall carpeting; some of them, as seen below, was well described by the informed people at “One Earth, One Design.”) Wall-to-wall carpeting is one of the unhealthiest flooring materials for many reasons. Many of the components that make up carpeting can outgas a variety of chemicals into the air for a long period of time. Off-gassing or out-gassing refers to the release of gases during the life of a material. Many of these gases are considered toxic to many people as well as the environment. Heat and sunlight can increase the off-gassing rate. The components of the carpet are the face fibers (the top surface of the carpet), the primary backing (what the fibers are bonded to), and the secondary backing (which provides added strength and endurance and can be a special padding or moisture barrier layer). Off-gassing can occur from the chemicals used to make the fibers of the carpet itself, the backing systems used, finishing processes (including stain resistance and moth-proofing), and the adhesives used in attaching the backing systems to the carpet or in the installation process. The padding used may also cause out-gassing. It is very difficult to find a carpet and pad manufactured with non-toxic materials, and we are lucky to have found a wall-to-wall carpet, which is featured on this website. Another major problem with wall-to-wall carpeting is the cleaning process. It is impossible to remove all the soil and allergens that accumulate in the carpet through daily vacuuming. Inefficient filters in vacuums can cause dust and allergens to become airborne. Any damp cleaning method can allow mold, mildew, and dust mites to infest the carpet. Some people may be sensitive to the shampoos used. Some professional cleaners may add insecticides or fungicides, which are toxic. A central vacuum system is a good alternative. These systems are built into the walls, and they have an exhaust pipe that releases the dust outside. This system will eliminate the fine particles that can pass through the vacuum bags and be released into your home. To attain a truly healthy home, wall-to-wall carpeting should be avoided. There are wonderful alternatives to wall-to-wall carpeting. If you can install a hard surface floor—wood, cork, tile, linoleum, bamboo, etc.—you can simply add natural fiber area rugs. These types of rugs are generally much easier to clean and are available in a variety of styles and patterns. There are several people who prefer carpets, and prior to purchasing, you should become an informed buyer. It is important to find out the materials used in each component. The process to manufacture the product. stain-proofing or mothproofing treatments that may have been applied, installation methods required, and recyclability. Environmental impacts include the amount of fossil fuel required to produce carpets, transportation of the carpet, and disposal of carpets in landfills. 1.8 million tons of carpets and rugs are disposed of in landfills each year. Some carpet manufacturers have initiated a recycling program. The cost to the client has prevented many people from participating in these programs. Many manufacturers are using a percentage of recycled content. While this feature is good for the environment, it may still release toxins and be unsafe for people.
Wood flooring is a natural product that responds to humidity variations by expanding and contracting. Sometimes these changes may be noticeable. During warm and humid summers, wood expands. During dry weather, wood contracts. This seasonal movement is normal for wood flooring. The best way to reduce or prevent such movement is by installing humidity controls and making sure that they function before flooring is installed. In the winter, when homes are heated and the air is dry, wood flooring gives up some of its moisture and contracts as a result. When this happens, thin gaps can appear between planks. This is normal, and a homeowner should be prepared for it to occur. Once indoor heating is turned off in the spring and humidity levels rise again, most of the gaps will close up. To avoid these separations, try to control and monitor air humidity levels during the dry season by installing a humidifier in the furnace or bringing a movable humidifier into a room that has good air circulation. The optimal humidity level falls in the 45–60% range. As long as humidity does not fall lower than 45%, no gaps at all will appear between the planks. Installing a simple humidity meter will allow you to monitor and control humidity levels in your home all year round. During warm and humid summers, when indoor humidity can rise up to 90%, the opposite occurs. Wood absorbs moisture from the air and expands as a result. Even just a few days of exposure to high humidity can cause wood flooring to cup. When a wooden board cups, its edges are higher than its center. Cupping can also happen when spilled water is absorbed by the wood. Once cupping has occurred, it takes a while for the wood to restore its internal moisture and flatten out. When extensive moisture or humidity causes the wood to expand significantly, adjoining boards start pressing against each other. In extreme cases, this increased pressure can cause the affected boards to lose their structural integrity and crack. To avoid cupping, keep the indoor humidity level in your home or job site (prior to hardwood installation) within the 45–60% range. Never allow indoor humidity to rise over 65%. Maintain optimal humidity levels by keeping an air conditioner or dehumidifier running during hot, humid summer weather.