Hardwood flooring is easily available in variety of colors, styles, cuts and finishes. The Eco-friendly functional benefits of hardwood flooring allow the users to install it at their preferred locations of their home. Selecting the type of hardwood floor that best suits the DIY abilities and space is an important part in setting up the new floor. You do not have to confuse the floor type with wood varieties, which we have clearly listed the types of hardwood floor that will help you to gain a clear idea of which you can install.
There are three types of hardwood floor. They are solid hardwood floors, engineered wood floors and acrylic impregnated wood flooring. Each of the types has its own species. Let us discuss the major types of hardwood floor in detail.
Solid wood floors
Solid wood flooring is available in pre-finished and unfinished version. Pre-finished flooring requires only installation, as the complete flooring is polished and wrapped at the factory. Unfinished flooring is polished at the job-site and it is wrapped after installation. It comes in three types.
1. Strip flooring. The width and thickness of the wood planks denotes the strip type flooring. This floor type has a standard width, from which the thickness can lightly differ. The thickness of strip floor ranges from 5/16 to 3/4 inches wide. It is obtainable in 1 1/2, 2, and 2 1/4 inches only.
2. Plank flooring. This type of flooring is usually available in two thicknesses. And, just like strip flooring type, the widths of plank flooring can vary. It is available in width size from 3 to 8 inches. The available two thicknesses of plank flooring are 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch.
3. Parquet flooring. This flooring has a classic different look from the usual hardwoods. It is fabricated by using individual wood boards in geometrical patterns. It is held in place by an adhesive or by mechanical binding option. It is easy to keep up and install the solid wood flooring varieties. Moreover, it can be fixed on grade or above the grade. It is very much flexible in commercial areas, where you can occasionally clean by using the products recommended by the manufacturer.
Solid wood flooring would wear easily or warp slightly in few years of installation. It can react to changes in climatic temperature, particularly to moisture.
Engineered wood flooring
Most of the people confuse laminate wood flooring with engineered wood flooring. Even the trained has failed to find the differences between two. It is manufactured by sticking layers of plastic cover veneer with real wood. Laminate flooring has no original wood, whereas engineered wood flooring is produced using natural wood material.
1. Birch hardwood floors. This type of flooring helps to create a modern, fashionable theme in your Eco-green house. Furthermore, it holds fine patterns and textured grains that provide in adding some depth to the general appearance of the floor. The major advantage of this wood is that it can be painted/finished as per your wish that is roughly in any shade.
2. Cherry wood floors. This is one of the popular varieties, especially for the modular homes. This is a sleek, elegant wood variety available in rich deep colors. Moreover, these cherry wood floors compliment well to all types of interior.
3. Bamboo hardwood floors. These bamboo floorings serve as the best choices for both building or renovating Eco-friendly homes. The main advantage of the bamboo material floors is that they defend against weathering and decaying. These bamboo hardwood floors are available in several shades like taupe, beige and brown.
4. Oak strip hardwood floors. Oak is one of the popular materials especially in United States and it is used for construction and renovation works. Oak flooring is sturdy, easy to keep up and durable. This type of flooring helps to compliment an Eco-friendly classic home. It is available in many deep brown shades.
Acrylic impregnated wood flooring
This type of flooring is produced by infusing the color and sealant throughout the wood material. This helps to give a complete finish that is actually seen throughout the wood. This flooring is usually common in commercial areas and not in residential projects. Moreover, this is a hard type floor that highly defends against moisture and scratches.
Conclusion
Engineered hardwood flooring serves as the best environmental friendly option for both commercial and residential areas. Though solid hardwood flooring is common option, but the recent engineered hardwood species are affordable and totally valuable. Some of other hardwood floor styles are chestnut, gingerwood, walnut, mahogany, pecan and ash. You can buy these materials according to the needs and living space.
