|
Hardwood Flooring 101
By Liz Smith, Fri Dec 9th
Nothing adds warmth and value to a home like wood floors. Over90 percent of real estate agents in a national survey said thathomes with wood floors sell more quickly and for higher pricesthan other homes without wood flooring. Some
people shy away from hardwood flooring because they believe that they'rehigh maintenance. Nothing could be further from the truth.Today's specially formulated finishes are as tough as they arebeautiful. Only occasionally will you want to do a thoroughcleaning with a recommended wood floor cleaning solvent, andit's well worth it to keep your wood floors in glowing goodhealth.
Another concern many people have is that wood floors are somehowbad for the environment. Actually, wood floors are ecologicallyfriendly. Recycled wood from old ships, barns and even old woodfloors is highly prized for its "distressed" characteristics.Wood is also a good choice for allergy sufferers since itssurface doesn't collect dust, dander and other allergens. There are many types and styles of wood floors and many types ofwood can be used in them. The most common styles are: ˇ Strip - A floor made up of wood strips averaging 2"
in width.Strip flooring is ideal for small rooms as it makes the roomseem larger than it actually is.ˇ Plank - Plank flooring uses larger wood boards ranging from 3"to 6" in width. ˇ Parquet - This popular style is made up of wooden pieces thatcombine to create an attractive pattern. The simplest parquetpattern is a 6" x 6" checkerboard design, but there is really nolimit to how complex a parquet floor pattern can become. Woodfloors can be protected by a transparent varnish that lets thewood's natural tint show through or they can be stained anycolor you like to complement any décor scheme. Over 50 differentspecies of woods are used in wood flooring, including familiardomestic woods such as Pine, Oak, and Maple as well as moreexotic woods like Bamboo, Mesquite and Teak. All of these woodsvary in hardness and wear resistance, so consider the trafficpatterns where they will be installed.
With all the flooring options available to the homeowner toconsider,
wood flooring remains a very popular choice. They'remore affordable
than you might think, and they maintain theirbeauty and value as
time goes by. As the expression goes, "It'sthe wood that makes it
good!"
|
