Selecting the Hardwood Flooring that suites your needs

Hardwood flooring is suited to both casual and formal environments; they feel at home with modern or traditional and will compliment the decor of both minimalist and eclectic designs. Hardwood floors can be classic, rock, jazz, country, or hip hop. Today’s State-of-the-art technology coupled with an almost limitless choice of stains, finishes, styles and designs make wood one of the most practical and versatile choices available. Their beauty is enduring and like a fine glass of wine they mature with age.

Nature provides the inspiration when designing with hardwood flooring. The abundance of natural species provides a plethora of wood grain structures, each unique and each matching a particular décor. Oak contains abundent ring patterns and knots, and are best suited to traditional and rustic decors. However, adding a high gloss finish to your hardwood floors can make them elegant enough for any formal dining room. Maple, walnut and birch contain very little graining and lend themselves well to contemporary and modern designs.

The aesthetic appeal of wood is also influenced to a large extent by mineral streaking, the presence of knots as well as color and shade variation. These features are also used in the classification of wood.

Clear – This grade of wood is free of defects though it may have minor imperfections. This category of tends to be very consistent with little mineral streaking and knots, also making it the most expensive.
Select – The select grade of is almost clear, but contains more natural characteristics such as knots and color variations.
Common grades (No. 1 and No. 2) have more markings than either clear or select and are often chosen because of these natural features and the character they bring to a room.These grades of flooring have always been the least expensive, but the recent revival of the antique rustic look, has resulted in prices skyrocketing.

Performance is a very important aspect when selecting your wood floors. Some hardwood species are less porous than others, making them harder and less susceptible to denting and staining. The Janka Hardness Test provides the relative hardness of numerous hardwood species used in flooring. This should only be used as a general guide, as the hardness is also affected by growth region.

Plank construction and finish are also important factors when determining the durability of any wood. Plank construction comes in two forms, solid and engineered. Factors such as type of existing sub floor and relative air humidity will determine which floor is best suited to your needs. Great advancements in finish technology have resulted in floors that are less susceptible to scratching, denting, fading; and are easier to maintain. The addition of Aluminum Oxide to the surface finish, has added a measure of performance resulting in a floor that, maintained properly, should never have to be replaced.