The floor plays a pivotal role to beautify and make comfortable inside a room. A floor base can be various in types depending on the materials we use on it. The most common floors are cement plaster, tiles, woods, etc. Nowadays, wood flooring is more common than tiles and plaster. Therefore, this article aims for the types of wood flooring we can demonstrate inside our house.
Wood flooring is a famous flooring system in most developed countries. It is more expensive than tiles flooring. Thus, in the cities, you will observe these flooring systems in most of the houses. But in rural places, it is hard to find wood flooring in the homes. We have seen that one of the best reasons for wood flooring is a healthy environment.
Types of Wood Flooring
Before installing the floor, it is essential to know about the wood flooring types. Additionally, it is vital to learn more about each of the wood flooring types’ advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, if you want to replace your floor due to unusual scratches from furniture and pets, covered with stubborn stains due to dirty shoes. Then this guide will help you much more about the wood flooring types and their details.
In general, Wood flooring has three different types, Solid Hardwood Flooring, Laminate Flooring, and Engineered flooring systems. If we consider the materials, then except wood, we will consider Cork and Bamboo.
Solid Hardwood Flooring
A Solid Hardwood floor plank is a wood designed to be anywhere from 18mm to 20mm thick. Each of the solid hardwood flanks has a tongue and groove to fit one another consecutively for installation. We know there are different wood species available in different countries. Thus, depending on the species, the particular floor can be more challenging than the others. In this case, the stiffer the solid hardwood is, the less susceptible it is to scratch and dings. Therefore, before installing a Solid hardwood floor, we should be aware of the wood species first.
The Solid Hardwood Floors are easy to sand and refinish to restore their beauty with the total determined pieces by the tongue’s depth from the plank’s top. Solid hardwood is an excellent choice to increase the visual appeal in the house or business apartment. It also adds value to an institute or apartment. Concrete hardwood floor is easy to clean with simple sweeping, vacuuming, and occasional damp-mopping with an approved wood cleaner.
The Solid Hardwood is more durable, and we can do several sanding and refinishing processes on it. The Solid Hardwood floors last for 30 years and as much as 100 years. Depending on the prices, the Solid Hardwood floor is more expensive than the other flooring systems. But the price will depend on the species of wood and the cost of the raw materials.
The Solid Hardwood swells in moist conditions and contracts as the area dries. In this case, the change of shape can alter the appearance of the floor and cause problems. Installation requires good finishing and accurate measurements. Thus, Solid hardwood installation seems complex than the other flooring systems.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is a combination of multiple compressed layers. Each of the layers consists of fiberboards together and placing photographic images on the surface. It adds extra beauty to the floor. The photographic images can be many kinds, such as wood grains, stone, or tile patterns. Finally, there’s a protective coating on the photos to prevent the damage and add a finish to the floor.
Laminate flooring is a cost-effective option. It usually costs 3$ to 5$ per square feet depending on the types of layers and finishing. However, For an easy installation, there’s a click-lock system. The planks will snap together and be easy to install over the floor. Like Solid Hardwood, it is ideal for living areas, apartments, offices, and teaching institutes. Some brands may construct a waterproof core for the bathroom or areas where water may be an issue.
The laminate flooring system has grown significantly in popularity. People use laminate flooring more than solid hardwood because it is easier to install than solid hardwood.
High-quality laminate flooring planks will not match the look and feel of real wood floors. The continuous use over time will damage the joining areas. At that time, it is not easy to repair that particular place. On the other hand, the moisture damages the laminate easily; it is not easy to fix when it happens. If you couldn’t lay the laminate correctly, it will not be appealing to potential renters or buyers.
However, if everything goes fine, laminate flooring can be a stable and durable flooring system too. There is a variety of styles to match and décor. Therefore, laminate flooring meets all the requirements we may need for our floors.
Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered hardwood has three to four layers of wood glued together to produce a 14 mm thick plank. It is similar to laminate planks but engineered hardwood only uses wood rather than fiberboard. On this plank, a real wood surface is about 4 mm in thickness is at the top. It helps to sand and refinishes a limited number of times to get rid of damage, wear, and tear.
Engineered hardwood produces a more stable product and allows a feeling of real wood flavour in the house. In this case, more excellent stability means it is less prone to changes from humidity and temperature changes in the room. These hardwoods are more attractive than the laminated floors considering all the above features.
Engineered hardwood usually lasts from 20 years to 40 years of lifespan. It may cost $3 to $14 per square foot. In its lifespan, you may require sanding refinished once or twice a lifetime. Engineered hardwood is excellent resistance to warping. The plank thickness is from 3/8 inches to 9/16 inches, the width of 21/4 inches to 7 inches, and the plank length is 12 inches to 60 inches. The installation method requires nail down, floating, or glue down. For maintenance, Engineered hardwood and solid hardwood require the same care and cleaning method.
Finally, if you are looking for a real wood flavour, we suggest you go for solid hardwood and engineered hardwood. But if you are looking for the budgeted option, then we offer you go for engineered hardwood. With the best budget, you can get the real wood flavour.
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo floors are very famous in Asia because it is more prominent in these areas. The Bamboo floors come from bamboo grass stalks. Most of these floors come from china in a variety of styles and features. Bamboo Is entirely resistant to moisture. Bamboo is also environmentally friendly. These planks also got a tongue and groove mechanism like the Solid hardwood system.
Bamboo flooring is softer than any hardwoods. Thus, it is more comfortable, and therefore, it is not painful for an extended period of standing. On the other hand, the softness of bamboo will also reduce the noise. So, for studio and musical institutes, bamboo flooring can be the best choice.
The downside to bamboo is its cost and brittle state. Except for this, it is more durable because it is more susceptible to dings and scratches. Because of its price, we should be more careful while installing these planks over the floor.
Cork Flooring
Cork is very environmentally friendly and softer than bamboo. The Cork usually comes from a cork oak tree. Countries from Europe are famous for cork production. Cork is sustainable and renewable resources. Therefore, if you use cork for flooring, it is easy to repair and fix problems. Cork Flooring is ideal for the areas where people used to stand for long periods. Also, Cork flooring reduces the dropping object noise. If you have a kid in your house, you can think about it for your downward neighbours.
On the other hand, cork is softer than bamboo. Thus, it helps to absorb the noises. The structure of the cork planks allows for natural comfort too. However, the joining system is a click-lock system. The topmost part of this planks is the cork of 5-8 mm.
One of the downsides of cork planks is its price. It requires importing from Europe, so, it increases the cost due to international import-export. Usually, the price starts from $3 to $11 per square feet. Therefore, you should be more careful while installing it over your floor. If you didn’t install it correctly, you might not get the potential renters or buyers.
Finally, If you consider the softness of your floor, better go for cork planks. On the other hand, bamboo floors are also durable and stable too. Moreover, wood makes a live environment in your room. Depending on the price and usability, laminate floors and engineered floors can be the better choice.
What type of wood is the best and economical?
To find the best choice of yours, you know you have to focus on your position and necessities. Thus, we have noted down we sides that you might consider to find the best wood flooring for your house.
Floor Type
First of all you should be clear about your flooring type. If you want to get a pure wood environment in your apartment, better go for solid hardwood flooring type. On the other hand, if you don’t require pure wood, but want to have a flavour of wood in your apartment, better go for engineered hardwood or laminate flooring. Besides, Cork flooring and bamboo flooring are also very essential for protecting noises from outside. Cork and bamboo flooring are softer than the other flooring type. As we have mentioned before that, for long period of standing, you should go for bamboo or cork flooring. In this case, solid hardwood is total inappropriate for flooring because it got a rigid surface.
Therefore, we recoomend you should be more specific on your flooring type because it means a lot. Please read the above differences and justify which flooring type is appropriate for your apartment. And then, we recommend considering the next few points to get the best floor in your house or apartment.
Budget
Price is very important things to consider here. When you go for total house, you may get a huge budget to fulfill every corner of your floor. In this case, you have to do some research on your flooring type to get the best budgeted option. In Native land, solidhardwood and engineered hardwood is comparatively expensive than the others. Here, laminate flooring is suitable as the best budgeted option.
On the other hand, inside America bamboo and cork flooring is comparatively more expensive because bamboo grows better in asia and cork grows better in Europe. Therefore, importing all these increases the overall price of the flooring type. But basically, these are not expensive as the solidhardwood. If we consider the CFT prices of different wood species, we will find that the prices are in between $50 to $100 per cubic feet or CFT.
Therefore, we recommend you find the best and economical flooring type by considering all these factors in a row. If you have confusion, please read the above passages and note them down on your paper, you will get a better idea when you will finish the tabulation for each of these items. What you need to do is to note the basic points, such as comfort level, wood species, noise reduction, prices, and finally the stability and durability.
Conclusion
Know all these characteristics and types; it is now apparent in front of all of us. Now, it’s your time to go for the appropriate one. In this case, consider all of the types of wood flooring. Mark the upsides and downsides for all of them and go for decision. If you didn’t feel about the price, go for the most comfortable planks based on your requirements.
However, we hope we could demonstrate the types of wood flooring for you. If you face any obstacles, feel free to inform us on flooringforest.com. We will always be here to solve your problems.