Wood flooring is potentially the most popular flooring kind, getting increasingly so in the past few decades. Its natural organic look, huge species, grain and colour variations make it a versatile match to any room layout. This growing popularity has lead to the increase in new wood flooring kinds, most especially ‘Laminate Flooring’. Despite some reservations among purists, laminate flooring is a economical alternative to real wood flooring, and in reality, has a few benefits compared to real timber, the most significant of which is durability.
The outer layer consists of cellulose paper bearing a photographic picture of wood which has been impregnated with melamine resin; the consequent material is extremely tough and offers high impact resistance; it is in fact more than ten times tougher than normal hardwood. Laminate flooring don’t fade or tarnish because they resists ultra violet light, and so, retain a freshly laid appearance. One noteworthy attraction to this kind of flooring is that the ease by which it can be fitted. Normally, laminate floor systems are glueless and floating (that they do not require adjusting to the sub floor beneath,) rather they rely on a method of interlocking tongues and grooves to make a solid mass. When fitted, a gap has been retained around the outside of the ground to allow it to expand and contract at its normal rate.
Natural wood flooring fall into two main classes: Solid or Engineered.
Solid wood floors are the most natural form of timber flooring. They’re machined straight from logged wood as complete, single planks; and fit together with a straightforward’tongue and groove’ (usually nailed). Due to the characteristics of pure wood, there are size limitations to the thickness and width of boards so as to keep their integrity-resisting self indulgent and dividing. The most important benefit of a good hardwood flooring is that it can be resurfaced multiple occasions by trimming the top layer and refinishing. These days, more care is taken to insure wood supplies are harvested from renewable resources in order to be conducive to the environment.
Engineered wood floors are produced by layering strips of wood (known as ply) in opposing grain instructions (three to five total) with a top layer of pre-finished veneer-cheaper types occasionally substitute plywood using MDF board. Based on the thickness of the surface veneer, engineered floors can be sanded down and refinished to remove scratches; however, much care must be taken to insure sanding doesn’t exceed the thickness of the top layer since this will disclose the lesser-grade wood below. This sort of plank structure allows for strong, stable–nonetheless thinner flooring, which (such as laminate flooring) is generally placed as a floating floor system.
Wood floors do not perform well in places prone to excessive moisture or moist; therefore, if used in kitchens or bathrooms, care has to be taken to avoid spills settling for protracted periods of time since this will lead to permanent, irreversible damage.
If you are contemplating using wood flooring, then take a little time to think about the various options in order to assure your final decision causes a flooring that is sufficiently suitable for the place and therefore gives you years of low-maintenance, freshness and beauty.