You need to consider the style you’re trying to convey in the room:

• If your tastes are more Contemporary you may want to use a narrow 2-1/4″ or 3-1/4″ wide board in a lighter natural color of the wood.
• If you like a more Traditional look, then you may want to use a 4″ or narrower board width with a medium to light color.
• If you are looking for a more Country style, then you may want to use a 5″ wide board with a darker to light color with possibly a lot of character such as lighter and darker boards with knots and pin (worm) holes, which has become extremely popular.
• If the flooring is going to be Heavily Trafficked, then we may suggest using a wood species like natural oak that has a lot of graining and or character to diffuse any scratches the floor may encounter.

Decisions seem endless when selecting just the right Hardwood floor for the rooms in your home. There are a variety of wood species, colors and grain patterns to consider. The wood floor area is one of the largest expanses of color or pattern in a room. Your Hardwood flooring should compliment the fabrics, furnishings, and cabinets already present in the space, all while enhancing your unique personality.

The most popular wood species used in Hardwood flooring is Red Oak Natural Or White Oak Natural in either 2-1/4″ or 3-1/4″ wide boards. However, these days anything goes and a lot more people are choosing exotic wood species such as Brazilian Cherry or Santos Mahogany — with dark, rich, reddish colors. Bamboo and Cork flooring are also becoming more popular. Darker colors are most often used in formal or traditional interiors, while lighter colors work best in country, casual and contemporary settings.

Hardwood flooring can be installed on any grade in your home. If you’re installing below grade (in a basement), or over any concrete slab on any level you’d need to use an engineered floor. Engineered wood floors are manufactured with cross layers of plywood as a stable base, and then a top layer of real wood is placed on top (called a wear layer). Because these engineered wood floors are often more stable than solid wood floors, they can withstand minor moisture level changes better than solid Hardwood flooring can. The solid wood floor could possibly cup and buckle in high moisture prone areas like basements.

The only exception would be in bathrooms. We do not recommend any type of hardwood floor in a full bathroom where water will be splashed or spilled on it. Hardwood or Laminate flooring can work well in half-baths where there is no tub/shower or high humidity. The best option for full baths would be Ceramic Tile or Vinyl flooring.

Although engineered wood floors are more stable in below ground situations, you will still need to use an appropriate underlayment with a moisture blocking pad when installing using a floating method. If you are using a direct glue-down method for installation we recommend applying a coat of MVP (moisture block) over the concrete to block out moisture before putting down the adhesive.

Solid Hardwood flooring is milled from the log as a solid piece of wood. These boards expand and contract with relative humidity changes within its environment. In extreme relative humidity changes within your home, the solid boards can expand causing cupping and/or buckling of the floor boards. If the homes environment is too dry, the solid boards can contract (shrink), leaving gaps between the floor boards. Solid wood flooring is not recommended for below grade installation and must be nailed down or glued down. We recommend keeping the homes relative humidity level between 40-55%.

In comparison, Engineered Hardwood flooring is manufactured with multiple cross layers of plywood to increase stability with a thinner real wood top layer. This construction counteracts the natural tendency of wood to expand and contract with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. Engineered wood flooring can be installed in any room in the home, whether on grade, above grade or below grade. Engineered wood floors are generally nailed or stapled down as well as direct glued. We recommend keeping the homes relative humidity level between 30-60%.

Also becoming more popular, is the Click Loc type of floating method which makes installing an engineered Hardwood Floor very easy for the DIY. Some are manufactured with exclusive snap-together tongue and groove systems, specifically for the floating installation method. Using the floating technique, engineered floors can be installed over a variety of surfaces using an underlayment pad. If a floor can be floated, it will list “float” as an installation method at the top of the collection description.

There are pros and cons when using either solid or engineered floors. Obviously stability is an advantage of using engineered flooring because of the cross layers. A disadvantage is that some engineered flooring styles have a very thin veneer wear layer, which cannot be completely sanded and refinished if ever needed. In heavy traffic areas of your house, you might want to consider an engineered floor with a thicker wear layer .

Purchasing “Quality” Prefinished Wood Flooring allows you the durability of the Newer Factory Applied Only Finishes like “Aluminum Oxide – Ceramic – Titanium,” particles are mixed with the finish to create a very abrasive and wear resistant finish. Installing a prefinished wood floor eliminates days of waiting for the finish to dry, the dust/odors and sanding machine marks associated with the on-site sanding and finishing of an unfinished wood floor. A prefinished Hardwood floor can be installed in a day where you can move right back in. An unfinished flooring installation may require up to 3-4 days along with staying off the floor for days while the finish dries.

No matter how durable the finish is, grit, stones, and water tracked onto a wood floor can cause premature wearing and scratching of the finish. High heel shoes can indent the wood’s surface. To make the floors finish last the longest, we suggest using heavy mats outside all exterior doors with small rugs on the wood flooring at all entrances and in front of sinks and stoves. Regularly vacuum the Hardwood flooring using a soft bristle brush and install felt chair glides on the bottoms of all chairs and furniture. Clean the wood flooring with a Hardwood floor cleaner formulated for that flooring. We do not recommend using any oil soaps, furniture polish, or vinegar and water — they can damage and dull the finish over time.

There are basically four ways hardwood flooring can be installed depending on how it’s made and where it’s going in your home.

Nail or Staple down Hardwood Flooring installations – This type of installation is been used for centuries and is the traditional way of installing hardwood flooring. Each floor board is nailed or stapled at an angle just above the tongue of the floor board down through to the wood subfloor using a manual or pneumatic flooring nailer or stapler. Flooring that is available for this type of installation would be 5/16 – 3/4 inch thick tongue and grooved hardwood flooring.

Direct glue down Engineered Hardwood Flooring installations – is where each tongue and grooved floor board would be laid into a bed of adhesive that was spread out onto the surface of either a wood subfloor or a concrete slab using a specific sized notched trowel. This type of installation is more complicated by the fact of the boards have to be inserted together in wet adhesive, aligned and kept together as the floor is installed. The adhesive is expensive and it can get messy. Hardwood Flooring that is available for this type of installation would be 1/4 – 3/4 inch thick tongue and grooved engineered hardwood flooring that states it is allowed to be direct glued down by the manufacturer.

Floating (glue together) Engineered Hardwood Flooring installations – has been around for approx 35 years and is installed by applying a bead of glue into the groove of each floor board which is then laid over a foam pad and tapped together using a hammer and tapping block. This method counteracts each board’s ability to expand and contract where the whole floor moves as a unit during seasonal relative humidity changes without the typical separation of individual floor boards. This type of installation is very easy and quick. Hardwood Flooring that is available for this type of installation would be 5/16 – 3/4 thick tongue and grooved hardwood flooring that states it is allowed to be floated by the manufacturer.

Click Loc- Floating Engineered Hardwood Flooring installations – The Click Loc design is a relatively new concept where during the installation you simply either tap the boards together and they lock together OR you lock and fold the boards together. There are several different patents on the market that work very well. Click Loc flooring is very easy to install and is extremely popular with Do it Your-selfers and installers alike. All Click Loc type installations are considered floating floors and should not be direct glued or nailed down. Click Loc flooring is installed over a 1/8 inch foam pad or thicker cork underlayment. Click Loc flooring is an engineered type floor that can be installed through out your home or in the basement. Hardwood Flooring that is available for this type of Click Loc or Lock and Fold installation would be 5/16 – 3/4 thick tongue and grooved hardwood flooring that states it is allowed to be Click Locked by the manufacturer. The majority of Laminate flooring also have a click Loc design.

Over time there are going to be accidents where unprotected furniture legs are going to be dragged across the surface of the wood flooring causing scratches, heavy items are going to slip out of someones hands and put dings and dents in the wood floors and grit and stones are going to be brought into your home and ground into the surface of the wood floor.  Every 15 – 30 years on average consumers have their Hardwood Floors completely sanded and refinished New again. 

Prefinished engineered wood flooring can either be light hand sanded and recoated or if the engineered flooring has a 1.5 or thicker mil wear layer can also be professionally machine sanded to clear the old finish and scratches off then refinished new again. Most of the high end engineered wood floors can be sanded and refinished at least once, some up to 5 times depending on the thickness of the veneer wear layer and if sanded correctly. 

Solid wood flooring can be sanded and refinished new again 4 -7 times depending on the thickness of the solid wood flooring.

Most all Hardwood species will change color to some degree over time — this is called patina or aging. This is mostly caused by Ultra Violet Rays (sunlight) beaming in on the furniture and bare flooring. Brazilian Cherry and American Cherry are noted for having the most color change and will turn a (very desired) deep rich reddish color as they age and are exposed to light. Their color change is usually the greatest within the first 2 – 3 months.

Any areas of a wood floor that were covered with an area rug or furniture will not darken as quickly as an exposed area of flooring.  Once the rug or furniture is moved, these areas will catch up in time to the same shade as the exposed area is. To slow this from happening we recommend using directional mini blinds to direct the sunlight upwards towards the ceiling and off the furniture and flooring, doing this will help reduce color changes in both your fabrics and hardwood flooring over time.

With today’s technology, hardwood flooring manufacturers are able to strengthen their surface finishes with everything from Aluminum Oxide, Titanium to Ceramic particles mixed with the finishes. “Quality manufacturers use 6 to 10 coats of these durable finishes on their flooring. These finishes create a very wear resistant durable surface for normal foot traffic for many years. Regardless of the brand of wood flooring or finish though, all wood flooring can be scratched or indented if something heavy and/or sharp is pushed, dragged, rolled over its surface. This includes stiletto heels or even a pebble stuck to the bottom of your shoe.

The higher the hardness is of a specific wood species will help reduce the amount of dents caused by situations listed above, but ultimately no matter what the hardness rating of the wood species, wood is wood. Wood is made up of millions of cell structures that were once filled with water making it harder to crush or dent before the tree was cut from the forest. Once that tree becomes lumber and is kiln dried at the mill, the moisture in those cells is dried out leaving hollow cell structures that can compress when something heavy is dropped or rolled on the floor leaving dents within the surface of the wood.

Dogs that are extremely large and actively run in the house will dig in to get traction, possibly scratching the surface of any wood flooring. There are also a lot of dog owners that have hardwood flooring and have no problems with their pets. Usually pets do not like the feel of wood flooring under their feet because they have a tendency to slip when they try to run so they usually learn quickly not to run on them. It is important to keep dogs’ nails trimmed and to possibly limit their areas. There are companies out there that make dog booties that will protect your hardwood flooring. Also, make sure your pets are house broken. Pet urine is an acid and will damage the natural color of the wood flooring if not cleaned up right away, leaving a black stain that does not always sand out.