hardwood flooring sites.com

By Peter Leigh

Prefinished hardwood flooring has undergone many changes since hardwood flooring became the fashionable alternative for floors of a home. At one time, when you purchased hardwood, you bought the wood unfinished. This meant that when you installed it, you then had to stain the flooring and give it a protective coat and a shine. Today, you can still buy unfinished hardwood, but with the many types of prefinished wood, you can save yourself a lot of work by buying prefinished hardwood flooring.

Each prefinished hardwood flooring manufacturer has various color selections available along with different sizes of boards and finishes. The thickness of boards for prefinished wood floors can range from ¼ inch thick to ¾ inch thick. The top layer of the prefinished hardwood is the most important because it is the part that has to endure the wear and tear. The thicker the layer is, the more times you can refinish the wood floors in the future. The various widths you can choose from in prefinished wood flooring are a matter of personal taste. When you visit a flooring store, you can experiment by laying the boards of different widths of hardwood side by side to see what effect it would create.

The side edges of the prefinished hardwood flooring boards are also an important factor to consider. You can choose micro bevel, also called eased edge, bevelled and square edged hardwood boards. Each one of these achieves a different effect in the prefinished wood flooring that you have. The types of finished for prefinished wood floors also vary according to manufacturer, but these are applied in a factory under ideal settings. Usually hardwood floors have seven coats of finish on them when you buy the packages of prefinished hardwood.

The newest finish on the market for prefinished hardwood flooring contains aluminum oxide, but there are also acrylic, urethane or UV cured among the finishes. There are also several levels of sheen – gloss, semi-gloss and mat. The number of coats on the prefinished wood floors will determine the level of shine that you have. Even though unfinished hardwood flooring is still popular, prefinished wood flooring makes up more than half of the sales for wood floors. This is because it allows people to remodel their homes with less time. All you have to do is install the flooring without having to worry about stains, coatings, fumes or drying time.

The ease of installation with prefinished hardwood floors makes them very popular with building contractors. Engineered wood flooring is also an increasingly popular item when people want the look of hardwood floors without the expensive price tag. These to come in different colors, but you will not get the same variety in the types of hardwood that you can have for your floors. When you choose prefinished hardwood floors, you can choose from many types of wood, each with its own advantages and unique qualities.

To find out more about Wood Flooring visit Peter’s Website Wood Flooring Explained and find out about Prefinished Hardwood Flooring and more, including Exotic Hardwood Floors, Wood Laminate Flooring, Refinishing Hardwood Floors and Bruce Hardwood Flooring.

By Jimmy Sturo

The laminate flooring of today no longer features high-quality photographic paper with an image of wood. More and more often, this effective but not-quite-realistic material is being foregone in favor of very thin slices of real wood veneers. This is a new hybrid product coming up and is being used quite often.

Woods and laminates each have their own benefits as flooring material. Scratches on hardwoods, which may be the work of pets at home, can be quite easily repaired. Furthermore, imperfections on hardwood floor can be removed by sanding. Wood floors compete as the very best in looks and durability.

On the other hand, laminate flooring does not change color or fade by the sun, moisture, or other environmental forces. Neither does it require any waxing or polishing for restoration of gloss and beauty. Rooms whose floors get exposed to a lot of moisture cannot opt for hardwood. Wood-laminate floors are competitively priced and provide good value for the money too. They are very long lasting and might well never need any replacement. In fact, such flooring adds value to one’s home.

Such flooring is the most versatile too. They go well with most designs and styles of interior decoration. They are perfectly compatible with traditional and contemporary designing styles and are also befitting for various blends of these.

Water and wood do not mix together. Hence, one must keep a close watch on moisture. See to it that damp mopping of the floor is not carried out, and that water spilled on the floor is quickly removed by mopping whenever detected.

Laminate Floors provides detailed information on Discount Laminate Floors, Hardwood Laminate Floors, How To Clean Laminate Floors, How To Install Laminate Floors and more. Laminate Floors is affiliated with How To Install Laminate Flooring.

By Natalie Aranda

If you have decided to install underfloor heating all by yourself you will be glad to learn that it is a pretty simple process.

DIY underfloor heating in the UK is growing more and more popular each and every year so the need for an easy to understand guide is very important so the entire process will be even simpler and your floor will be ready for the family to walk on in just a short amount of time.

To start the process of DIY underfloor heating installation you will need to measure where you plan on installing the system to ensure that it fits properly. You will have to make a sketch of the floor to determine the correct size of the devimat you need. On the sketch, mark where you wish the devimat to be installed. Also place mark the position of the power connections. The mat must begin and end at the same place.

For the next step in your DIY underfloor heating installation, you will need to cut a groove into the floor and wall about 10mm deep and wide for the sensor switch. It is pushed through a tube and then laid in the groove. The end will then be taped up.

Do not worry; the mat can be cut to get around corners or obstacles that might be in way. However, remember the red heating cable cannot be cut. Therefore, you must be sure that you did in fact measure the length of mat that you did before you ever start to lay the mat.

Next, you will need to use a tile adhesive and lay it over the mat. The tiles are laid on the mat just like laying regular tile however; you will a thicker coat of adhesive.

There are different types of underfloor heating systems that you can purchase that are also DIY underfloor heating and most do come with complete instructions however, if you are having problems you can always contact the manufacturer. They will be more than pleased to explain how to install the underfloor heating system all by yourself. A matter of fact, many DIY underfloor heating in the UK is done by individuals that want to save money on their heating bills.

Underfloor heating is excellent for new construction, major remodels and even in your own already built home especially for just one or two rooms. Some of the most popular areas for DIY underfloor heating are bathrooms, sunrooms, shower rooms, conservatories, utility rooms and kitchens.

Underfloor heating can be installed in any tiled, laminated, stone or wood floors in your home or business.

Natalie Aranda writes on gardening and home improvement. There are different types of underfloor heating systems that you can purchase that are also DIY underfloor heating and most do come with complete instructions however, if you are having problems you can always contact the manufacturer. They will be more than pleased to explain how to install the underfloor heating system all by yourself. A matter of fact, many DIY underfloor heating in the UK is done by individuals that want to save money on their heating bills.

By Jimmy Sturo

Wood flooring is a very popular alternative to tiles or concrete flooring. Wood floors have a warm, inviting, exotic look. They are suitable for almost any kind of room: bedroom, living room, libraries, offices, etc. However, they are not preferred for the kitchen, bathrooms and other places where the humidity is higher since wood tends to rot and warp under humid conditions.

Wood flooring is no longer very expensive today. With advanced technology, it has become as affordable as any other kind of flooring. The most affordable kind of wood flooring is the discount wood flooring being offered by many companies worldwide.

These companies offer good quality, high-grade, branded wood flooring at very reasonable prices and discounts, sometimes as high as 70%. Most suppliers also give warranties on discount wood flooring.

Discount wood flooring is available in several varieties like birch, ash, maple, cherry, pear, walnut, plum, oak-stained white, bamboo, red oak, beech, mahogany, etc. They are also being designed with borders, medallions, motifs and other patterns for an interesting as well as customized look. Discount wood flooring is available in both unfinished and pre-finished versions.

There are certain things to be considered while selecting discount wood flooring: the budget, the kind of wood to be used, the style or design, the traffic in the place where the floor would be installed, the color of the walls and the rest of the furniture, the kind of maintenance that is required and so on. Other questions to be considered are how long the installation will take, if the contractor has a license and the warranties and guarantees. Some of the most popular manufacturers of wood flooring are: Armstrong, Pergo, Mannington, Stepco, Wilsonart, Florida Tile, American Olean and Daltile.

Information about discount wood flooring would be available at any of these manufacturers’ offices. The internet is also a very good source for learning more about discount wood floors.

By Jimmy Sturo

Wood floors are much in demand today because of their beauty, eco-friendliness, value and exotic appeal. Wood flooring has also become very easy to obtain, install and maintain with advancements in technology.

The equipment required for installing wood flooring is a broom or a vacuum cleaner, tape measure, chalk line and chalk, hammer, handsaw, moisture meter, electric miter saw, tape, color wood filler, safety glasses, floor cleaner and a pry bar. Installation guidelines are different for different kinds of wood flooring: radiant-heated subfloors, glue-down flooring, nail- or staple-down flooring, floating flooring, etc.

There are a few things that need to be done prior to installation: subfloors and their systems should be installed properly as per the manufacturers instructions; the subfloor should be cleaned of dust, sealers, paint, wax, curing compounds, grease, drywall mud and any other substance that can affect the flooring material or the adhesives; the moisture of the subfloors should be tested to ensure that it does not exceed 13%; similarly, the moisture content of the wood floor must be below 4% of the subfloor moisture content. Additionally, the sub floor must be flat and basements and crawl spaces must be dry.

Start from the wall that is straight and square with the room. The first row of the planks can be nailed to the subfloor. Spread the adhesive properly, using a trowel to keep the planks in place. Ensure that the planks are well aligned since misalignment can cause gaps to appear in the preceding rows. Spread the adhesive for only limited areas since it can dry up in the meantime. For planks that have tongues and grooves, ensure that they are in place. Do not strike a hammer directly on the plank as it can cause damage. Keep removing the excessive adhesive immediately from the flooring as you work. At the end of the row, make sure that there are enough gaps for expansion. Make sure not to walk on the floor for at least six to eight hours after installation. Clean the duct tape and the adhesive from the floor. Examine the floor for any scratches or nicks or gaps in the planks. Use touch-up products like putty to cover any scratches.

Wood floor installation is generally done by the supplier, although some manufacturers have do-it-yourself flooring as well that you can install. However, follow the instructions carefully.

Wood Flooring provides detailed information about wood flooring, laminate wood flooring, hard wood flooring, engineered wood flooring and more. Wood Flooring is the sister site of How To Clean Marble.

 

By Lee Dobbins

Want to bring your hardwood floors back to their former beauty, but don’t have the money? Then read on for some tips on how you can refinish the floor yourself.

If you have the time and don’t mind doing the work, then refinishing your floors yourself is a great option but before starting out, it’s not a bad idea to get an estimate from a professional so you can compare the cost of doing it yourself to what they would charge. You’ll get quite a shock at the amount that is charged. It may cost over $1000 to have just 1 room done. You could carpet over it for less, but doesn’t carpeting over beautiful hardwood floors seem, well, wrong?

It is actually rather easy to refinish a wood floor – if you pay attention to what you are doing. To sand the floor, you need a drum sander and possibly a belt sander which can be rented at your neighborhood Home Depot or hardware store. They can help you figure out which machines you need to rent, what kind of sand paper you should buy and also can help with the type and amount of stain and finish for the floor. You might also want to get some dust masks and plastic to section the room off from the rest of the house. Fine particles of dust will get everywhere – even if you section off the room, but you may be able to minimize the impact on the rest of the house.

The most important part of refinishing your floors is learning how to control the sander. The key to running the sander is to make sure it keeps moving at all times, otherwise they are simple to use, although a bit hard on the ears. If you stop in 1 spot, you will probably get a big gouge in your floor. Equate it to using an iron on your clothes – if you stop in 1 spot too long you’ll burn a hole. The sander is similar since it creates a lot of heat, keeping it in 1 spot can burn or dent your floor.

You do need to be careful with the sander as it is self propelled. When you first start it up, make sure you hold on firmly. Don’t be afraid of the machine but make sure you maintain complete control. Relax, after a few spins, it may even start to seem like fun.

After the old finish is removed, you need to apply the stain and new finish. Think of this as the same as doing your nails – first you remove the old finish, then basecoat, color and topcoat. Sometimes you don’t want color on your nails so you skip that part. In your floor you might also skip that part (the stain) but you still want to use a finish to protect the floor.

When selecting a finish you can pick from an oil based or polyurethane (water based) finish. When selecting an oil based finish you will need to decide if you want a satin, gloss or semi gloss finish. It’s probably best for you to use satin on a hardwood floor as it will help hide any flaws in the wood and is much more pleasing then a bright shine Using oil based finish is better for wood floors as it casts a warm amber glow. Water based, on the other had dries quicker and resists yellowing.

No matter which you choose, you must let each coat dry before putting down the next coat. Think back to the nail polish analogy! Follow the manufacturers instructions on the finish before you occupy the room again. Usually you can move your furniture back in after about 24 hours.

As you can see, the task of refinishing your floors need not be overwhelming. Think of it as giving your room a manicure. Take it one step at a time and use care in the process and you can have a great looking floor and save yourself almost $1000 to boot!

Lee Dobbins is a contributing writer for home improvement resources such as Refinishing-Hardwood-Floors.com. Visit our site and learn more about refinishing hardwood floors.

By Jimmy Sturo

Hardwood floors have always been very popular. Hardwood flooring is also being done in customized patterns like borders, medallions, motifs, hand-distressing, painting, mixed media and stains. With advanced technology, hardwood floors have become very affordable, as well as extremely easy to maintain. Oak has become very popular in the last few years. Cherry, white oak, birch and maple are other popular woods. Hardwood flooring can be categorized as unfinished, pre-finished, acrylic, impregnated, solid and engineered, based on the kind of manufacturing process used.

The main aspects to be considered while installing hardwood floors are the general color tone (dark brown, medium brown, light brown, reddish brown, golden brown, natural or other colors); the wood floor type (solid, engineered or floating); where is the floor going to be installed (above ground level, at ground level or below ground level); what the floor will be placed on (over concrete slab, plywood subfloor, oriented strand board, previous vinyl or wood subfloor) and so on. Other important things to be considered are the budget, the kind of room, the traffic and furniture in the room, the style and design of the walls and furniture, etc.

There are many kinds of hardwood species for flooring: red oak, white oak, oak-stained white, walnut, birch, ash, maple, red maple, cherry, pear, plum, bamboo, beech, mahogany, pine, hickory, jarrah, tamarindo, American cherry, teak and many more. The different styles of hard wood floorings are parquet, plank and strip. There are also pre-finished and unfinished hardwood floors available. Hardwood floors also depend on the grade, cut, dimensions, pattern and color.

Hardwood floors are relatively very easy to maintain. For proper maintenance, do not use waxes and other scrubs; use throw rugs to prevent dust and grime that may cause scratches; do not wet mop; wipe up spills immediately; put soft fabric or plastic glides under the furniture; do not slide heavy furniture over the wood floor; use a humidifier to avoid wood movement and shrinkage; do not walk with spiked shoes or high heels; and prevent direct exposure to sun as this can increase the oxidation process and cause the floor to age faster.

Wood Flooring provides detailed information about wood flooring, laminate wood flooring, hard wood flooring, engineered wood flooring and more. Wood Flooring is the sister site of How To Clean Marble.

By Robert Thatcher

Different kinds of flooring evoke different kinds of ambience and emotion. Flooring available today comes in a wide array of materials that could be used for any lifestyle and function. Many floors that we see now have ceased to be the floors that we see in old photographs and historic houses. The flooring can be very decorative, elegant, artsy, functional or practical that could suit to any individual’s style, taste and budget. But no material evokes as much warmth, sentiment and a sense of history as the good old-fashioned wood flooring.

Homes with natural wood flooring can be found in any town that in spite of all the advances in fashion and technology for other types of flooring material, the wood flooring has not lost its place in the hearts of many house builders.

In spite of the rise in the prices of wood and increase in other choices for flooring, wood has no substitute in creating homes that has a homey feel to it. Wooden floors, even the traditional cuts do not fail to enhance décor and personal statements of tastes.

A House builder who opts to have a floor with a more modern touch opts for the parquet in place of the quarter-sawn wood flooring popular during the past decades. The new prefinished hardwoods are excellent viable choices even for homes ranging in design from the traditional, country, ranch, Victorian to the contemporary. Color choices and materials are amazing making it adaptable to any look that an individual would want a room to have. The darker finishes are suitable for formal settings, and the lighter the shade become, the more casual feel the wood flooring evokes. Local popular choices like the Ash, Oak and Maple can be combined with varieties of Teak, Brazilian cherry and Bamboo creating a look and texture that has never been reached when wood flooring (aside from concrete) were oftentimes the only choice.

The engineered hard wood of today are designed to perform better than the traditional ones as they are cross layered on top of each other providing a durability and capacity to hold more weight that was never achieved before. Engineered hardwood flooring is not synthetic wood but is made form real hardwood. Engineered hardwood is much easier to maintain doing away with old-fashioned waxes and pastes as these are already treated with several coats of urethane and is IV cured with aluminum oxide. Engineered hard wood will only require occasional mopping with a wood cleaner to maintain its luster.

The most popular flooring options include:

- Oak as flooring is very durable. It has a tight dark grain that is very appropriate for dining rooms and places that requires more subdued and formal atmosphere.
- Ash has beautiful texture and grain uniformity.
- Pine can be found in old houses. This flooring evokes a sense of history. Pines are considered as softwood but they can be very durable and can last for hundreds of years.
- Birch. Also a soft wood with a more playful texture
- Fir is another softwood patched with decorative dark grains
- Bamboo technically is a grass but when harvested in season and treated well can be more durable than most hardwood flooring.
- The more expensive and elegant wood flooring are the walnut, cherry and teak.

Whatever the choice is, wood for flooring has a timeless quality to it that will never be easily substituted even by the most modern materials available today.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides flooring resources on http://www.just-flooring.info.
 

By Chris Robertson

Think back to a room that you loved and felt comfortable in. Picture it in your mind, and remember all the things you loved about it. Chances are that when you start remembering, you can vividly picture the walls, the pictures on it, the furniture – how about the flooring? Surprisingly enough, the flooring in a room is often one of the first things people recall when they remember a room. I can vividly recall stepping into a quaint old house when we were house-hunting a few years back and feeling immediately as if I’d come home. It wasn’t until later, analyzing my reaction, that I realized the reason: the flooring in the kitchen was the exact same pattern and color linoleum that had been on my grandmother’s kitchen floor almost thirty years ago.

When you’re redecorating, the flooring choices you make can set the tone and the mood for the entire room. Imagine your Mission style living room against a solid black floor of stone quarry tile. The solid color and contrast of wood and stone is dramatic, highlighting the functional simplicity and beauty of the design. The feeling of the room is serene and cool – a polished perfection of form and function.

Now imagine that same furniture set against wood flooring in soft, warm maple. Rather than contrast, you now have blending that softens the definitive lines of classic Mission furniture styling. Add a woven rag rug to accent the colors of the upholstery and pick up the tint of the wall and the same furniture and accessories take on an upscale country feeling – open airy space and casual comfort.

Dramatic flooring styles have their place as well. Imagine a pieced parquet wood floor in your front entry hall, or a buffed expanse of terracotta tile flooring inset with stone parquetry around the borders. Replace that flooring in your mind’s eye with a thick, Oriental runner over bare wood and see how it changes the look and feel of the room.

When you choose flooring for a room that you’re decorating, keep in mind the following things:

1. Function

Choose a floor that suits the function of the room. White carpeting is probably impractical for your kitchen, but perfect for your bedroom. Natural wood, while beautiful and warm, is generally not the best choice for a bathroom.

2. Mood

Different flooring materials set very definite moods and tones. Natural materials tend to soften the ambience in a room. Stone quarry tiles with a rough finish set a rustic mood. Solid linoleum, with its soft feel underfoot and bright colors can warm a kitchen or set a dramatic style with a single solid color. The flooring choice you make can dramatically enhance every other aspect of your decorating scheme.

3. Maintenance and Care

While you’re considering, don’t forget to take into account the amount of maintenance and care that a floor will require. A busy lifestyle may not have time in it for the kind of maintenance that some floors require. Can you imagine spending hours every week waxing your floor? Low maintenance options include pre-sealed wood floors, stone tiles and acrylic flooring tiles.

With literally thousands of combinations of materials, colors and styles of flooring available, you’re sure to find something that’s just perfect for your home. A little research and judicious use of visualization will help you choose a flooring option that you’ll love for years.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Visit this Home Furnishings Website and Majon’s Home Furnishings directory.

By Jimmy Sturo

Wood floorings have always been very fashionable, but they are gaining more and more popularity even for offices and other formal rooms. This rise in popularity is because of their warm look, affordability, variety, eco-friendliness, ease of maintenance and high value.

Having originated in Europe, laminate wood floors are becoming a good alternative for hardwood in North America. They are available in various styles, sizes, designs and colors, just like wood floors. They can also be very stylish in patterns like tile, realistic stones and hardwood visuals.

Laminate wood flooring is a kind of flooring that enhances the natural look of wood with greater durability and toughness. This flooring is easy to install, innovative, cost-effective and very durable. The floors are also scratch resistant and low-maintenance. Laminate wood floors are very tough, and are thus ideal for all kinds of rooms—even those with high traffic like kitchens and offices—since they are resistant to stains, scratches, spills and burns. They are also available in an extensive variety of styles, species, cuts and types. Laminate floors are available in planks or tiles.

Laminate wood flooring is done using sophisticated technology for the designs. They can be installed on previous floors like plywood, concrete slabs and OSB by simply floating the tiles over them. These planks have tongue-and-groove edges that allow them to lock into each other. Hence, they do not need any glue to keep them in place. They are just placed over the previous floor. A special polyurethane underlay is laid on the previous floor before installing, to enable the laminate wood floor to float freely. These floors are therefore very easy to install. Some kinds of laminate floors are pre-glued and just have to be wiped with a wet sponge to reactivate the glue. There are also some kinds of glued-laminate wood floors available.

Maintenance for laminate wood floors is relatively easy. They should not be waxed or polished. Using felt pads or casters under the legs of the furniture would prevent scratching. The floor should be vacuumed regularly using soft brushes, and it should be wiped with a wet cloth or mop when required. Do not use any harsh cleaners or steel wool for cleaning. Do not refinish or sand the floor. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully for other maintenance tips. These precautions will make the floor last for years.

Some of the most popular manufacturers of laminate wood flooring are Mannington, Pergo, Mohawk, Wilsonart, Quick-Step, Shaw, Witex, Armstrong and Alloc.

Wood Flooring provides detailed information about wood flooring, laminate wood flooring, hard wood flooring, engineered wood flooring and more. Wood Flooring is the sister site of How To Clean Marble.