Natural Beauty!

The elegant look of a hardwood floor can add warmth and character to any room in a home. The natural characteristics of wood add depth and a visual appearance that many other types of floors try to duplicate. As the consumer demand for hardwood floors has grown, so has the manufacturer's ability to produce better quality finishes and superior construction techniques. With these advancements, wood floors can now be installed throughout the home and over a wide variety of subfloors.

Today, homeowners looking to use wood floors have the option of purchasing three different types of wood flooring. Although the end results may look the same, there are distinct advantages for using each type under different situations.

Solid Floors

When we think of solid wood floors, we generally are talking about a 3/4" thick plank that is 2 1/4" wide. This is the classic strip wood floor, although it is possible to find a narrower width or a slightly thinner gauge. The strips are generally in random lengths from 12" – 84." The most common wood species used for solid strip floors are red oak, white oak, and maple.

Solid wood floors are one solid piece of wood that have tongue and groove sides and come in either prefinished or unfinished styles. Solid wood floors are sensitive to moisture and it is not recommended to install these floors below ground level, or directly over a concrete slab. These floors are for nail-down installations only. You can refinish or recoat solid wood floors several times, which adds to their appeal and to their long life. There are solid floors that are over 100 years old and are still in good condition.

Engineered Floors

Engineered Plank Floors

Engineered wood floors are generally 2, 3, or 5 thin sheets of wood that are laminated together to form one plank. These floors will range from 1/4" to 9/16" in thickness, and from 2 1/4" to 7" in width. The lengths will be random and range from 12" – 60" in length. The top finish layer can be cut from a variety of domestic or exotic hardwood species.

In the construction of engineered wood floors, the wood plies are stacked on top of each other in opposite directions. This creates a wood floor that is dimensionally stable and less affected by moisture than a 3/4" solid wood floor. This means you can install these floors over concrete slabs in basements, as well as anywhere else in the home.

Longstrip Plank Floors

Longstrip – these floors are similar to engineered floors and have several wood plies that are glued together. The center core is generally a softer wood material and is used to make the tongue and groove. A hardwood finish layer is glued on top of the core. The top layer can be almost any hardwood specie and is made up of many smaller individual pieces that are laid in three rows. Longstrip planks are approximately 86" in length and 7 1/2" in width. They generally have between 17 and 35 pieces that make up the top layer of each board. This gives the effect of installing a board that is 3 rows wide and several planks long. Each longstrip plank looks like an entire section that has already been pre-assembled for you.

Longstrip planks are designed for the floating installation, but most can also be glued down or stapled down. Because these floors can be floated, they can go over a wide variety of subfloors and on any grade level. Like engineered floors, longstrip floors come in a wide variety of domestic and exotic hardwood species.