Setting the Stage: Choosing the Right Wood Flooring for Your Home
Installing wood floors is one of the most significant investments when building or remodeling your home. Hardwood floors of all types are eco-friendly, incredibly durable, and fit with virtually any home decor style. And, when it comes time to sell your home, wood floors add value, unlike any other flooring choice.
In this article, we'll outline the basics of wood flooring, available options, and how to choose the right wood flooring for your home.
Understanding the Basics of Wood Flooring
Hardwood floors have been used in homes for hundreds of years. Now more than ever, technology has brought innovation and choice to what used to be a very rudimentary type of floor covering.
Today, you will find options for unfinished or prefinished wood floors, solid or engineered wood floors, and many types of floors made to look like wood, including laminate and luxury vinyl plank (LVP).
Each option has pros and cons, and we'll discuss them here, starting with the most traditional form of hardwood floors.
Unfinished Wood Floors
Unfinished wood floors are raw wood installed in a home, then sanded, stained, and finished on-site. This is traditionally how wood floors have been installed for hundreds of years.
The benefits include being able to choose what style of boards you want on your floor, including their width, length, and how much color variation and knots they have (grade).
Then, you can leave the flooring natural or choose a color to stain the boards. Finally, multiple clear coats of finish are applied to the floor to protect it and make it smooth. You can even choose the sheen of the final finish coat to make your floor matte or ultra-shiny.
Pros
• Many choices and flexibility to make the floor look the way you want it.
• Can be re-sanded and re-finished multiple times.
• A classic, traditional floor covering that will last as long as the home.
• Great for living rooms, dining rooms, hallways, bedrooms, and kitchens.
Cons
• All the work must be done on-site, which will take longer and create more disruption in your home.
• Not as watersafe as some wood-look laminate and LVP flooring options.
• Usually unsuitable for basements, mud rooms, and bathrooms.
The Ideal Home for Unfinished Wood Floors
If you are building a new home or doing a complete remodel, unfinished wood floors are a great fit as they give you many choices. When doing new work or significant renovations, the on-site portion of installing and finishing a wood floor is well worth the outstanding results you will get.
Prefinished Wood Floors
Prefinished wood floors are sanded, stained, and finished in a factory-controlled environment. They are then boxed and delivered to the job site, ready to install. No further finishing is required, and the floor can be walked on and used like normal right away.
These types of floors eliminate much of the time and mess of doing a traditional job site sand and finish of a wood floor, including the fumes that come with staining and finishing the floor.
Prefinished floors have incredibly durable finishes, often with 25-year, 50-year, or even lifetime warranties. With a factory-prefinished floor, many options exist to find a unique look, including species, stain color, texture, and board width. When deciding on a color, we always recommend taking a sample home to compare with other elements in your space.
Pros
• Boards come finished and ready to install.
• Saves time and mess from not having to sand and finish boards on-site.
• Many options to choose from to have a textured or specialty stained floor.
Cons
• Prefinished floors usually have a micro-bevel on the sides of the boards, so they fit together more easily.
• Manufacturers can drop some colors and collections over time, making matching floors for additions later potentially difficult.
Solid vs. Engineered Wood Floors
Traditionally, wood floors have been made from cutting logs and milling the lumber with a tongue and groove joint. These boards are made from one solid piece of lumber and can be re-sanded multiple times.
Engineered wood floors are made from a plywood or multi-layered wood core with a top wood veneer. These floors also have a tongue and groove joint or another locking mechanism. Depending on the thickness of the top veneer, engineered floors may also be able to be re-sanded.
Solid wood floors perform great in environments with average or low humidity. While they can often expand and contract throughout various seasonal weather changes, they are durable and stable when the environment can be kept consistent. The wider the board width, especially over 5 inches, the more susceptible the boards will be to expansion and contraction that shows gaps or other issues in the floor.
Engineered floors are crafted for greater stability in changing environments and can often be found in extra wide widths. These floors work well in different levels of the home, including basements and over crawl spaces. They can even be floated over instead of nailed or glued to the subfloor.
While both types are considered true hardwood flooring options, there are times when one is preferred over the other.
When to choose solid wood floors
Solid wood floors are a great option if:
• You are matching up to an existing solid wood floor.
• You are putting in a narrower width (5 inches or less).
• The is floor will be installed above or on-grade.
• The space has have a relatively consistent interior environment.
• You expect to re-sand the floor in the future.
When to choose engineered wood floors
Consider an engineered wood floor if:
• You are installing a brand new floor on multiple levels of the home.
• You are including a basement or walk-out space.
• You’d like an extra wide width (greater than 5 inches).
• The space’s environment may change significantly.
• You enjoy a lot of open air in your home.
Laminate and LVP Wood Floors
An additional category of flooring that is often made to resemble a natural hardwood floor is laminate and LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) floors.
These are floors with a composite or plastic core overlaid with a digital film or image replicating a wood floor's look. They are then sealed and finished with a protective anti-scratch coating.
While not true hardwood flooring, these floors can be excellent value options to consider. They often look remarkably like a natural wood floor, are easy to install, and are water resistant, making them good choices for bathrooms, mud rooms, basements, and kitchens.
Pros
• Laminate and LVP floors are easy to install and DIY.
• These floors provide excellent value.
• Water resistant and easy to clean.
Cons
• Repeating patterns cannot always replicate the natural look of wood.
• Can usually only be floated and can sound hollow.
• Cannot be re-sanded or re-finished.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Wood Floors
Your floor will be part of your house you spend the most time touching. Consider factors like budget, room usage, climate, installation concerns, maintenance, and personal style to narrow down your options. Taking time to think these through will help you make the best choice for your home.
The great thing about wood flooring is that it works in just about any home and can fit nearly any interior design style.
Working with a flooring professional and design showroom can help you see all available options and will work with your home.
References and Additional Resources
The following resources and guides can provide additional information to help you choose the best floor for your home:
• Hardwood Floors Magazine from National Wood Flooring Association
• Unfinished Flooring Buying Guide
• How To Choose The Best Floor For Your Home
* Note: Fallen Tree Construction does not receive any compensation for our blog posts. Sole purpose is to pass along valuable information to those that need it!
