Questions to Ask Before Choosing Hardwood Flooring (Part II)

In our previous blog, we discussed a few questions you must ask before purchasing hardwood flooring for your home. In this blog, we’ll discuss some more questions to ask before making the final decision.

1. Why should I think about my children and pets before choosing hardwood flooring?

Pets and children can put a lot of stress on flooring. Your pet’s nails and your children dropping toys will eventually result in visual damage. Trimming your pets nails and placing an area rug can help reduce some of this damage. Also, try and look for a floor made of tougher wood, such as oak, rather than a soft one, such as pine. Another good option is hand-scraped flooring, which is a type of flooring that can camouflage minor damages.

2. What does hand-scraped mean?

It basically means that the hardwood has been designed to have an older looking style, and this is achieved through a hand scraping technique. They’re made to look like they have some wear but still provide a modern finish for its protection.

3. What is the subfloor made of?

You must know the kind of subfloor that you have before choosing your hardwood flooring. Some of the most common types are plywood, particleboard and concrete slab. This helps you to determine if you can install solid hardwood flooring or if your flooring needs to be engineered.

Plywood – This is perhaps the most common type of subfloor and allows the most versatility when it comes to hardwood flooring. You can either nail solid hardwood on top or use engineered wood instead.
Particleboard – It’s commonly used under carpets in homes that were built in the 1970’s. Basically, it’s just a cheaper version of plywood. You’ll probably need to replace particleboard with plywood for hardwood floors. Then you can either add solid or engineered hardwood.
Concrete – Having a concrete subfloor typically means your options are pretty much limited to engineered hardwood. However, you can get any type of hardwood in the engineered format. The thickness of the veneer on the engineered hardwood may vary.

4. What’s the most durable hardwood floor?

While considering the durability of your flooring, you must consider the high traffic areas where the hardwood is being installed. This mainly dictates how durable the flooring must be based on these high traffic areas. The durability is mostly based on the strength of the wood. This is measured by the Janka Scale, which tests the amount of force needed to embed a metal ball halfway into the wood. A higher score means a more durable wood.

5. Can the flooring have colour variations?

Since hardwood is a natural product, there may be some colour variations in the wood. Though flooring of lower grades will have a larger amount of character blemishes, the colour may vary in all grades of hardwood flooring.

6. On which level of the house is installation taking place?

If the flooring is going to be installed in the basement, engineered hardwood may be the best option. Since basements are located below ground level, so they can absorb a lot of moisture from the ground. Hence, solid hardwood isn’t such a good idea to be installed in a basement.

Whether you’re doing some remodelling or building a new home, consider installing hardwood floors. But before you do, make sure you consider all of the important possibilities and questions involved in this decision.