Solid Hardwood Floors are solid pieces of hardwood cut into planks, strips, and parquet squares in various thickness and dimensions. Solid wood products are susceptible to absorb moisture. Solid strip or plank floors should be installed utilizing nail down procedure on a wooden sub-floor in above ground level areas. Solid hardwoods come in either pre-finished or unfinished styles. Unfinished solid woods may be stained in unlimited colors on the job site.
Hardwood floors offer a rich character and timeless beauty that lasts for generations. It will never go out of fashion and always adds value to the home. Today interior designers recommend hardwood floors for new and remodeled homes. Hardwood floors may be used as base layer and an area rugs used on it to enhance the overall color scheme. Carpet Depot carries products of many hardwood floor manufacturers offering many types and styles of hardwood flooring.
Hardwood construction techniques have advanced tremendously in the past couple of decades. The new techniques have enabled flooring manufacturers to produce products that are more adaptable to many different climates and environments.
Hardwood floors come in a wide variety of wood species such as oak, maple, birch, ash, and pine. They are also cut and stained in many different widths and colors. There are also exotic hardwood species that are grown in rain forests and dry lands from all over the world. Exotic hardwoods have many unique characteristics, and the unusual grains give customers the opportunity to express their own taste in designing their homes by creating unique visual appearance.
Engineered Hardwood Floors are consisted of several layers of cross-sectioned thin wood stacked and glued together under heat and pressure to form a wood plank. The thickness of the top layer of an engineered wood which gets the stain determines its quality. Usually the thicker the top layer the better and more expensive the wood is. A thick top layer makes the re-sanding and re-finishing of the wood floor possible. Engineered wood planks are usually made from 3 to 9 layers stacked with grains running perpendicular to each other. The top layer of an engineered wood can be made from a variety of wood species. Engineered wood floors are generally more resistant to moisture. Nevertheless using a type of moisture barrier over the concrete is always recommended. Engineered hardwood do not expand or contract as much as solid woods do, and therefore are more dimensionally stable. Engineered wood may be installed in areas where solid wood cannot, such as over concrete or in high-moisture areas. It can easily be used in kitchens, powder rooms and utility rooms. Engineered floors can be installed on any grade level of the home, using nail down, glued down, or floating system.