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Types of Wood Flooring
See Wood Samples
There are three main types of hardwood floors. Solid wood (comes in either unfinished or pre-finished), engineering panel wood, and laminate wood flooring. Depending on your need, some floors might be better than others. Here are a few cons and pros for each type of flooring.
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Solid Woods
Pros: Beautiful natural grains. Can be refinsihed multiple times for a new look. Lasts a long time.
Cons: Tempature and humidity levels can expand or shrink the wood causing small gaps and cracks. Heavy abuse may cause scratches or dents.
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Engineering Panel Wood
Pros: Holds great against extreme tempatures and humidity. Very little gaps appear with times. Beautiful natural grains. Fairly durable.
Cons: Cannot be refinished as many times as solid wood. Not as large of a selection as natural wood yet.
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Laminate Panel Flooring
Pros: Holds great against dents and scratchs. Easy to install.
Cons: May not look very natural. Some cheaper models may swell if exposed to water over time.
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Wood Characteristics
Janka Wood Hardness
Solid woods come in many variations. Popular wood species installed in this area are Oak, Maple, Rosewood, and Cherry. Each of these types of woods come in different grades or grains. Some people enjoy the rustic feel that knots add to wood grain while others enjoy simple clean smooth grain with no knots. Depending on the type of room, a darker wood color maybe is more appropriate than a lighter color usually used in causal areas. Below we'll take a look at some of the main characteristics of popular wood species and the grades or class available for each.
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Oak
Hardness (Janka): 1360
Classes/Grades: Clear (free of defects), Select, Common 1, Common 2.
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Courtesy of Bellawood
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Maple
Hardness (Janka): 1450
Classes/Grades: First (free of defects), Second, Third
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Courtesy of Bellawood
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Rosewood
Hardness (Janka): 1010
Classes/Grades: Select
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Courtesy of Bellawood
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Brazilian Cherry
Hardness (Janka): 2350
Classes/Grades: Select
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Courtesy of Bellawood
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Finishings & Stains
See Wood Stains
The finish of the wood can change the look of a room completely. Although the most common type of finish is a Swedish clear coat for oak floors, some people like to spice up a room with stains. Stains color the wood but at the same time still allow the wood's characteristics to show through. You can give yourself a red hot floor or a dark formal ebony look all through stains. Between gloss finishes and stains the possibilities seem endless.
A popular way to go today is directly with pre-finished floors. Pre-finished wood is stained and coated all for you. This makes installation faster so you can enjoy your floor sooner. And you don't have to put up with fumes left in the area after on site finishing. In addition, these finishes are more durable than on the site finishes and have fewer imperfections since they were applied in a dust free environment.
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