Simpler to clean than rugs and carpets, they hold much less dirt, are home to significantly fewer dustmites and last much, much longer. Hardwood floors have been a standard and reliable house feature for many years. Thanks to their classic, yet elegant appearance and feel, a wood floor is far better than carpet, lino and tiles.
How your flooring feels
Wooden flooring can be treated with a number of different products, in an attempt to change the floor's look and feel to the way the customer requires. Various oils, lacquers and waxes may be used to achieve a wide variety of effects. The majority of wooden floors are usually treated with a lacquer, be it varnish or acrylic they will give wooden floors the appearance of an obvious sheen with sleek characteristics. Using a wax or wood oil, the treated flooring will absorb the oil in to the top layer of wood. When it's then received a wax finish it will have the look of a more damp sheen to it.
Which grade of wood do I need to select?
Wooden Floors can be purchased in various 'grades'; based on a commonly recognised system of gradation used through the entire country. Probably the most cost-effective grade will be 'Rustic'. This specific grade could have small knots along with variations in colour throughout the floor. Quite a few customers prefer this variation and actively seek Rustic floors. At the top of the range is 'Select'. Select is going to be guaranteed to be without any knots and possesses a consistency of colour. For a 'perfect' floor, this should be selected. With that being said, the grades are sometimes seen as a reflection of style rather than quality. A Rustic floor should last as long as a Select floor.
Choosing the best type of timber
The very best timber to use for a wood floor is hardwood. This is due to softwoods (as their name suggests!) generally being too soft for continuous use and the load-bearing task which floors must perform. Hardwoods range from maple to beech to oak, etc., and are all suitable for use as floor planks. Pine and various other softwoods are usually not recommended for use as wood floor materials, due to their fragile and more pliant characteristics.
Hardwood floor upkeep
Wooden Floors are easily maintained and cleaned, and just like every other household surface, a cleaning product applied with the proper cleaning equipment (broom, mop & cloth) is going to do the job. The cleaning products you choose should never really be solvent based (this goes for polishes also) simply because they may begin to affect the lacquer if they're used frequently or for prolonged durations. It is advisable to top up the oil on oiled flooring at least 2 times per year. Rubbing the oil in to the floorboards lightly with a cloth will get the job done. The natural wood oils will provide a significantly better finish, than the cheaper chemical based products.
Are hard wood floors a good investment?
Wooden Floors are definitely a long-term investment. A well-fitted hard wood floor will last an entire life, and with the correct maintenance and attention, the homeowner shouldn't encounter any issues. The reason that Victorian-era (and earlier) residences often retain their original floors is for this very reason. Through the cold of winter, the wooden floor is going to contract and also, in summer, it is going to slightly expand. Installing the floor whilst remembering these characteristics, is going to ensure that there's never a problem. The reason why reclamation yards are visited day-in, day-out by eager buyers is because wooden floors, when looked after, just never become “useless”.
Are they more healthy?
Carpets and rugs have been proven to be a higher health risk than hardwood flooring. The oils applied to wood floors possess anti bacterial characteristics and a wooden floor is going to clean much easier than a carpeted one. Carpets are likely to hang on to dust and dirt which turns into a breeding ground for bacteria in your home. Additionally, they promote the growth and development of a lot more dustmites than wooden flooring does. Thanks to the ease of cleaning wooden flooring, you shouldn't have to endure all manner of waste traipsed into your property sticking to your floor surfaces as they would a carpet.
Real wood flooring are the past, present and future. Never has such a simple idea been put to great use. The intrinsic qualities and benefits of wooden floors outweigh the advantages of all other flooring available on the market.
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