Are you in the process of planning a wood flooring project? Have you made the decision to rip up your carpeting and putting a nice wood floor in its place? Maybe you’re thinking that solid wood flooring is the way ahead, or perhaps engineered? Either way, there are a whole host of things you need to consider before finally placing your order and taking delivery.
Here are some of the questions you should have on your list:
- Making the choice between engineered and solid wood flooring. Whether you should plump for engineered or solid wood flooring really depends on the conditions in the room you’re going to be working. Generally speaking, solid wood flooring isn’t recommended in bathrooms or kitchens because of the temperature and moisture fluctuations these rooms have to put up with. In such rooms, solid wood flooring will expand and contract too much and will end up risking becoming damaged because of the changing conditions. That said, unless you have under floor heating, solid wood flooring should work well in pretty much any other room in the home.
- What style of flooring would work best? The range of flooring styles available today is huge and you truly will be spoilt for choice. Narrow boards are a great way to make a small room look bigger, yet wide boards can be really stylish too. There are even 3-boards in one options that mean you can fit your floor really quickly, in the knowledge that you’re less likely to suffer gaps in the future. Thereafter there are chevron and herringbone boards that mean you can replicate the flooring styles sported in castles and stately homes without needing too much skill. And then, what about finish? Do you want something natural-looking or do you want high shine? For nature lovers, there’s no getting away from a brushed and oiled finish. Brushing and oiling really opens up the grain of the wood and results in an almost untreated looking finish. If on the other hand, you’re a fan of a highly polished look, then a lacquer or a varnish is the best option for you.
- What colour of floor would best enhance your room? Not so very long ago, the most common colour for wood floors was almost orange, but thankfully this has all changed. Floors today tend to have a really natural tone and colour and range from almost white to almost black. Which colour you choose for your project will depend very much on the furniture you either have and will continue to use, or what furniture you plan to buy. The other factor, albeit reasonably easy to change, is your décor. Both white and black floors are highly fashionable at the moment, but the risk with this option is that fashion could turn on its head in the not too distant future, leaving you with a dated looking floor on your hands. Even though these options are natural, they are quite extreme, so could date more quickly than the traditional, classic wood colours. As a result, there’s no getting away from the fact that a light, mid or dark natural wood colour is the option that’ll truly stand the test of time. That said, if you opt for a solid wood, almost white floor you can always re-sand and colour it to a darker tone in the future.
- How to choose the right species of wood for your project. There are quite literally tens of thousands of species of tree that can be used for wood flooring. Commonly, you’ll find such names as oak, teak, mahogany, cherry, ipe, cumaru and tiger wood, all hailing from different corners of the world. When you’re choosing the right species for your project, two of the major factors to consider are strength and colour. We’ve already mentioned colour, but when it comes to strength and durability, the Janka test is one of the most recognised measurements. If strength and durability are important to you, you should check out the Janka reading for the floor that takes your fancy.
- Is prime grade wood worth the higher price tag for you? Wood is graded into four categories depending on its visual appearance. The grades are prime, select, natural and rustic. The categories are decided upon based on the number and size of knots that are visible on the wood; the degree of colour variation across the boards and the amount of sap wood. In terms of price, prime wood is significantly more expensive than rustic wood, but whether or not your project warrants the extra price, only you can decide. If it’s really important to you to have a highly uniform floor, then you’ll have little option but to plump for prime, but that said, you shouldn’t ignore rustic because of it’s lower price: it can be really charming in the right setting.
- Should you buy online or on the high street? If you’re not accustomed to shopping online, deciding to buy something as important as a wooden floor online can prove really daunting, but there’s no getting away from the fact that there are some great deals to be had. A great compromise between the peace of mind of the high street and the price draw of buying online is to choose a supplier that has a presence both on the high street and yet supplies from a warehouse via a website. That way, you can touch and feel the product and then order online, giving you the best of both worlds. Failing that luxury, you should look out for suppliers that offer satisfaction and money back guarantees without strings, so if there is a problem, at least you know you’ll get your money back.
- What about fitting? DIY or pro, which is best for you? Irrespective of how keen a DIY-er you are, there are often advantages of choosing a pro to fit your floor in order to benefit from the floor guarantees. Quite often flooring will come with a defect warranty or guarantee, but only if fitted by a professional fitter. In this instance, it’s well worth thinking about hiring a pro to fit your floor.
