Hardwood Floors 101

Nothing adds warmth and value to a house like wood flooring. Over 90 percent of property representatives at a national survey said that houses with wood floors sell more quickly and for higher prices than other houses without wood flooring.

Some folks shy away from hardwood floors because they believe that they are high maintenance. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Today's specially formulated finishes are as hard as they are beautiful. Only occasionally will you need to do a thorough cleaning with a recommended hardwood floor cleaning solvent, and it's well worth it to maintain your hardwood flooring in glowing good health.

Another concern a lot of people have is that wood floors are somehow bad for the environment. In fact, wood floors are environmentally friendly. Recycled wood from old boats, barns and even old wood flooring is highly prized because of its"distressed" characteristics. Wood is also a great choice for allergy sufferers because its surface does not collect dust, dander and other allergens.

There are lots of types and styles of wood flooring and lots of sorts of wood may be utilised in them. The most common styles are:

· Strip - A floor composed of wood strips averaging 2" in width. Strip flooring is excellent for smaller rooms since it makes the space look larger than it really is.

· Plank - Plank flooring utilizes bigger wood boards ranging from 3" to 6" in width.

· Parquet - This popular style consists of wooden pieces that combine to make an attractive pattern. The easiest parquet pattern is a 6" x 6" checkerboard layout, but there's actually no limit to how complicated a parquet floor pattern may get.

Wood flooring can be protected with a transparent varnish which allows the wood's natural tint show through or they can be stained any colour you like to match any décor scheme. More than 50 different species of woods are used in wood flooring, such as recognizable domestic woods such as Pine, Oak, and Maple as well as more exotic woods like Bamboo, Mesquite and Teak. All these woods change in hardness and wear resistance, so look at the traffic patterns where they'll be installed.

Including all the flooring choices available to the homeowner to think about, hardwood floors remains a highly popular option. They're less expensive than you may think, and they maintain their beauty and value as time goes by.