Hardwood Floor

Hardwood floors are a popular form of flooring for a home. There are several different types of hardwood floors to choose from based on the needs of the consumer. The main types are solid hard wood floors and engineered wood floors.

Solid hard wood floors usually come in solid strips. They come in either finished or unfinished form. The finished wood has already been surfaced so that you can just put the strips together and it’s ready. For the unfinished wood, you have sand it and wax it after you have put them together. Most people putting on solid hard wood floors buy the finished wood when they first install it. Popular hard wood floors include maple, oak, beech, and sometimes bamboo.

Engineered wood floors have the hard wood as the top layer but other, lower cost materials as bottom layers. Solid hardwood floors and engineered wood floors look identical once installed since the top layer is the same. However, engineered floors cost less due to the cheaper woods and other materials used in the bottom layers. The benefit of engineered wood floor is the cost savings. Solid hardwood floors are more durable and last longer as they are thicker and can be sanded down much more than engineered woods.

Before you buy hardwood flooring for your home, make sure you understand the types of hard wood floors (solid or engineered), kinds of woods (maple, oak, etc.) and the general needs of your home (high traffic areas, lots of moisture, etc.). Knowing these factors will help you decide what kind of hard wood flooring to get.