If you want a surefire way to improve the look, durability and value of your home, hardwood floors are the way to go. Besides being beautiful and hard-wearing, hardwood floors are environmentally friendly as well. Wood is a natural resource that is both renewable and recyclable. Most hardwood floors almost never need to be replaced and can add thousands of dollars to the value of a home. Hardwood floors offer an incredible array of aesthetic options, too. From the kind of wood to the finish to the design of the floor pattern, hardwood floors will suit almost any taste and circumstance.
Solid Wood Flooring
Solid wood flooring comes in three main types. Each type is available in both an unfinished and a pre-finished version. Unfinished flooring must be job-site sanded and finished after installation. Pre-finished flooring is sanded and finished at the factory -- so it only needs installation. The three main types of solid wood flooring are:
- Strip flooring - This type of flooring is denoted by the thickness and width of the wood planks. Strip flooring has a set width, but the thickness can vary. Strip flooring ranges in thickness from 5/16 of an inch to 3/4 of an inch wide. It is available only in widths of 1 1/2 inches, 2 inches and 2 1/4 inches.
- Plank flooring - Plank flooring only comes in two thicknesses, but unlike strip flooring, the widths can vary. It is available only in thicknesses of 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch and a range of widths from 3 inches to 8 inches.
- Parquet flooring - Parquet floors have a very different look from typical hardwoods. They are made up of geometrical patterns composed of individual wood slats held in place by mechanical fastening or an adhesive.
Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood flooring should not be confused with laminate wood flooring. Engineered flooring is produced by adhering layers of plastic laminate veneer with real wood. The main difference between this type of wood and laminate flooring is that laminate flooring contains no actual wood. Look for more on laminate wood flooring later in this article.