Deciding On Wood Flooring for Your Home
Real wood is gorgeous and brilliant for flooring. It looks classy and 100 % natural, and there are numerous different types of timber for you to choose from. From light coloured woods to dark, there’s always a hardwood out there to fit with your home and personal taste
Any kind of timber that you make use of for flooring will have been tested using the Janka scale. This tests the hardness of the wood and consequently determines its suitability for use on the floor because the wear and tear it will get from families walking on it and putting household furniture on it. At the top end of the Janka scale are hardwoods such as Brazilian ebony and Bolivian cherry and at the bottom end are the softwoods such as Balsa and Eastern White Pine.
Without a doubt the most popular is oak flooring and oak is available in two types: red oak and white oak. The red oak remains the most popular because it is warm colour and generally available, but the white variety is becoming more popular with trends for paler colours. White oak is also good for parts of the house which might get wet such as the kitchen area because it is relatively impermeable to water. Oak is an enduring flooring favourite and the versatility makes it convenient to lay. Additionally , it takes colour stains well if you want to change the shade.
Maple is a popular choice if you’d like something dent and scratch resistant. It is not as stable as oak so will potentially need a perimiter border to protect it from damage as it expands and contracts. The grain of this wood creates pleasing patterns and if you choose this wood it will be to some extent because of this. The wood will not take a stain well so be certain that you’re contented with the shade and grain before you lay it in your house.
Warm coloured woods for the floor include cherry and walnut. Cherry, like oak, is supplied in two varieties: American and Brazilian. The Brazilian is the darker of these two and it is very hard. The American is a gentle pink and one of the softer hardwoods. Both may change colour after exposure to sunlight so don’t count on it to remain the exact shade as when it was laid.
Walnut is a beautiful wood but also very expensive. It is not likely that you would lay an entire floor in walnut but it can be used as an accent in small areas. It is actually really strong and flexible with an even, fine grain. Provided you can afford walnut on your floor, you won’t regret it.
For anyone who is more in to paler wood, ash or birch could be your answer. Paler woods are particularly good in smaller rooms since they make the room appear larger sized. If you couple this with a pale wall, the space will look much bigger than if you used darker colours. Ash is long-lasting and really strong. It isn’t susceptible to splitting and has great shock resistance. An additional benefit is that it also takes a stain well should you wish to vary the colour.
Birch can be creamy in colour but is also available in redder tones. Young birch will be at the creamy end of the spectrum, whereas the older birch (the heartwood from the middle of the trunk) is at the redder end. It is actually a particularly good wood for high traffic regions of the home.
If reclaimed wood is more your thing, beech may well be a good choice. It is one of the most popular reclaimed woods used for recycled flooring and it will take a good deal of wear and tear. It is strong and resistant to splitting. Often you will find floors of beech with a clear urethane layer to help protect it. The grain is straight as well as being fine, giving it a consistent look. You will find it available in dark brown to pale white.
You can’t really go wrong with a real wood floor, but be sure that you choose something which is suitable for your house and budget. So why not find a hardwood flooring supplier now?