Great Wood Flooring Selection Tips

These factors affect the appearance and cost of your wood floor so let’s take a look at their influence and the wood flooring faq prior to making your purchase.

Wood Flooring Selection Tips 1: Grade

Grade is determinded by color, grain variation and the presence of flaws like knots, wormholes and saw marks. No universal grading system exits – each species has a different ideal hue and degree of grain uniformity – but as a rule of thumb, the fewer floaws a piece of wood has and the more consistent its color and grain, the more expensive it is.

Wood Flooring Selection Tips 2: Cut

The most common cut for flooring is plain-sawn, but some can be quartersawn or rift-sawn, methods that can result in a denser, straighter grain.

Wood Flooring Selection Tips 3: Finishes

With today’s technology, wood flooring is more lasting and requires less maintenance than before. This is because most wood are prefinished – pieces that have been sanded and sealed and in some cases, stained. Because the finishing process is done in a controlled setting, the products come with decades-long warranties. Another plus is that their installation generates no sanding dust nor fumes so you don’t have to leave town when the floor is being put down.

Alternatively, you may look at job site refinishing. You start with an unfinished wood floor which is then sanded, stained, and/or finished at the job-site. This is the route to go for custom stained wood floor, or if you want the wood flooring to match a color or decor theme. The wood flooring species determine the type of finish so consult the wood floor professional first.

The right finishing protects the wood from wear and tear while providing an attractive sheen and color. Here’re some popular finishes:

1. Surface Finishes – durable, water-resistant and low maintenance. It has synthetic resins on its surface to form a protective coating and available in gloss, semi-gloss, satin and matte surface. This type of finish is suitable for the kitchen.

2. Wax - easiest to apply, least expensive, fastest drying, easiest to repair, and long-lasting with proper care. Periodically, wax must be re-applied.

3. Custom finishes – it’s performed professionally at home and customized to individual specification according to color and surface types.

Wood flooring of old homes are usually finished in shellac or varnish. They tend to stain the wood color darker and are hardly used for new flooring anymore.

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