Flooring Installation.Com Flooring Installation Blog

By Laine McKenna

In the first half of “The Basics of Hardwood Flooring,” a two-part series, we talked about the differences between Solid and Engineered construction, and the differences cost-wise between domestics and exotics. In part two, we’re going to discuss finishes plank size, and finishes.
Solid and Engineered Wood Floors come in strips of wood called planks. The planks are laid down on top of a surface, and applied using glue, staples, nails, or they can “float.” A floating floor is where wood is placed on top of a surface, but the wood itself is not structurally attached to the subfloor – rather the wood is connected to itself. This means that when the temperature or air pressure changes, the planks won’t move with the subfloor, and instead they will stay intact.

Plank size is important from a design standpoint. Wide planks such as Bruce Hardwoods Turlington Plank which comes in 5 inch wide planks and is engineered, and Anderson
Floorings Appalachian Vineyard engineered hardwoods, which come in 6 ¼ inch planks provide a classic feel.

Narrow planks have a more modern feel, such as Armstrong Maple Binghamton Plank Floor in 3 inches width, and Shaw Hardwoods Cityscape solid hardwood flooring in 2 9/16 inches width, made from a white oak species.

Now onto finishes. When purchasing Hardwood Floor, you’ll have to choose between “prefinished” and “unfinished.” Prefinished means that the wood is purchased with a sealant and top coat already on it. Unfinished hard wood, or “site finished” is when the finish coat is not applied until after the floor has been installed.

Prefinished woods are done by machine and are very precisely applied. The problem with prefinished hard wood floors is that sometimes there are gaps after installation, but you cannot sand them as you would be able to with site finished woods.

Many flooring experts suggest Unifinished Hard wood Floors because the wood will have a chance to acclimate to the temperature of its new environment and contract and expand accordingly. Once it acclimates, it can then be sanded and smoothed so there are no gaps.

The only issue with site finishes is that the finish is applied by a person, making it a very difficult DIY project. Wood finishes need to be applied evenly and precisely, which means
it’s best to contract a Hardwood Flooring installation specialist. A hardwood flooring expert can also guide you through the selection process for your new floor, and help you find a floor that suits your taste, and your needs.

About the author:
In part two of this two-part series on the basics of hardwood flooring, learn about plank size and the different types of finishes. Allow these tools to help you in your hardwood
flooring selection.