Deciding to get hardwood floors for your home is easy. If you’ve got the time and the money, hardwood flooring can be classic, modern, funky, artsy, luxurious, shiny, matte and just about any color you can imagine. The hard part is deciding what type of hardwood floor you want, and what type of wood you want to use. Hardwood floor lasts a lifetime, so you want to do some research and look for inspiration before you install your new floors.
Besides design, color, and pattern of your hardwood floors there are a few other factors you need to consider. You may have seen gorgeous hardwood floors in one home, but they would end up being completely wrong for your home.
If you have a concrete subfloor, an engineered wood may be your best option.
The type of subfloor you have will be a factor in the type of hardwood floors you choose
Before you go and order your solid or engineered wood, find out what type of subfloor you have. Whether it’s concrete or plywood or other will determine what type of wood will work the best. If you insist on solid wood flooring, but your subfloor is concrete, you may need to redo that as well.
Typically, only engineered wood is suitable for a cement subfloor. However, if you don’t want to pay for the additional installation and labor cost of placing plywood over your cement subfloor so that you can install your solid wood planks, a skilled hardwood flooring professional should be able to accommodate a solid wood floor installation on a cement subfloor.
Hardwood floors installed on or above grade, like a second story bedroom, can be solid or engineered.
Where in the house your hardwood floors are going is another factor to consider. Mainly, if your floors are going into a room that is below ground level, the additional moisture in a “below ground” space can cause damage to solid wood flooring. Engineered wood handles moisture a lot better, and is the preferred choice for below ground, or below grade, spaces.
Where your hardwood floors are going will help determine the type of wood
For hardwood floors that are “on grade” (ground level) or “above grade” (above ground) can handle either solid or engineered wood.
Now that you’ve figured out the physical limitations to your hardwood choices, it’s time to think about your lifestyle and how much fun and activity your floors are going to be seeing. Kids, pets, and parties should all play a part in choosing the type of wood you use for your floors.
Hardwood flooring inspiration and installation in Denver and Evergreen, CO
A skilled hardwood flooring craftsman will be able to accommodate most, if not all, of your requirements so that you get the hardwood floor of your dreams. Stop by our showrooms to get inspiration for your next hardwood flooring project.