When flipping through TV shows related to real estate and home remodeling, one thing quickly becomes clear: just about everyone seems to want hardwood floors in their home. And who can blame them? Hardwood floors are classic, beautiful and easy to maintain and clean. If you’re considering installing hardwood floors in your home, you can rest assured it will be a good investment.
Still, there are so many types of flooring available that you might wonder how to pick out hardwood floors in Franklin County, MA. If that’s the case, you’ll want to take note of the following points about hardwood floor options:
Engineered vs. solid wood: Solid hardwoods are made completely from wood that is between 5/8 and 3/4 inches thick, which allows you to sand and refinish it over and over again. On the other hand, engineered hardwood has a thinner piece of real wood glued on top of a more basic wood—like plywood. Engineered wood is more stable and can work in more spaces, as it’s less susceptible to humidity issues. However, because the real wood portion is thinner, you can only sand and refinish it one or two times.
Finished vs. unfinished wood: Prefinished hardwood floors require less effort to work with, because once you get them from the factory, they’re already ready to be installed. You can put the floors in and walk on them immediately. That being said, you might want to buy unfinished hardwoods so that you can choose a custom stain before the finish, or to better seal the seams between individual boards. It does take more time and patience, but it might be worth it for more custom details.
Considering the wood species: Each type of wood flooring as a distinct look and advantages and disadvantages. The most popular type of flooring is from red and white oak, mainly because these are such hard species. This is important because you want the floors to last. Another consideration besides hardness is the look of the floors. Some woods like walnut are very dark, while others like maple are very light. More expensive and exotic species like teak and mesquite have a unique look compared to many more common hardwood floors. Think about your décor style and wall colors as you consider what to install.
Choosing hardwood flooring for your home in Franklin County, MA is a big job, but one that will improve the look of your home for the long term. As you puzzle through the process, make sure to call Forest Products Associates. Our company has worked hard since 1946 to provide our customers with the highest-quality wood you can find.
Forest Products Associates offers the best customer service you’ll find in the flooring business, as our staff is fully committed to ensuring you finish the process with your dream floors. We are happy to help you sort through all your flooring options as you tackle this home improvement option. Call or stop in today to learn more about what we offer!
Posted: to Hardwood Lumber on Wed, Feb 6, 2019
Updated: Wed, Mar 6, 2019
