Types and Styles of Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors come in a variety of styles to meet the demands of today's busy lifestyles - factory finished, unfinished, solid, engineered, strip, plank, parquet, and acrylic impregnated.  

Choosing the style that is best for you is an important decision, and will be based on a variety of issues including your lifestyle, your decorating style, and the area in which you live. Consider consulting with a wood flooring professional in your area to weigh the advantages of each alternative. 

Solid- All wood flooring that is one piece of wood from top to bottom is considered solid flooring. Solid flooring gives you a great opportunity for customization. Your choice of species, stains, and finishes all contribute to the personalization of a solid floor. It's an excellent choice for most areas of a home ground level or above.

Engineered- Consists of layers of wood pressed together with the grains running in different directions. Available in 3 and 5 ply. Perfect for areas of the house where solid flooring isn't suitable; such as basements, kitchens, powder rooms, and utility rooms. Due to the grains running in different directions, it is more dimensionally stable than solid wood.

Strip- Linear flooring that creates a linear effect in a room often promoting the illusion of a larger space. Strip flooring comes in various widths. Call today to learn more about strip flooring or any other flooring that you may be interested in!

Plank- Linear, just like its close relative the strip floor. The difference between the two is that plank flooring is wider in width. Plank flooring's width ranges from 3"-6".

Parquet- Is a series of wood flooring pieces that create a geometric design. 

The appearance of the wood determines its "grade." All grades are equally strong and serviceable, but each affords you a different look. Those looks include: 

Clear- Free of defects, may have minor imperfections.

Select- Almost a clear grade, but contains natural characteristics such as knots and color variations.

Common- Two variations- No. 1 and No. 2. Has more natural characteristics like select grades, and is often chosen due to these features and the character it can bring to a room. No. 1 Common has a variegated appearance, light and dark colors, knots, flags, and wormholes. No. 2 Common is rustic in appearance and emphasizes all wood characteristics of the species. 

First- Has the best appearance, natural color variations, and limited character marks.

Second- Variegated in appearance with varying sound wood characteristics of the species.

Third- Rustic in appearance allowing all wood characteristics of the the species.

Angles at which boards are cut determine how the finished product turns out. All wood flooring can be categorized into one of these three cuts:

Plainsawn- Most common cut. Board contains more variation than the other cuts due to grain patterns resulting from the growth rings that are more obvious. 

Quartersawn- Produces less board feet per log than plainsawn cuts and is therefore more expensive. Quartersawn wood twists and cups less which allows it to wear more evenly. 

Riftsawn- Similar to quartersawn cuts, but this cut is made at a slightly different angle.