Friday, August 27, 2010
Choices for Wood Flooring
Choices for Wood Flooring
National Wood Flooring Association - NWFA
Reprinted with permission.
Wood flooring is available in a number of sizes and make-ups, each offering its own distinct advantages. People are often surprised by the limitless choices that wood flooring affords them. Today's wood flooring is right for virtually every room. Choosing the right kind and style of wood flooring is not hard if you are familiar with several industry terms.
Choice #1: Unfinished wood flooring:
Unfinished flooring is a product that must be job-site sanded and finished after installation.
Choice #2: Pre-finished wood flooring:
Pre-finished flooring is factory sanded and finished flooring that only needs installation.
Choice #3: Solid wood flooring:
Solid wood flooring is completely lumber. It is available in unfinished and pre-finished. Solid wood flooring is produced in:
Strip - in thicknesses of 5/16" to 3/4" in widths of 1 1/2, 2" and 2 1/4"
Plank - in thicknesses of 1/2" or 3/4" and widths of 3" to 8"
Parquet - geometrical patterns composed of individual wood slats held in place by mechanical fastening or an adhesive
Choice #4: Engineered wood flooring:
Laminate wood flooring is produced by bonding layers of veneer and lumber with an adhesive. Laminate wood flooring is available in pre-finished and unfinished. These products are more dimensionally stable and are ideal for glue-down installation or float-in installation above grade, on grade or below grade, including basements and humid climates. Laminate wood flooring is produced in:
Strip - thicknesses of 5/16", 3/8", 1/2" or 5/8" and in widths of 2" and 2 1/4"
Plank - thicknesses of 5/16", 3/8", 1/2" or 5/8" and in widths of 3" to 8"
Parquet - one-piece wood tile available in 9" x 9" or 8" x 8" and other patterns
Choice #5: Acrylic impregnated wood flooring:
Acrylic impregnated is a pre-finished wood flooring product. Through a high-pressure treatment, acrylic and color are forced into the pores throughout the thickness of the wood. The "finish" is inside the wood, creating an extremely hard surface. These floors are highly resistant to abrasion and moisture and appeal most often to commercial customers but are also used residentially. Acrylic impregnated floors are available in the same styles as laminate floors.
National Wood Flooring Association - NWFA
Reprinted with permission.
Wood flooring is available in a number of sizes and make-ups, each offering its own distinct advantages. People are often surprised by the limitless choices that wood flooring affords them. Today's wood flooring is right for virtually every room. Choosing the right kind and style of wood flooring is not hard if you are familiar with several industry terms.
Choice #1: Unfinished wood flooring:
Unfinished flooring is a product that must be job-site sanded and finished after installation.
Choice #2: Pre-finished wood flooring:
Pre-finished flooring is factory sanded and finished flooring that only needs installation.
Choice #3: Solid wood flooring:
Solid wood flooring is completely lumber. It is available in unfinished and pre-finished. Solid wood flooring is produced in:
Strip - in thicknesses of 5/16" to 3/4" in widths of 1 1/2, 2" and 2 1/4"
Plank - in thicknesses of 1/2" or 3/4" and widths of 3" to 8"
Parquet - geometrical patterns composed of individual wood slats held in place by mechanical fastening or an adhesive
Choice #4: Engineered wood flooring:
Laminate wood flooring is produced by bonding layers of veneer and lumber with an adhesive. Laminate wood flooring is available in pre-finished and unfinished. These products are more dimensionally stable and are ideal for glue-down installation or float-in installation above grade, on grade or below grade, including basements and humid climates. Laminate wood flooring is produced in:
Strip - thicknesses of 5/16", 3/8", 1/2" or 5/8" and in widths of 2" and 2 1/4"
Plank - thicknesses of 5/16", 3/8", 1/2" or 5/8" and in widths of 3" to 8"
Parquet - one-piece wood tile available in 9" x 9" or 8" x 8" and other patterns
Choice #5: Acrylic impregnated wood flooring:
Acrylic impregnated is a pre-finished wood flooring product. Through a high-pressure treatment, acrylic and color are forced into the pores throughout the thickness of the wood. The "finish" is inside the wood, creating an extremely hard surface. These floors are highly resistant to abrasion and moisture and appeal most often to commercial customers but are also used residentially. Acrylic impregnated floors are available in the same styles as laminate floors.
What is Laminate?
What is Laminate?
History
Most people are very familiar with Laminate counter tops. In North America we have several manufacturers who have become household names, such as Formica. In fact, most people refer to their counters as a "Formica" counter top. These same people have no idea that this is not a "kind" of counter, but rather a manufacturer of this type of surface. This existing technology has been transformed in such a way that we can now make flooring out of the essentially the same material.
By adding 'resins', extremely wear resistant top layers, and a center core, Laminate Floors were born. These products have been in Europe for 20 to 30 years but are now making a major impact in North America. Laminate Flooring is simply a multi-layered; wood based floating floor system.
Laminate Construction
Typically Laminate floors consist of the following layers from top to bottom:
Wear layer
Pattern, "image" layer
Processed wood core: usually M.D.F. (medium density fiber board) or H.D.F. (high density fiber board)
Balancing layer (usually with a moisture barrier)
These layers are manufactured into flooring by one of two methods. They are either High Pressure Laminates (HPL), or Direct Pressure Laminates (DPL). With the DPL method, all the layers are bonded together under extreme heat and pressure at one time. HPL is done in more than one step. Typically the wear layer and image layer are bonded together, and than those two layers are bonded to the core in a separate step.
Warranties
Most carry wear warranties ranging form 10 to 25 years but new products are starting to introduce "Lifetime" warranties. Several products on the market also have "water" or "moisture" warranties. It is very important to check with the manufacturer as to EXACTLY what their warranty does and does not cover. Do not be afraid to ask questions. All major manufacturers have toll free information phone lines, websites etc. You are their customer and they are available to answer your inquiries.
Installation Overview
Installations can either be with or without glue depending on the product you choose, and you have the option to hire a professional.
Laminate floors are here to stay. No other flooring will allow the versatility of having a "cherry" and "ceramic tile" pattern - together as one floor, "floating" over concrete in a basement rec.-room. Laminate floors look great, are easy to maintain, value priced and durable.
History
Most people are very familiar with Laminate counter tops. In North America we have several manufacturers who have become household names, such as Formica. In fact, most people refer to their counters as a "Formica" counter top. These same people have no idea that this is not a "kind" of counter, but rather a manufacturer of this type of surface. This existing technology has been transformed in such a way that we can now make flooring out of the essentially the same material.
By adding 'resins', extremely wear resistant top layers, and a center core, Laminate Floors were born. These products have been in Europe for 20 to 30 years but are now making a major impact in North America. Laminate Flooring is simply a multi-layered; wood based floating floor system.
Laminate Construction
Typically Laminate floors consist of the following layers from top to bottom:
Wear layer
Pattern, "image" layer
Processed wood core: usually M.D.F. (medium density fiber board) or H.D.F. (high density fiber board)
Balancing layer (usually with a moisture barrier)
These layers are manufactured into flooring by one of two methods. They are either High Pressure Laminates (HPL), or Direct Pressure Laminates (DPL). With the DPL method, all the layers are bonded together under extreme heat and pressure at one time. HPL is done in more than one step. Typically the wear layer and image layer are bonded together, and than those two layers are bonded to the core in a separate step.
Warranties
Most carry wear warranties ranging form 10 to 25 years but new products are starting to introduce "Lifetime" warranties. Several products on the market also have "water" or "moisture" warranties. It is very important to check with the manufacturer as to EXACTLY what their warranty does and does not cover. Do not be afraid to ask questions. All major manufacturers have toll free information phone lines, websites etc. You are their customer and they are available to answer your inquiries.
Installation Overview
Installations can either be with or without glue depending on the product you choose, and you have the option to hire a professional.
Laminate floors are here to stay. No other flooring will allow the versatility of having a "cherry" and "ceramic tile" pattern - together as one floor, "floating" over concrete in a basement rec.-room. Laminate floors look great, are easy to maintain, value priced and durable.
Hardwood Flooring Types
Hardwood Flooring Types
Solid Wood
Solid Wood flooring comes in three basic types:
STRIP flooring accounts for the majority of installations. Strips usually 2-1/4 inches wide, but also come in widths ranging from 1-1/2 inches to 3-1/4 inches. They are installed by nailing to the subfloor.
PLANK flooring boards are at least 3 inches wide. They may be screwed to the subfloor as well as nailed. Screw holes can be covered with wooden plugs.
PARQUET flooring comes in standard patterns of 6" x 6" blocks. Specialty patterns may range up to 36" square units. Parquet often achieves dramatic geometric effects of special design patterns.
Solid wood floors can be installed on a concrete slab as long as the floor is on or above ground level. They can be sanded and refinished over several generations of use.
Solid wood flooring expands and contracts with changes in your home's relative humidity. Normally, installers compensate for this movement by leaving an expansion gap between the floor and the wall. Base moulding is the traditional "cover-up" for this gap.
Engineered wood
Made of several layers of different woods or different grades of same wood stacked and glued together under heat and pressure. Engineered wood flooring is less likely to be affected by changes in humidity and can be installed above, on, or below ground level. Some engineered wood floors with thicker top layers can be sanded up to three times. Some can't be sanded at all.
Wood laminates
A plywood base topped with a layer of veneer. Plies and thicknesses vary, but three-ply, 3/8 inch flooring is most common. (Remember that solid hardwood floors, at 3/4 inch, are twice as thick as wood laminates.) The veneer topping of wood laminate floors (commonly 1/8 inch thick) can be sanded and refinished (in rare cases, three times.) Most manufacturer warranties cover the finish for five years.
Synthetic/plastic laminates
Usually 1/2 inch thick, plastic laminate flooring consists of a fiberboard center wrapped in top and bottom layers of high-pressure laminate -- a tougher version of the same material used in many kitchen countertops. These floors cannot be sanded or refinished and must be removed when they wear out. They usually come with 10- or 15-year manufacturer warranties against fading, stains and wear.
Solid Wood
Solid Wood flooring comes in three basic types:
STRIP flooring accounts for the majority of installations. Strips usually 2-1/4 inches wide, but also come in widths ranging from 1-1/2 inches to 3-1/4 inches. They are installed by nailing to the subfloor.
PLANK flooring boards are at least 3 inches wide. They may be screwed to the subfloor as well as nailed. Screw holes can be covered with wooden plugs.
PARQUET flooring comes in standard patterns of 6" x 6" blocks. Specialty patterns may range up to 36" square units. Parquet often achieves dramatic geometric effects of special design patterns.
Solid wood floors can be installed on a concrete slab as long as the floor is on or above ground level. They can be sanded and refinished over several generations of use.
Solid wood flooring expands and contracts with changes in your home's relative humidity. Normally, installers compensate for this movement by leaving an expansion gap between the floor and the wall. Base moulding is the traditional "cover-up" for this gap.
Engineered wood
Made of several layers of different woods or different grades of same wood stacked and glued together under heat and pressure. Engineered wood flooring is less likely to be affected by changes in humidity and can be installed above, on, or below ground level. Some engineered wood floors with thicker top layers can be sanded up to three times. Some can't be sanded at all.
Wood laminates
A plywood base topped with a layer of veneer. Plies and thicknesses vary, but three-ply, 3/8 inch flooring is most common. (Remember that solid hardwood floors, at 3/4 inch, are twice as thick as wood laminates.) The veneer topping of wood laminate floors (commonly 1/8 inch thick) can be sanded and refinished (in rare cases, three times.) Most manufacturer warranties cover the finish for five years.
Synthetic/plastic laminates
Usually 1/2 inch thick, plastic laminate flooring consists of a fiberboard center wrapped in top and bottom layers of high-pressure laminate -- a tougher version of the same material used in many kitchen countertops. These floors cannot be sanded or refinished and must be removed when they wear out. They usually come with 10- or 15-year manufacturer warranties against fading, stains and wear.
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