What I need to know
about wood flooring
Armstrong™ Hardwood Flooring by Hartco® Century Farm Hand-sculpted Collection Hickory –– Honey Butter
What do I ask for if I want genuine hardwood flooring?
There are two types of hardwood floors, solid and engineered. Solid is one piece of a 100% solid wood species, easily sanded and refinished. Also a 100% wood product, “engineered” is a higher-performance product made by bonding several wood layers with the feature species showing. Many, but not all, engineered wood floors can be refinished. All have renewable finishes which can be recoated an unlimited number of times.
How do I know where to start?
Think like a designer. Think color. Yes, wood has color, too. Each species (whether or not it is stained) has a color ranging from cool (yellows) to warms (reds) and neutrals (umbers or naturals). Some woods change color over time; that’s natural, often desirable (like antique furniture). Grain provides texture and interest.
What about gloss?
You can have low gloss, satin gloss or high gloss, but gloss has nothing to do with durability or performance. It is part of the look, as are the rustic, hand-scraped or smooth, tailored contemporary styles. (Lower gloss can help hide scratches, though.) How you show off your floor depends on lighting. The three types, general, spot and recessed, impact your floor’s appearance in different ways.
Where can I use hardwood flooring?
Pretty much throughout the house. Solid is recommended at or above ground level due to sensitivity to moisture. Engineered can be used virtually anywhere, even over concrete. Using solid where wood subfloors exist and engineered in moisture-prone areas means you can have one wood species running through the entire house.
How do I get a stunning wood floor?
After color, think species which means grain and shadings and often, hardness. Not all hardwoods are equally hard. Compare formats –– strips (usually under 3 inches wide) or planks (over 3 inches), and check the edge detail. Do you want square, beveled, something in the middle? Don’t forget trim and moldings. They are the finishing details. Follow manufacturers’ instructions on cleaning materials and scheduled maintenance.
Want to Know Even More About Hardwood?
A new hardwood flooring guide helps you choose the hardwood floor that’s right for you, and to make the final selection as simple and worry-free as possible. Today, there are more colors, species and varieties of wood flooring than ever before. To help steer you easily through the buying process, there’s a user-friendly consumer guide to hardwood flooring designed to provide all the basics and answer your questions, even before you ask. Go to www.armstrong.com and request a complimentary copy of the 16-page handbook, “The First Steps to Hardwood Flooring.”
Sponsored by Armstrong World Industries and its family of brands –– Armstrong, Bruce® Hardwood Floors, Armstrong™ Hardwood Flooring by Hartco® and Robbins® Fine Hardwood Flooring.
