Wood flooring is a popular feature in many houses
Real wooden flooring requires care and attention due to the natural
characteristics of natural living wood. Natural wood will expand and contract with the changing weather..
Plank Sizes
Typically, 5" wide and 3/4" thick boards are the largest
that can be manufactured from solid wood without compromising the
structure of the flooring (some manufacturers produce wider boards using
proprietary milling techniques).
There is, however, no standard size
which will perform well in every environment.
Installation systems
Natural Wood flooring can be manufactured with a variety of different installation systems:
1) Tongue-and-groove: One side and one end of the plank have a
groove, the other side and end have a tongue (protruding wood along an
edge's center). The tongue and groove fit snugly together, thus joining
or aligning the planks, and are not visible once joined.
Tongue-and-groove flooring can be installed by glue-down (both
engineered and solid), floating (mostly engineered only), or nail-down
(not recommended for most engineered).
2) "Click" systems: there are a number of patented "click" systems
that now exist. These click systems are either "unilin" or "fiboloc" A
"click" floor is similar to tongue-and-groove, but instead of fitting
directly into the groove, the board must be angled or "tapped" in to
make the curved or barbed tongue fit into the modified groove. No
adhesive is used when installing a "click" floor, making board
replacement easier. This system not only exists for engineered wood
floors but also bamboo and a small number of solid floors (such as
"parador solido click") and is designed to be used for floating
installations. It is beneficial for the Do-It-Yourself market.
3) Floor connection system: There are a wide range of connection
systems, as most of them are mill-specific manufacturing techniques. The
general principle is to have grooves on all four sides of the plank
with a separate, unconnected, piece that is inserted into the grooves of
two planks to join them. The piece used for the connection can be made
from wood, rubber, or plastic. This installation system allows for
different materials (i.e. wood and metal) to be installed together if
they have the same connection system.
4) Wood flooring can also be installed utilizing the glue-down
method. This is an especially popular method for solid parquet flooring
installations on concrete sub-floors. Additionally, engineered wood
flooring may use the glue-down method as well. A layer of mastic is
placed onto the sub-floor using a trowel similar to those used in laying
ceramic tile. The wood pieces are then laid on top of the glue and
hammered into place using a rubber mallet and a protected 2x4 to create a
level floor. Often the parquet floor will require sanding and
re-finishing after the glue-down installation method due to the small
size pieces.
Finishing, refinishing, and sanding
Floor finishes
The two most popular finishes for wood flooring are oil and
polyurethane. Within both categories there are many variations and other
names used to describe the finish.
1) Oil - Oiled floors have existed for several thousand years and is
the most common floor finish used globally is oil-finsish. Oil finished floors are made
from naturally derived drying oils, and are not to be confused with
petroleum based oils. Pre-finished oil floors can be UV cured. Most
vegetable based oils are 100% natural
Brushed and Oiled - Steel brushes are used in the direction of
the grain which opens up the surface of the wood and removes splinters.
The wood is then oiled.
2) Polyurethane - Polyurethane floors were first
introduced around
1940. There are several types of polyurethane finishes that exist, but
the two most common are straight polyurethane and oil-modified
polyurethane. Both products are sold under various names including:
urethane, lacquer, and varnish. Many wood-finish-manufacturers and
wood-flooring-manufacturers create a brand name for their finish.
Sanding
Sanding provides a method for smoothing an installed floor,
compensating for unevenness of the subfloor. Additionally, sanding is
used to renew the appearance of older wooden floors
Care of wood floors
Proper use of vacuuming, sweeping, and damp mopping is
usually all
that is required to maintain the cleanliness and appearance of a
natural-wooden-floor. Oil soaps should not be used to clean the floors.
The best
suggestion is to use the manufacturers recommended cleaning products.
What is the difference between Solid flooring and Engineered and Laminate?
Solid wood floors are manufactured as one complete piece of solid
wood, generally 3/4" thick and board widths are generally 2 1/4" and 3
1/4" wide. The length of the boards may vary from 9" to 72", depending
on the grade choosen.
Solid wood floors can react to the
environment in which it is placed if a humidifer and dehumidier are not
used to control the humidity between 40 -60% . In the winter heating
months, the moisture content of the wood reduces causing the floor to
contract or leave small gaps between each board. In the summer months
when humidity enters the wood, it will cause the wood to expand and if
there is too much moisture, it can cause the floor to cup.
Solid wood floors are most commonly installed by nailing down to a wood subfloor.
Engineered wood floors refer to products that have multiple
layers of wood veneer glued and pressed together. The Most common
Hardwood Flooring thicknesses are 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" and widths are 3"
4" and 5". Engineered wood floors have layers of wood veneer that are
cross-laminated for dimensional stability. These floors will be less
affected by moisture than solid wood floors. Engineered wood floors can
be installed on grade, below grade, or above grade - virtually - any
room in the home. Engineered wood floors have several options of
installing; nail down, staple down, glue down, and some can even be
floated.
Engineered wood floors are made completely from wood unlike Laminate.
Laminate- core of product is typically made of High Density Fiber
(HDF). The top layer is a photographic layer that should appear
identical to the product it replicates, be it wood, vinyl, tile, etc.
