While we’ve already discussed how to choose the color of your hardwood flooring, there are many other aspects of hardwood that we haven’t yet discussed. Since hardwood can be a significant investment, it’s important to have all of your facts straight before purchasing. From hardness to construction, all of these factors can be important for your choice.
Hardness
You might be thinking, “It’s hardwood, doesn’t that means that it’s hard?” The short answer is yes, but hardwood varies in hardness greatly. A wood such as cherry or walnut may look incredibly beautiful, but it won’t stand up to wear and tear like its oak, maple, and hickory counterparts. While there are “harder” hardwoods (such as the Australian Buloke) they are not commercially available.
Photosensitivity
Photosensitivity ranks wood species on the effect that light will have on color change or fade. Oak, Walnut Maple, and Hickory are more light-resistant, while a wood-like cherry wouldn’t be feasible in a sunroom.
Construction
While both solid wood and engineered wood floors look gorgeous and have natural variations, they are completely different structurally. Solid hardwood tends to be a bit more fragile, while engineered can stand up to pretty much anything. Solid floors typically are more costly and are made from a single piece of wood. Engineered floors are made with cross-ply construction and reduce expansion and contraction.
While all of these factors come into play, the best way to find out which flooring you need is by visiting a showroom. East Texas Floors in Tyler, Texas has a wide variety of engineered and solid options to meet your needs. For additional information, call our team at (903) 894-8453.
-
2 mins
