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Hardwood

Choosing the right type of hardwood flooring: 

When making a decision on hardwood flooring, it is very important to take into consideration the type of floor to purchase as well as the grade level at which your new floor will be installed.  There are two types of hardwood flooring:  solid and engineered. 

SOLID WOOD FLOORING  

A solid wood floor is simply one solid piece of wood, usually ¾” thick.  By its nature, a solid hardwood floor is more sensitive to moisture issues than its engineered cousin.  During the winter, when heating is most commonly used in a home, the lower humidity can lead to contraction of the wood.  This will produce visible gaps between the planks.  In the summertime, when higher humidity is common, the planks eill expand and the previous winter’s gaps will disappear.  The cycle will most likely occur again in the following seasons.  In some cases, if there is very high humidity, the solid wood planks could cup or buckle.  For this reason, expansion gaps should always be left along all vertical walls.  It is also important to let all solid wood pieces acclimate in the room it is going to be installed in before installation.

In most cases, a solid hardwood floor should be installed at, or above grade level, over a proper wooden surface, such as plywood, and is usually nailed down.  Generally, solid wood can be recoated and refinished several times, although with today’s pre-finished floors, this is less common than in the past. 

 

ENGINEERED WOOD FLOORING 

Just like a solid wood floor, an engineered hardwood floor is a real hardwood floor, just produced differently with more advantages.  Engineered wood floors are made by laminating several hardwood plies together – forming the plank.  Engineered floors can be installed in a variety of subfloor situations (wood, concrete slabs and some types of existing flooring).  In general, engineered hardwood can be glued-down, stapled-down, or floated.  The cross-ply construction of engineered wood greatly reduces the moisture caused, expansion/contraction of planks issues that are inherent in solid wood floors.  Consequently, engineered products can be installed almost any place in your home – even below ground level. 

While solid wood floors are cut as a solid piece of wood, an engineered floor is peeled as thin plies as the tree is spun around.  Several thin plies are then laminated together using a process involving heat, pressure and glue to form the planks (similar to plywood).  The thickness of most engineered floors ranges from ¼” to around 9/16”.  Width-wise, the planks can range from 2-1/4” to as wide as 7”.  Each plank has a tongue on one side and a groove on the other side allowing the planks to be secured together. 

As the engineered plank is produced, the plies are stacked on top of each other in opposite directions.  The reversal of each ply layer greatly reduces the natural tendency of wood to expand and contract with moisture changes – resulting in a more stable product than solid wood.  This is the reason an engineered floor can be installed in a variety of situations. 

The finish layer, or top ply, of engineered hardwood is usually a different species than the plies in the middle of the plank.  By varying the type of wood, manufacturers can produce a wider variety of domestic and exotic species at affordable prices.  In general, engineered hardwood planks will either by a 3-ply or 5-ply product.

PRE-FINISHED OR UNFINISHED? 

Most of the time, engineered wood is pre-finished when it is produced.  There are many advantages to a pre-finished floor, whether solid or engineered, especially when being installed in an existing home.  Pre-finished floors eliminate the need for applying finishing coats at installation, saving the mess that is caused by sawdust and the strong vapors that are also a by-product of unfinished floors.  A prefinished floor can be walked on immediately following installation.  Unfinished floors will have to be stained with several coats of finished applied.  A factory finished floor will usually be UV-cured with ultra-violet lighting.  This results in a much harder finish than can be applied to an unfinished floor.  A factory applied finish, such as aluminum oxide, simply cannot be duplicated with a job-site finish.  Factory-finihsed flooring also comes with an extended factory-finished warranty, unlike most job-site flooring.

PLANK EDGE STYLES 

Hardwood floors are offered in two different plank edge styles:  beveled or square.  The beveled edge depth will vary depending on the manufacturer.  Many hardwood manufacturers  refer to their beveled edge floors as “eased edge.”  These floors tend to have subtle v-grooves as opposed to the deep grooves prevelant in many older solid wood floors.  There are advantages to beveled edge floors for the manufacturer, and ultimately to the consumer.  Beveled edge floors can be produced faster than square edge flooring.  Consequently, beveled edge floors have lower production costs and can be sold at affordable prices.  Beveled edge floors are also more forgiving when installed over irregular surfaces, reducing the chances of having overwood problems during installation. 

Square Edge 

Each edge of each plank meets squarely producing a uniform, smooth surface, blending the floor together from plank to plank.  The almost solid look of this type of floor will give the room a contemorary style and a more formal feel.

Eased Edge 

Eased edge planks are slightly beveled.  In some cases, manufacturers add the eased edge to the length of the planks and the end joints.  An eased edge floor helps to hide minor irregularities, such as uneven plank heights.  Some hardwood manufacturers also refer to eased edge as “micro-beveled edge.”

Beveled Edge 

A beveled edge floor has a very distinctive groove.  Hardwood featuring a beveled edge are generally installed in informal settings with a country décor.  Pre-finished, beveled edge floors are sealed completely, making dirt and grit easy to sweep or vacuum out of the grooves.  A beveled edge floor is also more forgiving and helps to hide subfloor irregularities that can result in variations in plank height, a problem referred to as “overwood.” 

WOOD HARDNESS CHART 

The chart below lists the relative hardness for many different types of wood species common in hardwood flooring.  The ratings were compiled using the “Janka Hardness Test.” The test measures the force required to push a steel ball with a diameter of 11.28 millimeters (0.444 inches) into the wood to a depth of half the ball's diameter.  The higher the number, the harder the wood. 

IMPORTANT:  The chart below is a general guide to compare various species of hardwood flooring.  Ratings will vary depending on where and when a tree was cut.

The plank construction and the finish applied will play an important role in the ultimate durability and ease of maintenance of any hardwood floor.