Hardwood Floors
Hardwood Flooring
Because of its warm and welcoming looks, fine hardwood flooring has been the foundation of residential living for centuries. Beauty and durability along with the fact that wood is a renewable resource adds to its attraction as a flooring material. Although hardwood floors cost more than some other types of flooring, but it will bring positive value addition to your property and in most cases last much longer than softer flooring materials like carpet.
Types of Hardwood Floors
Basically there are 2 types of wood flooring construction available, Solid Hardwood & Engineered Hardwood.
Solid Hardwood
Milled from one piece of wood, solid wood floor boards are generally three-quarters of an inch (3/4") thick. Solid hardwood can be installed above or on grade, but you don’t want to install this type of wood below grade, since moisture makes it expand and contract. Remember: if even part of the area you’re finishing is underground (like a walk-out basement) it is considered below grade. Hardwood flooring is not suited to install below grade level or in other areas where it may be exposed to moisture.
Engineered Hardwood
Engineered wood floors constructed of multiple layers of cross grain that are bonded together.The upper layer is made of a real wood selected from various species. The lower layers are made of different types of wood and it could be natural wood or man-made wood like plywood. The grains in each successive layer have a different orientation making the wood more stable and less prone to warping. Stability is the biggest advantage of an engineered hardwood over the solid wood floor, thus it could be installed Below, On or Above Ground Level.
Engineered hardwood same as solid wood is available in pre-finished or unfinished, and can be find in all known species used in hardwood flooring industries along with many different finishes such as urethane finish or Oil Finish.
Engineered wood floor depends on its construction and dimensions can be direct glue-down, nail, staple or floated. Some engineered woods are also available in click and lock systems. Floating engineered wood needs to be installed directly over an underlayment, like cork flooring underlayment.
Poor constructed engineered wood floors use substandard glues that may contain volatile organic compounds. These cheap wood floors will emit VOC’s for years. Engineered wood made from cheap glues or made with poor quality base layers is likely to unravel in the blink of an eye. It is also better to visit a physical store and get a first hand idea of the appearance and finish of a floor instead of relying on online pictures.
One of the most important fact we all need to consider while purchasing our new wood floor is that the plant has been taken, harvested, possessed, transported, sold or exported legally in any foreign country or the U.S. "Lacey Act" banning commerce in illegally sourced plants and their wood products. The following are "Lacey Act" plant violation:
- Theft of plants
- Taking plants from an officially protected area, such as park or reserve,
- Taking plants without, or contrary to, the required authorization
- Failure to pay appropriate royalties, taxes or fees associated with the plant's harvest, transport or commerce
- Laws governing export or trans-shipment such as a log-export ban
Let's be responsible and buy our hardwood floor and any other wood products from a reputable manufacturer and retailer. Carpet Floor & More, Inc. is proud to be the authorized hardwood dealer for most those reputable manufacturers.
For fine hardwood floors, hardwood design ideas and hardwood installation consultation, visit our Los Angeles floor covering showroom where we carry high-end commercial hardwood floors and residential hardwood floors with many choices and patterns to choose from. Bring the natural beauty to your home decor with our designer choice of the latest stylish wood flooring, from strip solid & engineered hardwood to wide planks, long lengths and long strips wood floor. Experience how design, technology and sustainability work inunison across our selective products.
Hardwood Flooring Installation in Los Angeles
Carpet Floor & More has been installing hardwood flooring in Los Angeles and North America since 1987 and completed numerous hardwood floor projects with %100 satisfaction. Carpet Floor & More also sells hardwood floors in Los Angeles and other parts of North America. Our installation services are available in many cities of USA and CANADA.
Some Facts about Expansion and Contraction of Hardwood
Wood is hygroscopic material and, it will absorb or release moisture until in equilibrium of its surroundings.
*Gaps may occur due to change in seasons and/or changes in humidity.
*Wood will not swell or shrink equally; this may cause gaps in some areas of the floor and not in others.
*Gaps may be more excessive around vents or above the home’s heating system.
*Excessive moisture may cause cupping of a wood floor, although a small amount of cupping can be accepted as normal, especially in wider widths.
*Plank floors (3”-8” width) will expand and contract to greater degrees than strip flooring (1 ½”-2 ¼ “).
*Some species of wood may expand and contract more or less depending on the “stability” of the wood.
*All species of wood differ in stability characteristics and hardness. The Janka Scale is a measurement to determine the hardness of woods.
*With the normal expansion and contraction of wood, over time squeaks may occur from the nails and staples slowly becoming loose, however, most squeaks come from loose sub-floors rather than the actual hardwood.
In new installations, Carpet Floor & More takes as many steps as possible to secure the existing sub-floor to prepare it for a good installation; however in existing floors, squeaks may be difficult or not possible to fix.
