Wood Flooring
Wood flooring has many advantages over other flooring materials. It will add warmth and value to the home and, with proper care, a good quality wood flooring can last more than 100 years.
Wooden floors always look elegant and they can be integrated in any colour scheme your house may have due to the multitude of shades and wood essences available. Although it may be more expensive than carpet or other floocoverings, its durability makes it more economical in time.
Wood flooring comes in a variety of wood essences. Each wood type has its advantages and disadvantages.
Some of the most popular wood flooring types are:
- Ash - light coloured and brightens the rooms
- Maple - very durable but costly
- Oak - sophisticated look, warm feeling but needs maintenance
- Bamboo - strong, durable, relatively inexpensive and is a green flooring alternative
- Cherry - warm and smooth but expensive and easily scratched
- Walnut - tough, durable, easy to install but very costly
- Exotic woods - a multitude of wood essences imported for their aesthetic properties
Wood flooring also comes in 3 shapes:
- Parquet - pieces of wood arranged in a geometrical pattern
- Strips - narrow, linear strips of wood
- Planks - linear wood pieces, wider than the strip flooring, the most popular type of wood flooring
Advantages of wood flooring
- Wood flooring is very easy to maintain. Regular sweeping, vacuuming and washing with a moist mop should be enough to keep your solid wood floor looking good. Even if you spill things on the floor, it is easily cleaned and, if needed, a wood floor cleaner will bring it back to its glorious appearance in no time.
- Wood floors are one of the few completely natural floorcoverings, providing a healthier environment to live in due to the very low level of chemical vapours released by this type of flooring. People with allergies will also benefit from wood flooring because it does not retain as much dust, parasites and other allergens as other flooring materials.
- A properly installed and maintained wooden floor will last for the lifetime of the structure where it is installed. Even though it needs sanding and re-coating, the outlay of maintaining a wooden floor is minimal when compared to replacing carpets and vinyl.
- Wooden floors add value to the property. Despite the initial cost of installing the wood flooring, it will add to the value of your house and increase the re-sale price.
- Solid wood floors are a brilliant sound insulator if installed corectly. As opposed to laminate flooring, they do not sound hollow when walked on.
Disadvantages of wood flooring
- Solid wood flooring is very sensitive to moisture. That is why, when installed on concrete sub-floor, it needs a moisture barrier to prevent damage. Liquid spills need to be removed quickly to avoid damage. Engineered wood flooring is a great alternative to solid wood flooring due to the fact that is more resilient to moisture.
- Wood flooring is costly to buy and install. Fitters charge more to fit this type of flooring than laminate flooring or carpets and the cost of buying the actual flooring can be prohibitive
- Even though they are easy to clean, they need refinishing from time to time to keeping looking good, which can be costly if you cannot do it yourself.
- Some wooden floors are easily scratched and scuffed and need repairing, which can be costly
- Wood flooring is prone to staining, especially if the lacquer that protects it is damaged or worn out.
Our showroom has an extensive range of wood flooring samples. We can supply all kinds of wood flooring, underlays and the accessories needed to make the installation of your new floor
run as smoothly as possible. Call our flooring specialists for advice and information on the ranges of wood flooring we can supply and professionally install.
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