Karndean Flooring: Choosing and Installing Hardwood Floors

The flooring choice is considered as one of the most basic but essential decisions a property owner has to make when doing a renovation, as it supports everything else. While there are a lot of various options, from terrazzo to carpet, one material is considered as the acknowledge standard: hardwood material. 

But not all hardwood floors are created equal, and choosing a product is not just a matter of selecting the preferred color. Other factors need to be considered, that will have a considerable impact on both performance and aesthetics. To help explore the options available, we will take a closer look at different areas of floor installation. 

Once you find the right fit for your property, you will need to think about the timber flooring installation. While most property owners choose to hire professionals to install their floors, some fearless homeowners go the Do-It-Yourself route. If you are ready to do the project by yourself, let us give you some advice on how to install your own floors properly.

Select engineered or solid flooring

Usually, hardwood floors came in thick, solid planks of timber. But today, solid hardwood is still readily available, but a lot of companies also offer engineered floor planks made with thinner top layers from shifting during contraction and expansion cycles. All wood moves in a tangential, longitudinal or the radial movement direction. 

To know the difference between solid and engineered floors, visit https://www.thespruce.com/engineered-hardwood-vs-solid-flooring-1821677 for more details.

With engineered floors, you are creating opposing forces in, the board to try and restrict the movement of the plank. For apartments and basements with concrete subfloors, an engineered floor offers an additional installation advantage. 

Whereas traditional solid wood is usually installed over one to two layers of plyboard, which can raise the floor height, as well as interfere with the existing door or marginally minimize the ceiling height. An engineered floor can be installed by gluing it directly to the concrete, or over soundproofing mats. 

It is also best for installation over radiant heat. If you are using an engineered floor, people need to be careful because they have top layers that are so thin that they cannot be refinished and sanded in the future. High-quality products have a thicker layer where you can get as much usable wood as you can out of the solid board. People can only use above the groove and tongue for refinishing.

Visit this site to find out more about hardwood floors.

Choose site finished or pre-finished

Hardwood materials can be purchased with raw faces that get finished by professionals after installation, which arrives with the top coat and stain already applied. The advantage of using pre-finished wood is that people know what they are getting. Once they select the product, they will have an exact product sample to use in coordinating their home’s color palettes and choosing other wood floor design elements like wall coverings, textiles, or cabinetry. 

Pre-finished floors will also take less time to install since there is no need to apply sealant or color. When selecting to do a site a finish, you are rolling the dice quite a bit, and homeowners are relying on the skill of the contractors they hired to get the process and installation right. 

Still, the site finish will allow for the level of customization that appeals to a lot of property owners or designers. Because of that, homeowners will have more control over the sheen and stain. The final result will be a lot smoother too since unfinished floors are usually sanded after it is installed, nailed down and finished as a single and continuous plane. For more tips on floors and carpeting, make sure to check out various distributors like Carpet One Flooring a karndean flooring distributor for more tips and tricks.

Choose what kind of finish

There is a whole spectrum when it comes to finishing floor products, from penetrating oil products to oil-like hybrids, to on-site finish PURs or polyurethanes to pre-furbished Ultraviolet-cured carbamate or urethane finishes. But to make it simpler, a lot of finishes will fall into one of these two categories: PUR (Polyurethane) or oil. The oil penetrates the plank and has a feel and look that is matte, natural and very soft. 

But it is not as impermeable to damage and stains as PURs, which creates a robust and hard topcoat on the surface of the plank that is more resistant to wear and tear, especially for homeowners with small children, or when stains and foods are flying all over the kitchen.