Wood floors are a great way into achieve the perfect look for just about any interior design. Whether you want to recreate the rustic feel of a log cabin or want to embody elegance, the secret is in picking the right wood and stain. Your local hardwood contractors will have the knowledge and selection to help you choose the right materials to match your lifestyle and decorating goals. From mahogany stain to cherry, from pine wood planks to birch, your local professionals will know how to make your rooms look their best without sacrificing functionality.

There are more factors besides great looks that make hardwood floor installation a wise choice. Hardwood floors have the benefit of being:

• Hypoallergenic- Unlike carpets, hardwood floors do not trap dirt, pollen, dust, and other allergens that can make you or family members sick.
• Easy to clean- Cleaning hardwood floors is as simple as running a mop or broom over the surface. The floor’s sealing finish helps protect against moisture and stains, keeping wood floors looking great with minimal effort.
• Durable- Hardwood floors are built to withstand heavy foot traffic, pets, furniture, and other various daily demands.
• Long-lasting- The durability of this great flooring option allows it to last year after year with little-to-no upkeep. And when your hardwood flooring does start to show its age, it can be refinished rather than having to be replaced like other types of floor materials.

Although hardwood floors are known for their ability to withstand a great deal of use and abuse, sometimes rough treatment or advanced age can cause hardwood floors to develop damage such as nicks, gouges, and scratches. But your floor can be rid of these unsightly marks with quality hardwood floor refinishing. Using dustless refinishing tools and quality sealant and staining products, your hardwood floor professional will have the floor looking like new again. Choosing to hire professional floor re-finishers ensures that your floor will be sanded evenly, that no dust or debris will become trapped under the sealant (which can cause undesirable roughness), and that every corner and cranny of your floor will be reached. Amateur attempts to refinish a floor could be disastrous and irreversible. Avoid disaster and call the experts.

Hardwood floors are a classic choice for a reason. Call your local hardwood floor contractors today for more information on hardwood floor installation and refinishing.

Hardwood floors are a beautiful option for your home. Wood flooring is available in a huge number of versatile looks and even eco-friendly options. Contact your local wood floor dealer today!

Hardwood flooring is a stunning and cost effective option for any home. Wood floors not only create a polished look but also stand up to extensive wear throughout the lifetime of your home.

Versatile Look

As one of the largest surface areas in your home, your floor plays a vital role in defining the look of your entire space. The warm tones of natural wood flooring can unify and accent your space without overwhelming the other features of your home. Depending on your choice of wood you can create anything from a traditional, elegant ambiance to a clean, modern look. Choose from an array of wood selections including:

• Oak
• Cherry
• Mahogany
• Walnut
• Maple
• Ebony
• Heart pine
• Bamboo
• Cork

In addition to the type of wood used, many flooring contractors offer custom inlays as a way to personalize your floors even more. There is no “one size fits all” option here. Your hardwood floors will be designed to speak to your style and will be instrumental in creating the exact look and feel that you want for your home.

Eco-Friendly

For those who love the aesthetic of hardwood flooring but worry about the environmental impact of that choice, bamboo and cork flooring fit the bill. These are two modern, environmentally friendly options for people who want the style and benefits of wood floors without taxing traditional timber resources. Both bamboo and cork are considered to be sustainable woods, so you can enjoy the advantages of wood flooring without compromising your environmental principles.

In terms of overall environmental impact, though, any hardwood floor choice recommends itself to those with “green” sensibilities. Hardwood floors are one of the only flooring options known to consistently last throughout the lifetime of a home – and often beyond! You will never have to clean these floors with harsh chemicals and, if they do start to show wear and tear, experts at wood flooring refinishing can refinish or repair them instead of replacing them.

Whether you are looking for traditional character or cutting edge sensibility in your home, hardwood floors lay the foundation for that style. Not only do they provide long-term value and beauty, but they also let you express your personal taste in a sophisticated manner that will last a lifetime.

When you’re in the market for great flooring-whether you’re renovating, remodeling, or building a new home-you’ll find the best selection, variety, and even prices at a general flooring store. While you may be tempted to visit numerous specialty shops, your local flooring company is your best bet for the perfect floor!

Specialty stores exist for the sole reason of selling you one particular type of flooring material. This means that the sales staff will be emphasizing the benefits of their product and playing up the drawbacks of other flooring. So rather than openly discussing the advantages and disadvantages of all types of floors for your home and needs, they end up pushing you toward their products just to make a sale.

On the other hand, general flooring dealers have no motive for inflating the relative merits of one floor over another. Because they offer everything from wood flooring to tile installation, they likely won’t push you toward one over the other to make the sale. Instead, you’ll get an honest assessment of which types of flooring are best for you, not the store’s bottom line. For example, a hardwood floor specialist might encourage you to select an oak floor for your hallway, when the heavy traffic pattern and hard use mean laminate flooring probably makes more sense.

Additionally, a flooring outlet is simply more convenient. You get easy one-stop shopping for all of your floor needs, rather than spending days visiting every specialty floor store in the area. With the stress and hassle associated with just about every home remodeling project, you simply won’t have the time (or patience) for all that running around. That’s why we highly recommend making a flooring dealer with a broad selection and trustworthy, knowledgeable staff your first stop. You can always drop by a specialty store later if you’d like, but chances are you’ll find precisely what you want, whether it’s floor tile or carpet, at your local floor store!

Hardwood flooring adds timeless elegance to any home, but after years of wear, it can begin to lose its luster. The good news is that even if your wood floor is starting to look shabby, scratched, or marred, you don’t have to replace your flooring. Unlike with laminate, tile, carpet, or other flooring materials, hardwood floors can be refinished for a fresh, beautiful new look. Refinished wood flooring looks as great as a whole new floor, but at a fraction of the cost!

The beauty of hardwood is that your floor can be returned to its former glory through a simple refinishing process. You’ll be truly amazed at the transformation of your wood flooring from lackluster to pristine. Wood floor refinishing can repair scratches and dings, smooth warped planks, and give your whole floor an even, shining finish. Once your floors have been refinished, they’ll look like new.

Refinishing hardwood floors is a relatively simple process involving thoroughly sanding the floor to remove the old finish and smooth out scratches and rough patches. Then a finish is applied to seal and protect the floor. A wide variety of finishes are available, including stains and sealants, so talk to your hardwood flooring installer about which option is best for your home and your needs. Some possibilities include oil-modified (polyurethane), water based, and moisture cure finishes.

Refinishing your floors can be an opportunity to customize their appearance as well as revitalize them. You can have your wood floors stained, dyed, or antiqued to create a personalized look without the expense of custom wood floor installation. Some options include: aniline dye coloration, bleaching, pickling, and oil stains. You can even get the look of inlay without the commitment through stenciled borders and patterns!

Although repairing hardwood flooring sounds simple enough, it’s important to use professional contractors. Do-it-yourselfers can damage their floors by over sanding or trapping debris in the finish, so be sure to contract an experienced floor refinishing company. You’ll be able to sit back and relax while the pros do all the hard work of making your floors look like new. Contact your local wood flooring company to learn more about having your floors refinished today!

Wood flooring is a beautiful way to add style and grace to any home, but it can be hard to choose among all of the various wood floor materials on the market today. Both wood laminate and site-finished hardwood offer attractive appearance for any room in your house. They’re also both durable, stain resistant, and low maintenance. Unlike carpets, all types of wood flooring are hypoallergenic; with no fibers to trap allergens, it’s easy to keep this type of floor clean. Yet, hardwood and laminate both have distinct benefits and drawbacks. So whether you’re just looking to upgrade your old flooring or want to increase the value of your house, keep reading to learn which type of wood floor is right for you.

Hardwood Flooring: the Pros and Cons

Hardwood flooring has several definite advantages over laminate. First, although laminate is attractive, hardwood provides the beauty of a natural floor. From grain variation to satiny texture, real wood is arguably more appealing than laminate. Hardwood also offers options for customization: homeowners can select wood species, stains, and finishes to tailor the floor to their exact specifications. Moreover hardwood floors can be refinished when they become marred or worn, making them a long term investment. While refinishing hardwood floors makes them as good as new, laminate must be replaced when it is damaged.

Yet, hardwood floors do have some disadvantages. The fundamental problem with hardwood is price; this is not an inexpensive flooring material. Installation can also be a drawn-out process, as the floor must be laid, sanded, stained, and sealed over the course of several days. And, keep in mind that hardwood floors cannot be laid over your old flooring. While laminate can be installed over your old flooring, hardwood requires a bare subfloor, so you’ll have to remove your existing floor before hardwood installation can even begin.

Laminate Wood Flooring: the Pros and Cons

Laminate can be an attractive alternative to hardwood flooring. One of its primary advantages is cost; laminate is affordable, coming in at around half the cost of hardwood. Moreover, laminate floors can be installed quickly and easily. And, since virtually all laminate floors are floating floors, no special subflooring is required. They can be installed right on top of your old floor, excluding carpet. One additional benefit is that some floating laminate floors can be installed and later removed without harming the underlying floor!

Nonetheless, laminate floors do have shortcomings. The most significant is that, unlike hardwood, laminate cannot be refinished. When a laminate floor is scratched, worn, or warped, the only option is to replacement. Another downside to laminate flooring is design options are more limited. While there are a number of colors and styles available, hue and sheen are set by the manufacturer, not the consumer, so you cannot customize with the same flexibility as with hardwood. Also, the custom patterns and borders available with hardwood simply aren’t an option with laminate. Lastly, laminate floors add less value to your home than hardwood floors do. Because most home buyers prefer hardwood, the simple truth is that while laminate floors do increase the worth of your house, they don’t bump it up as much as hardwood flooring.

With these factors in mind, you can easily select the best wood-look flooring for your home. For more information contact your local wood flooring installer.

Wood flooring is a classic choice to add elegance and style to any home. With their long-lasting beauty, durability, and sophistication, hardwood floors are an attractive option for just about every room in your house. But if you want a hardwood floor that really makes a statement, why not opt for custom hardwood flooring. You get all the durability of traditional wood floors with the addition of the unique splendor and dramatic good-looks of patterning, inlays, and custom finishes!

The most straightforward custom wood floors simply alter the way the flooring is laid. Rather than laying the planks parallel and perpendicular to the four walls of a room, your hardwood floor installer arranges the planks to form a pattern. Some standard options include diagonal and herringbone. Choosing a patterned wood flooring installation is a gorgeous way to create rich texture, and it’s also a great option for attractively flooring an irregularly shaped room.

Another popular option for customizing your hardwood flooring is inlay. This process combines different types/colors of wood to create two-tone accents in your floor. Custom hardwood floor inlays are available as borders, motifs, and medallions. These designs are particularly striking when there is a strong contrast between the inlay and the rest of the floor; for that reason, rich purple heartwood, cherry, and other exotic woods are industry favorites for hardwood inlay. Depending on the type of wood inlay you choose, custom hardwoods can be used to accent the shape of a room, draw the eye to the center of the room, or just create interest in a large space.

An alternative to having a custom hardwood floor installed is simply to personalize your existing wood floor with unusual stains or finishes. Your flooring can be stained, dyed, or antiqued to create just the look you want. Some options include:

• Aniline dye coloration
• Oil stains
• Bleaching
• Pickling

In fact, you can even get the look of inlaid flooring without the commitment through stencils; your hardwood floor can be colored to mimic the permanent look of inlays, with the color later being removed when the floor is refinished!

If you’ve been dreaming of an exquisite hardwood floor that stands out from the crowd, it’s time for a custom wood floor. You’ll love the beautiful designs, colors, and shapes of custom hardwood flooring. Contact your local wood floor installer to learn more about available options. Why settle for a plain floor when your custom hardwood floor can be a work of art!

Hardwood floors have long been the industry standard for elegance and beauty, but with today’s green revolution, many homeowners are considering environmental impact as well as aesthetics and function when it comes to their flooring. If you’re looking to upgrade your floors and want attractive, eco-friendly flooring, wood flooring is still an option! Unlike traditional hardwood floors, cork wood flooring has a limited impact on the environment, making it one of the top choices in green flooring today.

Cork wood flooring is considered ultra green because it’s engineered from the bark of the cork oak tree. The harvesting process does not kill or even harm the tree, unlike with hardwoods, and the bark of the cork oak will regenerate over the next several years. Each cork tree can be harvested around 20 times over the course of its long life (approximately 250-350 years). At each harvest, a tree produces an amazing several hundred pounds of cork. As you can see from these numbers, cork wood is surprisingly sustainable and very gentle on the planet!

In addition to being eco-friendly, cork flooring is attractive, hypoallergenic, and low maintenance. Available as planks or tiles, cork wood flooring has a distinctive look and feel. There are numerous patterns on the market today, including naturally mottled cork flooring, striated planks that mimic hardwoods, and composite tiles that look like wine corks.

Cork wood flooring is also exceptionally springy, relieving foot pain and joint strain. This makes it especially attractive for rooms where you stand for long periods of time, like the kitchen. In fact, cork flooring is the most popular choice for flooring in wine cellars–not only is it beautiful, but its springy nature means bottles are less likely to break when dropped!

For customers looking for beautiful, sustainable wood flooring, we recommend cork wood flooring. You get great looks, low maintenance, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing you’re doing something good for the Earth. Visit your local flooring dealer to learn about installing cork wood floors in your home.