Wood Flooring Maintenance - Refinishing and Replacing

As years pass by, flooring can become dull or boring in appearance and in some cases damaged. Quite a few external forces can harm a floor, such as water damage or high traffic areas that have lost their finish.

Deciding to actually invest money into your homes flooring is just half of the battle. After you have decided to do something about it, you will still continue to decide to either refinish it or to completely replace it altogether.

Several older homes have great old flooring that can be sanded, restored and sealed over and over again. This kind of flooring gives a unique patina only found in lumber that has been worn out through time. As you may be able to possibly bring an old floor back to its original glory, the majority of old homes have fix issue's that have to be addressed first.

After decades of changing seasons, a home will "settle" as well as the building joists can start to sag ever so slightly. As a home settles the wood floor may eventually begin to show cracks or signs of warping. Home in this condition can make repairing the wood floor quite challenging.

Once a home has had all of its underlying concerns and issues corrected the floor can then be refinished. In some instances, it cannot be refinished more than a couple of times. Engineered flooring is comprised of multiple layers of wood that are attached together. Once the top layer of wood is sanded away the underlying wood plies becomes exposed, basically destroying the wood.

A popular alternative material is oak engineered wood flooring. Oak engineered wood flooring not only provides unmatched beauty, but also offers durability under extreme conditions. Selecting an engineered wood floor over solid planks will not only save a lot of money on installation costs, but oak engineered flooring will last several decades before needing to be replaced again.

If you have actually thought about changing or refinishing your homes wood floor yourself, you may want to think again. Floor refinishing requires hours of back breaking effort. From all of the various refinishing tools needed, to the time needed to planning the repair, floor repair is a lot of work!

Research first before you buy! With all of the resources online you can easily be familiar with all of the top manufacturers and all of the different types of products available. Once you are done with your research and have located a type of wood floor that you really want you can begin looking for a local flooring contractor to order the wood floor and install it for you.

Installing and refinishing wood floors is the primary home improvement. Newly refinished floors not only add worth to the property, but will also provide a unique atmosphere specific to your homes vision. The best home improvement you can make to your home!

The Flexibility Offered by Engineered Wood Flooring

With engineered wood flooring there are various options. These include 21 different colors from 4 different types. These types are the smoked collection, the oiled collection, the distressed and aged collection and the unfinished collection. You can even pick from many other options after you have selected your colour such as plank thickness, prime grade or rustic grade, brushing alternatives or smoking options, bevelled or square edged boards most importantly the finish. These engineered flooring boards are made to your specification and therefore give you a far more personal touch to your floor.

One decision that usually gets people is the selection between bevelled and square-edged wood flooring. Square-edged wood flooring will give you a nice clean finish. You can cast your eye over the entire floor and not see a blemish in sight. If you want a modern look to your floor then it would be good to go for the square-edged wood flooring. If you are looking for a far more rustic approach then the bevelled wood flooring can be more of your style. People usually go for the bevelled wood flooring if they want to make it look just as if the floor has been there for hundreds of years and would certainly lend itself to the aged and distressed collection. However, it is your decision and you may want to be completely different and unique by blending and matching any of the choices that are available to suit you.

Another difficult decision is the finish on the floor. Finished wood flooring can be amazing when it is lacquered and provided a good polish but you must be careful when using cleaning products. Make use of a cleaner with to high a pH level and you will find your finished wood floor has been stripped of it lacquer ! But the lacquer and polish does provide protection to items like heavy furniture, pets nails and women's shoes. Unfinished wood flooring on the contrary, has no such protection. You should be very careful what you place on it and who you let walk in the room. An unfinished wood floor looks fantastic in a country style kitchen and will also give your room a much more natural feel to it.

If you are thinking of laminate flooring at the moment but cannot decide which to choose then why not check out the engineered flooring collection? There are plenty of different choices. If you want a distinctive look with a personal touch then I would definitely suggest an engineered wood floor.

Related Posts:

• Floor Maintenance - Taking Good Care of Your Solid Wood Floor
• Advantages of Engineered Wood Flooring Over Other Flooring Materials

Installation Guidelines For Laminate Wood Flooring

For those people that install laminate wood flooring, the process can be easy if you are well equipped with the required equipment and tools to finished the job. It is vital that you get the necessary instructions from the manufacturer where you acquired the laminate flooring since each type laminate products vary significantly and will require various methods of installation.

If you have any questions or concerns, make sure to follow up with a trade guy or salesperson in which you bought your laminate products. They are taught to be informed of their equipment and products and can provide you with any help you may need during your next renovation project. One important thing before installing laminate wood flooring is to prepare your floor. If you have other floor types, you will need to clean out the room before you begin.

Remove the baseboards and moldings around the specified room. If there are doors, it should be removed as well. If you have taken out the carpet, you will want to make sure that there are no further nails or tacks left on the surface. It is very important that you fasten down any kind of loose or squeaky boards, in case there are any dips in the floor, you will have to use a leveling compound to even out those inconsistencies. Once the floor is clear of old debris and stable, you will need to install the underlay that you have chosen before installing laminate wood flooring. Underlay are available in 36" or 42" wide rolls depending on what you require for your project.

Roll out the underlay in rows that happen to be up against each other but make sure that they do not overlap by any means. Plastic sheeting is going to be required to act as a vapor barrier if you are installing laminate wood flooring underlay over a concrete floor. Make sure to tape the seams of your overlay with duct tape to refrain it from moving. Determined by the type and design of the laminate flooring that you chose, the height will vary and you may need to check if your door frames need to be realigned to accommodate your new flooring.

You will also need to check the height of the flooring with the door frame by setting a loose piece on top of the underlay and check if it still fits below the jam of the door. You may have to adjust and cut the jam in a case where the flooring may not fit underneath. Make sure to follow the manufacturer's guidelines correctly when installing laminate wood flooring. If you do not follow the original installation instructions you may end up having problems finishing your project later.

After installing laminate wood flooring in the room where you want it to install, you will have to ensure that you replace the baseboards and moldings in the room by nailing them to the walls rather than the flooring itself. In doing so, you will surely cover up that small gap that was needed during the installation process.