Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Rain Rain, Go Away


I'm going to be honest, this rain is not conducive to creative writing. It's dreary, cold (okay, it's like 50), and gloomy.

So, since I'm in such a chipper mood I decided it's a great day to write a blog post. :)

Today I'll be focusing on hardwoods. There are so many misconceptions on what hardwoods are, what kind you need, and what kind you do/don't want. 


If you want a LOT of information, check out HGTV's Guide to Hardwoods. They do a good job of explaining in detail what I'm about to break down simply.

The main things you need to know about hardwood are:

1. Pre-finished vs. Site Finished

2. Solid vs. Engineered

3. Hardness and Wear Layer


So, here we go:

1. Pre-finished hardwood can be solid or engineered and is finished at the mill with multiple layers of polyurethane and usually a layer of aluminum oxide. You buy it ready to be installed. It comes in a variety of different stains and virtually every wood is available.

2. Site Finished (or unfinished) hardwood is raw wood (solid or engineered) that you will polyurethane once it's been installed in your house. While this is not a bad option we normally sell this to new houses, since it makes a mess and requires you to be out of the way for a longer period of time. You will also not get the aluminum oxide layer if you site finish.  A plus to this is that you can pick your exact stain color that you want your floors to look like.

-- There are pro's and con's to both - but nothing too drastic that you NEED to go one way or the other. It's what works best for you and your situation.

Next,

1. Solid floors are one solid plank of wood, they are normally 3/4" thick and cannot be used if you have a home that is on a slab(you need a crawl space or upstairs, obviously works.) You must nail them down, which rules out the slab option. They are durable and can be refinished multiple times, but if we're being honest I don't really know many people who enjoy refinishing their hardwoods over and over. (No judgement if that's your thing.)


2. Engineered floors are a veneer of real hardwood over layers of plywood. The come in a few thicknesses, most commonly 3/8" or 5/16".  A lot of times engineered hardwood gets a bad rep because people assume it's laminate. IT'S NOT LAMINATE :) Engineered hardwood is a great option if you want to get a wider plank (over 4") because it's more structurally sound. It's less likely to cup and bow with changes in the weather and humidity. Depending on your wear layer you can refinished engineered hardwoods once. 

Lastly,

1. Hardness is regulated by someone, with some authority,  who knows a lot about wood and tests it and puts in on a scale called the Janka scale. (see below) This one covers a few woods, but there are some that cover ALL woods, but it would have been overwhelming in this post. While this is something to consider, don't feel like you HAVE to buy Brazilian Ebony (to be honest, I don't even know what this is) because it's the hardest. If you're really concerned with hardness oaks and hickory's are plenty hard. If you want an exotic, Brazilian Cherry is a lovely option. 


2. Wear layer mostly pertains to engineered floors. When you buy an engineered floor there will be a layer of veneer on the top of the actual wood you are seeing. This varies in thickness, which directly correlates to price. Ideally, you'd like to get an engineered wood with a thick wear layer (we suggest anything over 2-3 mm.) If you are sure you'll want to refinish down the road, getting a thick wear layer is key. You can easily see the wear layer by turning your sample to the side. 
You can see on this photo that the wear layer is very thick. This engineered product would be a great buy if you want to refinish down the road. Do not call and ask me what this wood is. I do not know. I found this photo on the internet. I can, however, find you a similar product.



If you have any more questions, if you haven't stopped reading by now, call me or comment below!

Thanks for learning all about hardwoods - thanks for listening to me ramble. (educated rambling, but still)

Until next time, 
Amber