What You Need to Know About Different Kinds of Hardwood Floors

When doing research for future hardwood flooring projects, make sure you know what each kind of flooring is and how it will affect your project. Typically, when we think of hardwood floors, we think of the traditional are a medium brown that have panels that are a few inches wide. Well, while that is one kind, there are many others. 

Laminate floors. These are less expensive than genuine hardwood floors but they are not necessarily inferior quality. Most laminate floors are made with great quality nowadays and look and feel just like real hardwood. Laminate floors are made up of composite wood with a picture placed on top of the traditional hardwood look. Some kinds are glued into place while newer models are able to be placed and locked with no glue. One lure to this kind of floor is that is more suitable for those with pets.

Some people argue that it is better to use real hardwood that can be sanded down and refinished if there is any damage; while this is a good point, if you want laminate hardwood flooring, go for laminate. However, we will still explore real hardwood types.

Select red oak – this is a top grade hardwood floor. The select red oak is 2-3/4 inches wide. The knots in this type are often very tight and your color options are more limited. You do have the choice of the width as you can get wide choices of species of this kind of floor; you can get other species than the oak as well. For the select red oak, you are looking at a cost of approximately $5 per square foot.

Natural maple is another higher grade. This kind has more color variations than the select red oak. The width for the maple is 3-1/4 inches wide and also comes in widths of 4, 5, or even 6 inch widths. This type of wood floor is a bit more dense than the select red oak as well. How dense is it? Well, this is the kind of wood used for basketball courts and bowling alleys. For the natural maple, you’re looking at an approximate cost of $4 per square foot.   

 Rustic ash is the third kind. This kind has larger knots than the others and still has good color variation. This one is a bit less pricey than the other two kinds and costs approximately $3 per square foot. It is indeed a less classy style of wood and suited more for leisure rooms and lodges.

If you are looking to install hardwood floors in your home, then contact ChicagolandPro – a Palatine Hardwood flooring installation company. 

We have many hardwood flooring specials and other hardwood floor services.

Hardwood Flooring Textures: Brushed, Bandsaw and Tumbling

Our Palatine Hardwood Flooring Company can tell you that the final appearance of wood flooring is not just dependent on the type of timer but the treatements applied to the wood as well.  The staining, oil, wax, lacquer finishing, or fuming/smoking will affect the color of the wood as well. 

Chicagoland Pro specializes is hardwood flooring installation, hardwood flooring restoration, and hardwood flooring maintenance. In this blog, we will focus on the physical texture and grain of solid wood flooring.  There are three main textures of hardwood flooring, they are brushed, bandsawn, and distressed/tumbled. 

Brushed:

In the past, brushed flooring texture was achieved by hand using wire brushes.  Now with technology advancements, the same appearance can be achieved with purpose-built machinery which produces a steady depth of brushing over the while floor.

When our hardwood flooring company is trying to achieve the brushed appearance, we use a machine with copper of steel brushes that rotate over the surface.  This machine opens up the grain and turns the smooth surface into a more open-textured surface with indentations that follow the grain of the wood.  We can achieve different levels of grain accentuation depending on how hard or soft the brushing is.  We also can emphasize the depth of grain by using a colored or oiled finish that will accentuate the wood’s texture.

Bandsawn:

To create saw marks over the complete surface of the wood, our hardwood flooring installers would use a bandsaw.  We adjust the settings of the bandsaw to create different degrees of texture.  We have the skills to make your hardwood flooring look high textured and rustic or subtle. 

Tumbling:

One of the most common textures our Palatine Hardwood Flooring Company provides is the look of reclaimed wood, which involves tumbling.  Tumbling is often times a much lower cost and gives wood a distressed look.  The resulting effect of tumbling is wood that appears to have years of wear and tear and is difficult to distinguish whether it is distressed or reclaimed wood/

For hardwood flooring tips, the best method to tumbling is to distress/soften the corners and edges of the wood to make it look word and our machine will also create random indentations across the surface to give an overall “naturally aged” look.  Distressing adds character and beauty to your hardwood flooring and it is suitable for modern times.

We understand that everyone has different tastes in flooring whether it be hard wood or carpet or tile.  We think it is important for people to realize that there are so many options and looks to hardwood flooring that can be achieved in a multitude of ways.  If you have any questions about hardwood textures, please contact Chicagoland Pro for Palatine Hardwood Flooring Installation or comment below!