Hardwood flooring 1.
You must establish a budget before you begin to shop.
Hardwood flooring is priced according to the lumber that is used to create them.
Some lumber is more expensive than other varieties so the hardwood flooring milled from that lumber costs more.
If you have a budget established you can shop for products that you can afford, and the flooring representative will be able to help you more completely.
2.
You will need to measure your room that you are installing the new flooring in.
measure the length and the width and then multiply the length time the width.
The answer you get will be the number of square feet that you need.
Most hardwood flooring is sold by the square feet.
If you need to know the square yards multiply the length times the width and divides that number by nine.
3.
Solid hardwood flooring can be installed over a wood sub floor.
This type of hardwood flooring is made up of a piece of wood that has tongue and groove sides designed to fit together like puzzle pieces.
This type of flooring is not intended to be installed directly above concrete slabs, so you will need a wooden sub-floor to attach it to.
During the winter when you are running your heating you may notice cracks, or gaps appearing between your board planks.
In the summer the boards will be exposed to a little more moisture in the air and the gaps will magically disappear as the boards expand.
4.
Know your hardwoods before you start to shop.
Boards from the oak family are frequently used to create the boards used in this type of flooring.
Maple, mahogany, yew, and cherry are other hardwoods that are very commonly used for this application.
Each type of wood has distinguishable characteristics like different colorations, grain sizes, and moisture tolerant.
5.
The most moisture tolerant boards will be made from trees like the cedar trees.
If you live in a high humid climate you will want to pay a little more for your flooring and get the boards that will do best with the moisture you have.
6.
Engineered hardwood is made using three or more pieces of wood laminate.
These laminate pieces are glued together to create one solid board.
These wood floors do not expand and contract the way that natural hardwood boards do, so they are sometimes the perfect solution for people who want wood floors, but live in an area where they are not recommended.
7.
Ask the sales person if the flooring you are considering is a high maintenance or low maintenance floor.
Each manufacturer has recommendations on how often the floor boards will need to be waxed and varnished to keep them looking great.
Purchase the version that will require the least amount of maintenance.
8.
Most of these flooring boards come with no finish on them.
Especially the really cheap flooring boards.
You must consider the cost of the stain, the varnish and the lacquer to determine the exact cost of the floor you want.
9.
When you are buying wood for this type of project you must buy all of the wood that you need at one time.
This will assure you that all of your boards will be the same thickness, the same colors, and they will fit together properly.
10.
Heartwood is the wood from the center of a tree and the rest of the wood is called sapwood.
Sapwood is lighter in color than heartwood.