home Improvement

Above and left: Distressed Cherry engineered

flooring. Photo Courtesy of Armstrong,

International and the American Hardwood

Information Center.

Getting A Foo

Up

Elegant hardwood floors are a top investment for your home.

hoosing hardwood flooring for your
home can be a valuable invest-
ment. Multiple surveys estimate
that hardwood flooring can add as much as
$7,000-$10,000 to a home's resale value.
And a study conducted by the National
Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) revealed
that 99 percent of U.S. real estate agents
asserted that homes with hardwood floor-
ing are easier to sell; 90 percent said that
homes with hardwood flooring sell for more
money — up to 10 percent more, in fact.
In order to get the most out of your valu-
able investment in American hardwood,
here are the flooring options you need to
know about before you buy:

C

SOLID WOOD FLOORS
Solid hardwood flooring comes in three
basic types: strip, plank and parquet.

• Strip flooring accounts for the majority of

hardwood installations. It is installed by
nailing the wood to the subfloor.
• Plant floor boards are at least 3 inches
wide and can be screwed or nailed to the
subfloor.

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Floor Space Magazine •

November 2013

• Parquet flooring comes in 6"x6" blocks,

but specialty patterns can be made much
larger. Parquet floors often create a dra-
matic geometric look.
One tip to keep in mind is that solid
hardwood flooring expands and contracts
due to changes in your home's humidity.
Installers can compensate for this by leaving
an expansion gap between the floor and the
wall.

ENGINEERED WOOD
Engineered wood is made of multiple layers
of different grades or styles of wood that are
stacked and glued together under high heat
and pressure. This type of flooring is less
likely to be affected by changes in humidity.

WOOD LAMINATES
Wood laminates consist of a plywood base
topped with a layer of veneer. The veneer
coating on wood laminate floors can be
sanded and refinished up to three times in
most cases.
After selecting the type of hardwood floor-
ing, the next step is choosing a finish that
will enhance the wood's beauty and protect

the floor from everyday wear, dirt and
moisture. The finish will also give hardwood
a rich color and luster to match your home's
look and feel.
You have a few hardwood finishing op-
tions to choose from:

SURFACE FINISHES
These are the most popular choice of stains,
and involve applying a stain to achieve color
followed by a top coat to add a layer of
protection. Surface finishes are durable and
easy to maintain.
• Oil-based urethane is the most commonly
used floor finish. It is available in differ-
ent sheens, and is generally applied in
multiple coats and also ambers with age.
• Water-based urethane provides a clear
finish and produces fewer odors, quicker
dry time and easier clean-up.
• Moisture-cured urethane is a solvent-
based solution, mostly used in commer-
cial applications. It is more durable and
moisture-resistant than other options.
• Conversion varnishes are a professionals-
only application product that is often used
in commercial spaces.