How do you choose the best kind hardwood to put down in your house?

Question

My husband and I want to put in hardwood floors in our condo. But there are soooo many different kinds and brands...how do I choose?

Answer 1

First start with what KIND of wood do you like. Do you like the graining of an oak, or do you like the clean look of maple, do you prefer something with a little more character like a pine or Australian Cypress. Find a retailer that can first show you the different species

How do you live on the floor? Do you have kids with big wheels zipping every where and a 200 pound dog or is it just the two of you? Some woods are softer than others and will develop a lived on look more quickly than others. Oak is the baseline standard for comparison because everyone is familiar with oak. Walnut, American Cherry, and Pine are soft woods and you will start to see more "character" in these floors more quickly. This is not a defect, just the nature of what it does. Some people love that the floors develop character, others...it makes them nuts. Brazilian Cherry and Brazilian Walnut are at the top end of the hardness scale, with everything else in the middle.

The you can start to focus in on color. Do you prefer red tones or brown. If you're leaning towards exotics, or American Cherry, please take note that with exposure to light, these floors change their color dramatically. While ALL hardwoods amber over time, these do it more dramatically...so make sure you look at a sample that has been out of the box for a while, but don't panic when it's first installed and lighter than what you thought.

Then think about width and style. Very wide, distressed, dark boards are very popular right now, but they have been before...trouble is, they could date your condo later on when you want to resell. Medium tones and 3" - 5" boards have been around forever - just like your favorite pair of black pumps.

Next comes budget. There are hardwoods for every budget, and when looking at the wear layer between products, it's very easy to see the price difference. Products with a wear surface that can be sanded and refinished up to 3 times, will cost more than those that should not be sanded at all, but if needing to be refreshed can be buff and coated - the top layer of finish taken off and a new layer applied.

Mirage makes a beautiful product. www.boafranc.com
The product has a sandable wear layer, and the milling is excellent, so you have a product that goes down very well.

Forest Accents, Anderson and Appalachian all make fine products as well. All three of these lines have products in several price ranges.

Be careful of buying floorcovering over the internet....if you have a problem - who do you turn to? Also be careful of discount stores, where what you see is what you get, and should there be a problem with the material - you got what you paid for.

Good luck - hope that helps

Answer 2

We actually work with wood for a living as cabinet and furniture makers. Hardwood floors are a matter of taste and also budget. We live in North Carolina and are building a house. We found the best deal at lumber liquidators. The wood flooring I personally like best is cherry, so we purchased Brazilian Cherry. There is also a wood called Koa that has a similar look. Most people just stick to Oak, but I think there are so many other species of wood that have real character. Go to a flooring store and play!!!

Answer 3

It really is a matter of preference. I few things to consider is durability soft woods like bamboo look great but are easily scratched by furniture, pets, even small rocks stuck in the soles of your shoes. The other thing to consider is that all wood floors oxidize when exposed to sunlight. Pre-finished flooring tends to due this more that traditional flooring. Also almost a wood flooring becomes darker when it oxidizes something to keep in mind. I would start at a flooring store and ask for references of work they performed at least 9 months ago or longer. This way you can see what the floor will look like after some wear and after it oxidizes. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

That must be hard! I'm sorry you had to put 1 of your dogs down! If your dog is in pain and can not function very well to do basic things then the kindest thing to do is to put him down. I guess you have to ask yourself "If I were suffering like this, would I rather live or just die?" I think finding your dog dead in your house would be hard, and putting him down would be hard. But would you want to live with knowing your dog had to lay there suffering? Putting him down is best...

Answer 5

Pergo,looks beautiful and is much easier too take care of.It's a laminate but you'll never know.I love mine.

Answer 6

cedar or cypress or pine is good.
cedar is great cause bugs do not like it
it is also very pretty