As interest in hardwood floors has expanded, so have manufacturers’ abilities to produce better quality finishes and superior construction techniques. These improvements now allow for wood floors to be installed over a wide variety of sub-floors, making them more versatile and adaptable.

Your first consideration should be whether to install a pre-finished wood floor or an unfinished one. Pre-finished floors offer a wider variety of wood species, save hours of labor costs in finishing and cleanup, and usually have an extended factory finish warranty. In contrast, unfinished wood floors allow you to have a custom job-site finish—a technique that can produce a truly one-of-a-kind look.

Nowadays wood flooring is available in three formats: 3/4" solid wood; engineered plank; and longstrip plank. The end results may look similar, but there are distinct advantages to using each type, given pre-existing floor conditions. The installation method is critical as to where a wood floor can go, so it’s essential to use an experienced installation team.

When you hear about solid wood floors it’s generally a reference to 3/4" thick plank that is 2 3/4" wide. This is the classic strip wood floor, although it is possible to find varying widths and slightly thinner gauges. Red oak, white oak and maple are the most commonly used wood species for solid strip floors.

Since these floors are susceptible to moisture, they should not be used below ground level or installed directly over a concrete slab, and the sub-floor must accommodate nail-down installation. One of the benefits of solid wood flooring is that it can be sanded and refinished several times, allowing for increased longevity and, in many cases, increased appeal. There are solid wood floors that are more than 100 years old and still in beautiful condition.

Engineered plank floors are preferable to solid wood if you suspect moisture or humidity is present in the space. Engineered floors are made up of multiple thin sheets, or plies of wood that are laminated together to form one plank. In assembling engineered flooring, the plies are stacked one on top of the other but in opposite directions—a technique known as cross-ply construction. This prevents expansion or contraction of the planks as humidity fluctuates.

Since engineered floors are made up of several layers of wood, it’s possible to change the top finish layer to a totally different wood specie—mahogany, cherry, teak, walnut, etc.—without making the cost prohibitive. So if you’re interested in the option of available domestic or exotic hardwoods for the visible surface, then an engineered wood floor is a good choice.
Another advantage of engineered floors is they can be nailed, stapled or glued down, or floated over a wide variety of sub-floors, including several types of existing flooring.

Longstrip plank floors are similar to engineered floors in that they are made up of several wood plies glued together. The center core is usually a softer wood material, used to make the tongue and groove, while a hardwood finish layer is glued on top of this. Like engineered plank flooring, the top layer can be almost any hardwood specie. But, in contrast to engineered flooring, this layer is formed of many smaller, individual pieces laid out in patterns of three rows.

Longstrip boards are usually about 86" in length and 7 1/2" in width, and each has between 17 and 35 pieces in the top layer. By installing a longstrip board the effect is that of three rows wide and several planks long—each longstrip plank looks like an entire section that has already been pre-assembled.

Longstrip planks are designed for floating installation, but most can be glued or stapled down. And because these floors can be floated, they can be installed over a wide variety of sub-floors on any grade level.

These days hardwood floors are more affordable and more durable than ever before. That’s because manufacturers of prefinished wood floors have developed outstanding finishes offering long-term abrasive wear resistance along with stain and spill protection, and advanced techniques to quickly apply these finishes right at the factory. The use of ultra violet lights allows for several coats of the finish to be applied within minutes. And recently, some manufacturers have started adding small chips of aluminum oxide, dramatically increasing the life of the finish.

If you’re considering hardwood flooring, your options are plentiful but the look is always one of longevity, permanence and lasting appeal.

Top