While hardwood makes a great way to finish your house, you need to make the right choices. Not all floorboards are created equal, and you need to tell them apart for the best results.
Your choice of flooring in the home underpins everything else you’ll do in interior décor. Hardwood floors are a popular choice among homeowners looking to give their homes a warm, stylish, and welcoming touch. Instead of getting hung up on the aesthetics, you need to consider the functionality as well. With the help of an expert in wood floor installation in Kansas City, you can harness all the benefits that come with it.
Get the pattern right
The pattern on a floor is as a result of the way the log was cut, and there are three different cutting methods – rift sawn, plain sawn, and quarter sawn. Traditional wood grains that feature undulating patterns, cathedrals, are common in plain sawn wood. By comparison, rift sawn boards have a long and consistent linear grain that is devoid of cathedrals.
Quarter sawn boards resemble rift except they are irregular with what looks 3-D rays which make them outrightly desirable or not depending on personal preference. Most hardwood floors are a blend of all the three boards, leaving you lots of room to get creative. However, you can have a selection of any cut that you desire. Plain sawn boards can complement the rustic look of a property while the quarter sawn board will add a bit of life in the city.
Pick the wood species carefully
If you’re in North America, you’re likely to gravitate towards Oak as it’s regarded as the gold standard of hardwood flooring. Oak has an appealing grain, takes stain very well, is quite durable, and is readily available. White oaks are popular with interior designers because it’s devoid of the pink tones common in red oak.
Walnut, makes an excellent choice if you’re looking for a deep color for a room with a darker finish as it gives a rich, warm tone. Other popular hardwood species include cherry, maple, hickory, and ash. The color and grain of the board is a significant influencing factor when picking floors.
Pick the finish just right
Floorboards come with a wide variety of finishing that range from penetrating oils, oil hybrids, to prefinished UV-cured urethane. Since the oil penetrates the wood, it gives the boards a feel and look that’s matte, soft, and natural.
Boards with an oil finishing aren’t impervious to damage or stains and shouldn’t be used in a high traffic kitchen. On the other hand, polyurethane finishes are stain and damage resistant as they form a topcoat on the surface of the board. They are popular with families with young children.
Oil finished boards scratch easily but are easy to retouch them on a spot by spot basis where the damage happens. They are easier to maintain, but you might have to do it frequently. For polyurethane boards, you might need to buff or recoat an entire section or replace the damaged ones. They require less in the way of maintenance, but when they do, they require more work.
Hardwood makes the perfect choice of flooring for anyone looking to give their homes a warm and stylish finish. However, you must exercise great care when making a selection to ensure that pick one that will serve you well for a long time.
