Expectations are extremely important with large purchase things like flooring. That is especially true with hardwood floors. There’s no question a new hardwood floor will add a dimension of beauty and warmth to your home. Many consumers don’t realize that wood flooring has some unique characteristics making it not the right selection for everyone. This information is certainly not meant to discourage you from buying a hardwood floor, nevertheless, you do have to take into consideration these four little known factual statements about wood floors before building a purchase:
1) Wood Floors are Guaranteed to Scratch
There are numerous finishes that manufacturers placed on wood flooring to make them more scratch resistant. The most popular finish these days is Aluminum Oxide. Wood flooring also typically includes a wear warranty from 5 to 50 years in length. Wear warranties, however, usually only guarantee a wood’s veneer won’t wear completely through. You can find no anti-scratch warranties in the wood flooring business. All wood floors, no matter the final treatment or quality of the wood, is likely to be prone to surface scratching. With however, be sure you ready your home for a wood floor prior to the installation. It’s a good idea to use furniture protectors, floor mats, and area rugs to shield your wood floors from scratches. Also, you might want to consider installing tile in your entry ways, since it’s the location where in fact the heaviest traffic usually occurs. If you will find large pets or children inside your home, you may want to think about looking at a laminate floor, which is much more resistant to scratches.
2) Wood Floors are Guaranteed to Indent
Wood floors are certainly not a smooth product, but they may be prone to denting from heavy use or drops. No wood flooring is dent-proof, but different species of wood do carpet tools have different examples of hardness. The Janka Test can be used to assess the hardness of a species of wood. Using this test, wood species get a score based upon the force required to embed a steel ball in to the wood. It’s said that the higher the score, the better the species of wood is at withstanding denting and wear. Northern Red Oak, the most typical species of wood used in flooring, is the conventional to which other species are measured against. It includes a score of 1290. You can find species of wood that score over 3000 with this test, and while they may wear better with everyday use, they still will most likely dent if something heavy like a hammer or can of food is dropped on the wood. If you’re really concerned together with your floors power to withstand indentations, you do have other options. You can find “wood-look” high-pressure laminate and porcelain products which are much more resistant to pressure and wear. In addition, a distressed or hand scraped wood floor will do a better job at hiding dents and other wear on your own floor.
3) Wood Floors are Guaranteed to Age
Aging with many floor coverings typically relates to what sort of floor loses its luster over time because of wear and tear on the floor. If I were to state, “Your carpet has aged”, you’d think it had been time to obtain new carpet. However, one on most unique attributes of wood flooring is its ability to really look better with age. Wood floors already come with a lot of natural character and beauty. With proper maintenance, normal use and traffic should just boost the beautiful character of your wood floor. An actual wood floor may also be refinished to replace its original luster and shine. That is a thing that can’t be performed on wood-look products like laminate, vinyl and porcelain.
They’re all nice attributes, but what I really want to touch on in this section may be the photo-sensitivity of wood flooring. Wood tends to change color over time when exposed to sunlight. In reality, some wood floors can take up to year and a half to mature into full color. Other floor coverings, on one other hand, might be vulnerable to fading or discoloring when exposed to prolonged sunlight. So while sunlight makes other floor coverings look older overtime, it beautifies wood floors, permitting them to reach their true color. That is an important attribute for consumers to understand, just because a freshly-laid wood floor might not always look like the sample you saw in the showroom, which includes been allowed to achieve its full color.
Consumers also should be conscientious about moving their area rugs and furniture periodically to avoid discolorations. Exotic hardwoods and hardwoods with an all-natural finish to them tend to be the absolute most photosensitive. Most hardwoods darken and become bolder over time, however many woods like Santos Mahogany actually get lighter from sunlight. If you’re really worried about sunlight’s affect on your own floor, purchase a hardwood that has been colored with a deeper stain or purchase a species like Northern Red Oak which really is a less photosensitive species.