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Caring for wooden Flooring

In the long term dirt and gravel can certainly damage your wooden flooring as these fine crumbs aim the regular deterioration and can also scratch hardwood flooring. In your normal cleaning schedule you do not want to use chemical substances , such as ammonia, or even simply water and a mop to clean your wooden floors. When waxing a floor see to it that you work with the appropriate wax for the wood variety . Dragging home furniture can easily scratch any floor, so ensure to use felt protectors underneath. Hovering is the best way of. getting rid of dirt as it can suck debris from in between the cracks , just make sure you don't swing an exposed metal extender around the floor. Wooden floors also need protection from direct sun light as this can cause discolouration. Regular maintenance and choosing the right type of wood flooring to start with is the secret to convenient care for your new floor.

Surface

In surface texture you have numerous alternatives to choose from, such as: Brushed, Hand scraped Distressed, Stained, Smoked, and Carbonised. Some surface type seems to stick to a specific type of wood. For instance scraped is one of the most common types in oak flooring and everything comes down to your liking. When you would prefer a wooden floor to be darker choosing a different surface method but sticking to the same type of wood might be an possibility to think about.

While you check the label it might also be a good thing to ask for the distinctions in the warranty per wooden floor firm . Warranties usually only cover fabricating mistakes and then you will notice. there is not much to fail with solid flooring. Engineered wood flooring on the other hand is a complicated gluing process where manufacturing mistakes can be made by plain factors like lack of pressure during the bonding process or with more affordable floors not pressurized long enough.

Grading types

Wood is separated in a couple of grades to help to distinguish the aesthetic difference between each piece of wood. The main three grades are: Classic, Character and Rustic. Timbers with a large colour variation will have the colour added to its grade. For instance Classic Olive Ash .

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You also want to take into account to what environment the floor will be exposed. Is it a high traffic area , like that of a coffee shop , or will it be in subjected to water such as the kitchen or bathroom . Yes there are floors suitable for rather wet areas you just need to select a floor that can deal with it and make sure it is installed by a professional .

Moisture movement is another thing to assess when deciding on your floor. And with moisture I imply moisture in the air. Oak is a wood that extends heavily when the air is moister . and when using an oak floor it need to have more than enough space to extend (called an expansion gap) or else the wood will be twisting and creating a very ugly and uneven surface. Every wood has moisture movement you just need to know how much . and make sure your specialist know what they are doing. And if your climate has a large temperature and moisture variation you might want to pick a wood type that spreads less .

As with any wooden product you want to make sure it is sourced sustainable so checking out the label and checking what the label really means is a good routine to get into, not just for flooring. This counts specifically when it comes to hardwood as still substantial bits of hardwood are still unlabelled because they are not grown responsible or even worse they just have some label stuck on it without any meaning.

Styles of Flooring

There are a lot of different types of flooring to select from, but if we make it a bit less complex then in wooden flooring there is a explicit contrast of solid wood and engineered wood. Solid wood flooring consists of planks which are milled from a single piece of timber. Engineered wooden floors are wood layered floor boards in which assorted layers are bond together to make the floor boards. The layers increase stiffness, stability and strength by varying each layer by 90 degrees. Much like multiplex but then for flooring.

Wood Flooring

When it comes to deciding your wooden floor there are quite a few facts to think about aside from which provider shall lay the flooring . As the tips of a wood floor specialist might be prejudiced to what item offers the highest margin . Here is a overview of wooden floors.

Things too look out for

When planning to place wood flooring the first thing you want to check is the condition of the under surface as a more uneven surface could push you to specific engineered flooring rather than solid wood flooring. Or if it is truly poor you would require some type of underlay. This would also be a good thing to use if you are living in a flat and want to decrease noise disruption to the neighbours below.

The basic alternatives go from Lacquer, Natural Oil to UV oil. Lacquer is the most heavy duty of all finishes and with that also requires the least amount of maintenance despite the fact that scratches can still occur . Natural Oil is a bit . less tough but has the easy option that repairs can be made swiftly which can fill in most scratches. UV Oil is a bit in between both. Lacquer, even matt once, do leave a clear sign that the wood floor has got a finish. The oils are far better in masking their presence as they get soaked up by the wood making it the favoured option if you want it to look like it is not treated.

Patterns

Colour and texture of the wood is not the only thing that determines the look of your floor. Patterns have a great impact on looks and can integrate the shape of the room. The three main patterns are: narrow strips, wide planks, and parquet squares. Narrow strips are the most common one to find in wood flooring and as some patterns such as a specific parquet square do not come in all wood type perhaps this should have been the starting point of your selection.

The finest grade for wood is the classic grade it has the smallest colour variance , the straightest grains and the least number of knots. Character grade wood has more variety in texture and in colour , a wilder grain and some surface checks. Knots are up to 30mm in diameter and in hardwood. version they are generally filled in . Rustic Grade wood has even more articulated . features then Character graded wood and can feature cracks and black knots. All rustic graded features are filled in prior to sealing but typically could use a bit more sanding.

Finish

When deciding upon the finish for your floor the very first thing you would have to choose is how shiny do you want it to be then you need to know how much abuse your floor is going to get and then you need to pick how regularly you are willing to care for the finish.