Have you been contemplating floor refinishing for your home? As a rule of thumb, most hardwood panels begin exhibiting signs of wear and tear after about two decades of daily traffic, but some hardwood floor installations will require repairs, refinishing, or replacement before the 20-year mark. If you’ve never refinished the floor before, the job can appear quite complex. After all, several elements need to be factored in before booking the project with a hardwood flooring specialist. Here are four facets to be mindful of when it comes time to refinish your floors.

Refinishing Hardwood Floors is NOT a DIY Project

If you’re good with a toolbox, you might wonder if you can refinish hardwood surfaces yourself. This isn’t recommended. Working with hardwood flooring can turn sophisticated really quickly. Proceeding without the necessary equipment will lead to temporary results at best. Hiring a professional contractor for the task will save you tremendous hassle and time. Continue Reading →

If you’ve decided to switch to hardwood flooring for your house, you’ve likely found out the transition brings a plethora of benefits. Consider all the various materials your wood floors can be constructed from. You probably know this renovation is no simple undertaking and one not to take lightly. With a multitude of selections available, take the time to find the style that fits your home and personal preference. Here are five types of hardwood flooring to consider and the pertinent features of each.

Solid Hardwood

Solid hardwood flooring is what most homeowners think of when hardwood floors come to mind. This is your conventional oak, maple, birch, and other classic wood types. Floors of these materials are sturdy, easy to clean, and aesthetically charming.

Engineered Wood

A big disadvantage of solid hardwood is that it can be prone to contracting and expanding due to moisture exposure. Engineered wood, by contrast, is composed of multiple wood layers, making it a more moisture- and temperature-resistant style. Continue Reading →

At last, you got those stunning hardwood floors you’ve long wanted for your home. Now that you have them, you want to keep them looking pristine for years to come. While hardwood panels hold up better to wear and tear than other materials, there are some common signs of damage you need to keep an eye out for. Getting hardwood floor repair done as soon as you recognize issues can save you money and extend the floor’s longevity.

Hardwood Floor Damage #1 – Normal Wear

It’s expected for hardwood floors to show signs of wear over time, stemming from daily traffic. As a result, stains and finishes slowly erode away and require re-application. Continue Reading →

Are you planning to update the floors in your residence? If so, have you contemplated whether hardwood floors are right for you? There are multiple flooring options out there, including vinyl, laminate, tile, and carpet to list a few. It can be difficult knowing which material is best for your house and personal preference. That’s why it’s important to seriously consider all of the factors before making a final decision. Here are four questions to ask yourself to determine if hardwood floors are a right fit.

Do You Plan to Ever Sell Your Home?

Hardwood floor panels can increase the overall value of your property. Buyers often specify hardwood as a “must-have” with realtors, meaning that going with another material might eliminate your home from consideration. Even if prospect buyers aren’t specifically looking for hardwood flooring, they’ll increase the resale potential of your house. It’ll also provide higher returns on your home remodeling investment than other options.

Does Anyone in Your Family Have Allergies?

Spring months and pets can be a total pain for occupants with sensitive allergies, especially if the home contains living room and/or bedroom carpets. Since hardwood is hypoallergenic, it holds onto far less dust, pollen, and pet dander compared to other materials. That means less sneezing and coughing fits for you or your family! Continue Reading →

Have you been pondering about installing hardwood floors in your home but are concerned about the upkeep? That’s totally understandable. Of course, you want to care for your home and keep it looking pristine, especially after investing in new hardwood floors. As you know, floors can wear out, but hardwood floor care isn’t as hard as you might believe. Here are five tips to help you keep your floors looking new for years to come!

Hardwood Floor Tip 1: Use the Right Materials

Knowing which cleaning items are safe for your floors is vital. Carefully select items that are formulated for hardwood floors. Opt for soft-bristled brooms, microfiber pads, and vacuums with wand and brush attachments. Continue Reading →

When it comes to selecting flooring for your home, nothing beats hardwood. Hardwood panels can be an elaborate way to update your house and boost its value. While some homeowners believe hardwood floors only work with certain interior designs, nothing could be further from the truth. Hardwood floors enhance any interior, from contemporary to traditional and everything in between. If you’re wary of the upkeep often associated with hardwood flooring, don’t be. Hardwood floors are compatible with any home style.

Personal Taste

Some people avoid hardwood flooring because they believe it will feel cold on the feet. However, hardwood floors can easily be topped with carpets, rugs, and other décor, making it fit warmly and comfortably into any home. It’s also quite beautiful on its own and can be warmed up with a new finish. Whether you prefer dark woods or light-colored woods, simple or complex designs, there’s a hardwood flooring option that can fit your personal preferences. Continue Reading →

When you pick out a wood floor, keep in mind that kitchen floors may have varying needs. The kitchen is a high traffic area that’s susceptible to dirt and liquid accumulation. Kitchen hardwood floors really require careful consideration.

Choosing Your Kitchen Hardwood Floor 

Hardwood flooring can add charm to any room and work well in the kitchen, but you may want to choose your wood carefully before having your hardwood floor installed. Oak, ash, maple, and other “hard” hardwoods are more resistant to scratches and dings than pine, fir, or cherry.

Many eco-friendly wood floor options aren’t actually wood, but are “wood-like,” and include cork and bamboo, which are considered tropical woods.

Solid Wood Floors

Solid wood floors are the most basic and typical type of wooden floors. Due to their thickness and hardness, they may not be suitable for kitchen wood floor installation. Continue Reading →

The beauty of your hardwood floor can be enhanced by the polyurethane coating that a professional wood flooring installer applies. If you’ve had the floor installed recently, you probably won’t need to refinish for at least 5 years, but it depends on the finish you have. Some can last seven years or more. That timeframe depends on how much traffic the floor undergoes and whether there are frequent stains from spills. The general rule of thumb is to schedule a hardwood floor refinishing every five to seven years. 

Wood Floor Maintenance is the Key

Other kinds of wood floor maintenance can be very beneficial. The winter months are usually drier in most parts of the country, but here in the Pacific Northwest it’s the summers that are dry, and the winters that are humid. Wood can react to excess moisture by swelling and then contracting, leaving gaps between the boards. This is normal, but it should be monitored because you won’t want the boards to turn up at the ends (cupping). The boards may then have the center move higher than the ends (crowning) when humidity increases and the wood naturally swells. This will require a hardwood flooring professional to come in and remedy the issue. Continue Reading →

The beauty of a hardwood floor with fantastic color, aesthetic wood grain, and shining polyurethane finish is well known. The choice to either replace or refinish a hardwood floor, however, might not be so simple. Refinishing has drawbacks like creating a ton of dust. It also doesn’t fix other problems like some people expect it to.

Some homeowners believe they can refinish a wood floor by themselves at a much lower cost than hiring a flooring expert. However, the commercial tools required and the time polyurethane takes to cure can make this a much more cost-prohibitive and arduous process than most DIYers realize.

What Refinishing Hardwood Doesn’t Solve

Over the years, your wood floor expands and contracts in response to heat and cold, creating gaps between the floorboards. The refinished panels will still be in need of alignment, and the age of the floorboards could make this hard for the DIYer. In addition, the boards may be squeaking, and refinishing won’t fix this especially if the squeaks are from the wood the floorboards are resting on. Continue Reading →

Hardwood floor maintenance doesn’t require a lot of time. You do, however, want to be careful to fully protect your investment. The number one rule is to make sure you always use a wood floor cleaning product when it’s time to clean. Contrary to belief, other cleaning products for surfaces like tile and vinyl will not get the job done and may even damage the floor. Cleaning the floor regularly is actually quite easy. Learn the proper way of wood floor mopping to keep the surface spotless.

Wood Floor Mopping and Important Suggestions

Don’t mop a wood floor when the surface is wet. If there’s a spill, immediately wipe it up with a lightly moist cloth. You won’t want a full wet cleaning because it may dull the finish and leave a wet residue that could affect the color of the wood. Continue Reading →