Tips for Laying Hardwood Floors – Wood floors can be a beautiful addition to any home. They give a traditional look to any room and reduce the risk of water damage in the event of a leak. However, wood floors can also make a home vulnerable to water damage. In fact, wet wood flooring is one of the most common home improvements that cause problems years later.
Tips for Laying Hardwood Floors – A Beginner’s Guide
Fortunately, there are a number of tips that you can use to make your new floor last much longer. We’ll take you through some important considerations before making the leap into the hardwood Floors & Hard Wood Floors article or video guide so that you don’t make the same mistakes we did when we first started exploring this exciting new way to decorate our homes.
What is a hardwood floor?
A hardwood floor is a type of timber flooring made from hardwood trees. These floors are often filled with intricate designs and natural patterns, and often feature intricate carving and other ornamental details.
What makes hardwood floors attractive is the presence of visible grain and the way the coloration changes according to the aging of the wood.
Popular woods used to make hardwood floors include Teak and Mahogany, but other woods, such as Cork and Blue, are also used. The grain of the wood can be visible in the finished product if the flooring is unfinished. Most flooring materials have a grain that is visible when the flooring is seen from a certain angle.
Care and maintenance of hardwood floors
As with most interior decorating decisions, the care and maintenance of hardwood floors are pretty straightforward. The floors should be regularly vacuumed to remove any remaining dirt and dust from the underlayment. A loofah should be used to gently remove excess water from the floors, which can become saturated with water from the dehumidifier unit if the home is not climate-controlled.
The final step in the maintenance of hardwood floors is a step that many homebuyers fail to do: Check for warping. This is the process by which wood softens and shrinks over time, causing areas of the floor to expand and contract unnaturally. Areas that exhibit warping should be avoided, regardless of the age of the floor.
Buying new or re-glued wood flooring
When flooring is new, it should be glued or screwed together with wood glue. Over time, the wood will become attached to the floor and allow water to seep through the layers. This type of water intrusion is known as a leak and should be monitored carefully and corrected if possible.
Move to re-glued wood flooring once the first signs of water intrusion are noticed. Re-glued wood flooring should be sanded to remove any remaining imperfections, such as scratches and small nicks in the finish. It should then be waxed to improve the waterproofing and foot traffic-ability of the floor. Be sure to follow all local building codes when installing new flooring.
Dealing with moisture in the home
Just as we recommend controlling moisture in our house by installing a dehumidifier and practicing good housekeeping, we also recommend the same for our floors. The moisture content of your floor should be below 25 percent by volume.
If it is higher than this, water will be able to sneak through the gaps in the wood and expand in the drier months of the year. Moisture in the air can cause mildew and rust in the wood. This can stain the finish and make the wood more vulnerable to rot. The best way to deal with these issues is to always keep the air circulation in your house high, ventilate your home properly, and install an effective dehumidifier.
Wrapping up: Is Hardwood Flooring Right for You?
Next tips for laying hardwood floors: Hardwood floors can make a dramatic impact in your home, whether you choose to create a formal or casual atmosphere. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and the way that you want to use these beautiful floors.
If you are in the process of building a new house or building a renovation, or if you have an old house that needs to be updated, we recommend exploring the possibilities of hardwood floors. We think that wooden floors are an amazing way to update any room in your home.
We hope that this guide has helped you to better understand the care and maintenance of hardwood floors. If you have any questions or concerns about the flooring, feel free to get in touch with our experienced advisors. Nowadays, even cheap models with basic functions can be upgraded to provide better performance and longer life.
Therefore, you don’t have to worry about running out of energy or having to replace the flooring frequently. Having a floor that outlasts your home is a sure way to show your family and friends that you are proud owners of a hardwood floor. ***
