8 Tips For Wooden Floor Success

Low maintenance - to keep vinyl flooring clean, all you need to do is sweep it to get rid of dirt and crumbs, and use a damp mop with floor cleaner to remove stains and germs. You get what you pay for… It’s also important that hardcore is specified as ‘clean’ - old demolition rubble containing lumps of plaster and wood can hold moisture or start to rot. Unlike wood floors, porcelain will not warp, rot or move when exposed to moisture and temperature changes - and it works very well with underfloor heating too. Engineered wood flooring is made of layers of plywood, with a layer of hardwood on the top surface to evoke a hardwood visual without the price tag. Be sure to apply the oil thinly, as to keep your layers even. A quality laminate floor is highly durable and easy to keep clean. Perfect for softwood and hardwood, engineered, parquet and solid wooden flooring, these flooring oils, floor varnishes, floor stains and floor cleaners provide everything needed to keep wood floors in tip top condition and looking great. Carpet is a great option if this is a factor you’d like to address, not to mention, regular scratching and banging on hardwood flooring will eventually cause permanent marks and damage.

The sanding process is carried out by a sanding machine that can sand up to 100sqm of flooring per hour. Timber joists can be drilled out or chipped away (with caution) but it is not straightforward. To learn how to acclimate laminate flooring, check out our FAQ's. It can also often be used with under floor heating, although you should check with the supplier first. For example, identify the underlying color of the floor. If you like and prefer dark colors in interior decoration and choose a dark color for the interior door. This is because there is one crucial part of the design - the finished floor levels - that has to be resolved as early as possible, because so many other factors are derived from it, i.e, the staircases are set by it; so too the room height and the door thresholds. Concrete floors are ‘high mass’ and will act like a giant storage heater, staying warm for many hours without any heat source. So, to benefit from the slow, passive heating of concrete floors, you have to actually be in occupation, preferably 24/7; if you are there for just a few hours a day, you’d be better to opt for a quick-response heating system.

Today the upper floors in most new homes are built using factory-made timber I-joists (also known as I-beams). Like I-joists they have the benefit of not being prone to shrinkage-related problems. Thermal insulation is only necessary in rare cases where upstairs rooms happen to be located above cold spaces like garages or passageways. This type of flooring can be refinished, making it look like new simply by sanding and polishing it. Real wood floors also add value to your property making them a good investment. Engineered wood flooring also the only wood flooring choice to fit well over under floor heating. This is interesting, as many architects are more comfortable recommending engineered boards over solid oak to ensure they will not move, which seems a terrible shame to me. Engineered joists with a wavy metal web centre are another recently adopted flooring solution, with a plethora of different brand names such as Ecojoists, Posi-Joists, easi-joists (Fforest Timber Engineering’s easi-joists are shown above) and SpaceJoists. How carpet or hardwood flooring may suit them.

Spaces where hardwood flooring is installed often have an echo, however, carpet will eliminate this by absorbing sound and muting noise. To help you make an informed decision, this blog will explain the pros of each flooring type, how each will suit your desired decor and important lifestyle factors to consider. Before choosing a finish for your wood, think about the look you are trying to achieve, the environment the floor will be used in and the amount of maintenance you are prepared to take on. Thirdly, remember to take a practical approach - think about the traffic that your floor is likely to experience. It’s important that you think about what decor style you are trying to achieve, and a big part of this is through the flooring you choose. The great thing about carpet is the range of colours, textures and patterns that are available. One great thing about carpet is that it cushions your footsteps, reducing your chances of tripping or falling. Despite hardwood flooring taking preference throughout many homes, carpet is still a great choice, especially for particular areas of the home such as the bedroom and living room.