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Types of Hardwood Floors

by Annie Wang

Overview

When choosing the right hardwood floors for your home, take into account your budget, decor, desired aesthetic and your family's lifestyle. Hardwood floors never go out of style, and will increase your home's value. There is a huge variety of hardwood floors available from manufacturers. The quality level of almost all manufactured and real hardwood floors is so high that once installed, it's difficult to tell them apart. You'll be able to find a hardwood flooring system that fits into your decor and budget.
Solid Hardwood Flooring

Solid hardwood flooring is what most people first think of when they hear "hardwood floors." Solid hardwood is just as it sounds: real, solid, 100 percent wood cut from a tree. Most commonly available are hardwoods from North America, such as oak and maple. Exotic wood styles include Brazilian cherry and Australian cypress. Solid hardwood flooring is the most authentic and expensive option for hardwood flooring. They're also slightly more vulnerable to damage: solid hardwood shrinks and expands with cold, heat and humidity, so it's important to carefully install the planks to avoid gaps or cracking.

Engineered Wood Floors

Engineered wood floors come to your home pre-finished, which means a homeowner will not have to apply any kind of varnish or stain after installation. Engineered hardwood floors are planks that actually consist of three pieces of plywood glued together. The top piece of plywood can have a rotary peeled veneer, sliced or sawn finish. Rotary peeled veneers are the lowest cost option, but are also the least attractive and more vulnerable to damage. Sliced or sawn finishes tend to be slightly higher in cost and more durable.
Longstrip Wood Floors

Sometimes referred to as "engineered longstrip planks" or "floating wood floors," longstrip wood floors are actually large panels that consist of several planks of engineered wood glued together. Longstrip wood floors can be very economical and easy to install. However, unless done carefully, it can be evident that the planks are glued together, creating a cheap effect. Longstrip floors can be glued down or floated over existed flooring.
Handscraped Hardwood Floors

Handscraped hardwood floors can be a pricey but extremely attractive option. Hardscraped hardwood floors are distressed by hand in a factory to create the look of older wood, and would fit in well with a country-style decor or in a cabin. Despite having the look of distressed wood, hardscraped floors have the same tough finishes available for all modern floors, making them more durable than real distressed or reclaimed wood flooring. It's important to find a good installer for handscraped hardwood floors, because each plank has a different appearance and level of distress. They must be arranged in a visually pleasing pattern by the installer, so careful placement is essential.
Installing Hardwood Floors

There are several different installation techniques used to install hardwood floors, depending on the existent flooring the hardwood is being installed upon, and whether the room is at ground level or below (such as in a basement). Solid hardwood floors are almost always nailed down, and cannot be installed below ground level. Engineered wood is generally stapled or glued down, but can also be floated across existent flooring. Some manufacturers of engineered wood and longplanks have created a glueless locking system, in which each unit snaps into place like pieces of a puzzle. A floating installation is also available, in which a thin pad is placed between the existent flooring and the hardwood is installed on top with each plank glued together, but not actually attached to the floor.