How to choose hardwood floors in five easy steps

(NC)—According to hardwood flooring experts, the process of selecting your new floor should lead you through five common steps – choosing your colour, whether you require solid or engineered flooring, the species and grade, width and finally gloss level.

1. Choose your colour.

“We’ve found that today the number one consideration for consumers is selecting the right colour for their flooring to match their decors,” said Tom Gormley, President of Silhouette Hardwood Flooring.

Typically, hardwood flooring manufacturers offer a series of standard popular colour choices. Often these stain colours aren’t exactly what discerning consumers are looking for and they spend the next days and weeks searching different manufacturers for that particular elusive stain colour that will harmonize perfectly with their home design.

Canadian-based manufacturer Silhouette Hardwood Flooring has revolutionized this process by offering clients customized colours for their flooring with its exclusive “Designer colour match” system.

“We can easily match any color you see offered by most of our competitors at no additional charge,” explained Gormley. “Even if you have a unique color in mind, simply supply your local Silhouette dealer with any kind of sample to match and we will reproduce it to create your one of a kind beautiful new floor.”

2. Determine whether you’re using solid or engineered flooring.

Solid flooring must be nailed or stapled into an existing wood subfloor and is only recommended on or above the grade level (soil line) around your home.

Engineered flooring’s construction allows it to be installed over virtually any type of subfloor whether above, on, or below the grade level. Silhouette’s Symmetry Engineered flooring, for example, has the most versatile design, allowing it to be nailed, stapled, fully glued-down, or even floated.

3. Choose your preferred species and grade.

Examine the natural colour of each species, their distinctive grain patterns, grades and visual characteristics such as knots, and mineral streaks to find what appeals to you. Also consider the relative hardness of the different species. If you have an active high traffic household or a large pet, harder species may be an option as they will show less dents and traffic patterns.

4. Choose your board width.

Narrow boards, or strip flooring, performs well and has a certain appeal particularly in smaller rooms, while wide boards are often perceived as being of higher value, and have greater appeal in larger rooms. Up until now many hardwood dealers recommended against choosing flooring wider than 3 ¼”, because of fear that the floor would develop unsightly and unhealthy gaps over time due to uncontrolled swings in relative humidity within a home.

Gormley explained this is no longer the case thanks to the added protection of Silhouette’s unique Contour Guard finishing process which envelopes each of its floorboards to eliminate any possible unattractive and unhealthy effects from these gaps.

5. Choose your gloss level

The final choice is the degree of light you wish your floor to reflect. A Semi-Gloss finish reflects approximately 50 per cent of the light shone upon, while a simulated-oil look reflects approximately eight per cent and a satin-gloss finish reflects at a 30 per cent rate.

More information on the latest in premium hardwood flooring is available at www.silhouetteflooring.com.

www.newscanada.com

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Exotic Hardwoods

Whether you seek soft, elegant hues to contrast a dark room or striking grain patterns and rich colors for a bold look, exotic hardwood floors, cabinets, furniture and trim can help create eye-catching interiors for nearly any decor.

In recent years, though, some homeowners have shied away from hardwoods because of concerns with illegal logging and deforestation. Thanks to responsible forestry practices, sustainable forestry certification and manufacturer innovation, visually appealing hardwoods can now be part of an environmentally conscious home.

“By knowing what to look for, homeowners can have the natural warmth and timeless appeal of exotic hardwoods with the peace of mind that they come from responsible sources,” says Eric Anderson of Weyerhaeuser. “The wood species, how and where the trees are grown and harvested, and how the wood is processed are all important factors.”

One increasingly popular exotic hardwood is Lyptus – a eucalyptus hybrid grown on plantations in Brazil. Lyptus plantations include a mosaic of eucalyptus and native tropical forest on land previously used for agriculture and grazing. This practice helps replace forestlands previously lost in decades past.

Lyptus grows fast, reaching maturity within 14 to 16 years of planting. By comparison, temperate species can take decades to mature. Rapid growth helps to meet the increasing demand for wood products and still ensure a continuing supply of hardwood for future generations.

“A Lyptus plantation can produce up to 30 times more volume of wood per acre each year than an unmanaged temperate forest,” adds Anderson. “Plantations help foresters reduce the land footprint needed to create wood products.”

An additional benefit of active plantation management is that foresters manually prune the trees while they grow. As a result, the logs that come into the mill are more uniform and have fewer knots. A high percentage of the wood can be made into finished products, making efficient use of natural resources.

While choosing hardwoods with environmentally responsible features is appealing to many homeowners, the end choice often still comes down to how good they look in the home. “People regularly say they first notice Lyptus because of its warmth and beauty,” says Anderson. “When they learn it also has a good environmental story, it becomes a natural choice.”

The natural color of Lyptus can brighten interiors and create an open feeling in smaller rooms, while a dark stain can add a touch of sophistication. Homeowners can also easily mix-and-match hardwood finishes to create visual interest.

Regardless of which hardwood catches your eye, make sure it has all the performance characteristics to make your home warm and inviting for years to come. Durability is a key consideration. Hardwoods with high hardness ratings (greater than that of red oak – a standard common benchmark for hardness) are better suited to withstand the scratches and dents of everyday life for long-lasting beauty.

For more information on Lyptus hardwoods, visit www.lyptus.com or call (800) 320-9720. Many cabinet, flooring and furniture dealers across the country are also familiar with Lyptus and can show you a range of product options.

Courtesy ARAcontent

Also, visit http://exotic-wood-flooring.com for more on exotic wood flooring types.

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