Hardwood Floor
When faced with the dilemma of figuring out the best way to go about your hardwood flooring project, it is best to know what are things called and what they mean in the world of wood flooring. This way you understand better what the professionals are talking about.This article aims to put some technical words used by hardwood floor contractors or technicians in lay mans term.
1. Sub floors or sub flooring is the floor that the hardwood flooring will be installed on. It can be wood, cement, or beams. Hardwood flooring can be glued or nailed down to the sub floors.
2. Pre-finished hardwood floor normally are planks that you can just buy and install right away because they have been sanded, stained and finished at the factory. Unfinished hardwood floors on the other hand is the opposite. This kind of hardwood floor requires sanding and finishing but unlike finished wood flooring, this can be custom stained.
3. Buffing is sometimes called polishing or cleaning the hardwood flooring. It lightly sands the floor and a coat of polyurethane finish is applied. This is best for floors with light scratches on the finish and a good way to maintain the beauty of your hardwood floor.
4. Refinishing hardwood floor on the other hand is the process of sanding the wood floor much more abrasively than buffing. After which, a three coats of polyurethane finish is applied. This process is normally recommended on flooring that is heavily stained or deeply scratched. Additional coats of finish may be used. Consult a hardwood floor expert for the best result.
5. Custom staining is the process of putting your preferred color or stain on your floor. A professional hardwood floor refinisher is able to mix a stained finish base on your preference and style and can even match existing color of your current wood floor.
6. Engineered hardwood floor is a type of hardwood flooring. It basically is composed of a certain thickness of real wood infused on a slab. This kind of flooring usually have tongue and grove that match up together for installation. They come as unfinished or pre-finished.
7. Bevel is the space or depth you will see between the hardwood floor planks once they are installed. They vary in depths and cut.
8. Distressed is the term used that describes a beat down old look of a hardwood floor. Surface of the plank be dented and wavy. This look is known to give character to the floor and a flare of history.
9. Tongue and Groove are the parts of a hardwood floor plank that allows the wood flooring to connect to each other in the process of installation.
10. Wear Layer pertains to the thickness of the top portion of an engineered or solid hardwood flooring. The thicker the wear layer the more sanding and refinishing can be done on your hardwood floors.
For now these are the terminology that you may come across with while dealing with your hardwood flooring project. Watch out for our next installment of Hardwood floor terminology for newbies
Hardwood Flooring Terminologies
Hardwood floors can be an attractive addition to any home. The rich appearance will definitely catch the attention of your guests and you got a lot of choices when it comes to the type of hardwood floor you want to install. To help you on your quest to finding the best hardwood flooring for your home, we have put in together some wood flooring articles to better informed you.
Hardwood Floor Installation
Hardwood Floor Perfection In Every Step
Types of Hardwood Flooring We Install
- Solid Hardwood Flooring
- Un-finished Solid Hardwood Floor
- Pre-finished Solid Wood Flooring
- Engineered Hardwood Flooring
- Pre-finished Engineered Wood Flooring
- Unfinished Engineered Wood Floors
- Laminate Flooring
- Parquet Flooring
- Bamboo Flooring
- Exotic Wood Flooring
- Hardwood Stair Threads and Risers
- Hardwood Flooring for Basketball Courts, Gymnasiums, Dance Studios and Commercial Establishments