Types Of Wood Flooring. A Definitive Guide Of Hardwood Flooring.
Wood flooring is one of the oldest forms of home decor styling where wood is used for flooring in places of ceramic or other material tiles. Installing new flooring may be a major task, but it’s well worth the effort once you choose a type of wood flooring that will look great with minimal maintenance for many years. Hardwood flooring meets these requirements, alongside many engineered wood products and other wood floor types. Comparing the different types of wood flooring will assist you to pick the proper material for every room’s unique needs.
Though being one of the oldest flooring materials still it remains among the most desirable. Whether your style is classic, contemporary, or eclectic, a hardwood surface can complement your décor and add value to your home. Durable, natural, and renewable, hardwood flooring is out there during a sort of colors and grain patterns to fit your individual design and lifestyle needs.
Top Wood Flooring Types
Different Types Of Hardwood Floors
No matter which types of wood flooring type you’ve got in your home, the design is classic and works with virtually every interior style. But not all wood flooring is that the same! the sort you choose—solid versus engineered, finished versus unfinished, oak versus pine will have an enormous effect not just on how the design but also on how it wears, and the way much you will have to take care of it over time. Moreover, if you wish to add the best hardwood flooring with a waterproof feature in your home decor then you can’t go wrong as they tend to bring a sense of natural beauty while also making your house look more traditional and modern.
Unfinished Hardwood Flooring

An unfinished hardwood floor is just a staple . The wood has been made into the planks of flooring but it’s not skilled the finishing process of getting a stain or protective layer of oil or lacquer. All hardwood flooring must be finished to stop damage occurring from daily wear and tear, so your unfinished floor must have protective layers added once it’s been installed.
- Provides a huge range of colour and style options.
- Almost any look can be achieved so it is easily matched to the design of your interior.
- It does provide excellent results with a unique appearance.
- The time the installation process is higher
- It has to be manually sanded and finished.
- You have to wait for the flooring to cure before putting furniture back into place.
Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

Prefinished flooring is wood that has had all of its processing done beforehand within the factory instead of in your home. It’s been sanded, stained and coated before installation, which suggests a minimum of fuss when it arrives at your home and is installed.
- It’s a more convenient option for some renovation or improvement projects.
- Pre-applied finish is very durable.
- More uniformity and consistency with the coloring and staining in the boards.
- Comes with certain limitation of widths, lengths, colors, grain, and other common customer preferences.
- Somewhat difficult to remove these surface layers if you want to refinish your flooring again.
Solid Wood Flooring

Solid hardwood floor planks are made up of wood species of your choice and made to be anywhere from 18 to twenty mm thick. The boards are made with a tongue and groove to suit together for installation. counting on the species of wood, certain floors are going to be harder than others. The harder the ground , the less susceptible it’s to dings and scratches. the ground are often sanded and refinished several times to revive its beauty, with the entire number of times being determined by the depth of the tongue from the highest of the plank.
- Extremely durable
- Lots of colours and styles available
- Adds value to the property.
- Easy to clean & maintain.
- More expensive to install.
- Require maintenance
- Noisy to walk on.
Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring is also known as composite wooden flooring may be a variant of hardwood flooring with the most difference being that the wood isn’t 100% solid wood flooring. This may sound bad but it’s important to recollect that engineered hardwood top layer real wood.
The highest layer of wood veneer surface which is that the only layer people will see when it’s installed is 100% real wood. The lower multiple layers are made up of other wood-derived materials. These can vary considerably although it’ll often be things like timber and board mixed and glued together. So, it isn’t a complete 100% hardwood floor but it isn’t far away from it. most people won’t even be ready to tell the difference once the flooring is installed.
- It will often be cheaper.
- Comes in a multitude of finishes and colours.
- Greater Temperature Resistance
- Can be an investment for the future.
- Requires regular maintenance.
- End up being very weak and unstable after just a short time.
- Too much contact with UV rays will cause the wood to fade away.
Vinyl Plank Flooring

Vinyl plank flooring is one among the foremost popular flooring choices for busy households, offices, cafes and commercial applications. There are many pros to vinyl flooring, one being it’s 100% waterproof surface, but there also are a couple of cons you’ll want to think about counting on your needs.
- 100% Moisture Resistant.
- Can be used on cement, granite, tile, laminate and other flat subfloors.
- Variety of decor options – wood, stone, cement, etc.
- Low maintenance & easy to clean
- Options for any budget.
- Difficult to remove if glued down.
- Can be punctured with very sharp objects.
- Not biodegradable.
- Can show fading and discoloration with excessive UV exposure.
Laminate Wood Flooring

Laminate flooring may be a synthetic floor cover that has been designed to seem like wood flooring or sometimes stone flooring. it’s been a well-liked choice with DIY enthusiasts for many years . Traditionally it offered a less expensive alternative to real wood. Any keen home renovator can install laminate flooring without the necessity of knowledgeable floor fitter. Laminate flooring may be a great alternative to a true wooden floor.
- Comes without the hassle of upkeep and at a cheaper price.
- It is easy to install.
- It is a long-lasting and durable product.
- A wide variety of imitations of natural materials are available
- Won’t look or feel exactly like the real thing.
- Joints wear over time.
- Moisture swells it easily and the damage is irreversible.
- Cannot be sanded or refinished
Parquet Flooring

Parquet flooring varieties contain hardwood from prime to bottom of the block, which ends up in larger sturdiness and longer life span. However, built floorings provide sensible parquet flooring definition and square measure typically accessible as prefinished . Parquet flooring comes in a very nice vary of various wood, therefore to understand what’s specific parquet flooring like, it’s necessary to analysis the wood properties initial.
- Adds warmth and beauty to the surroundings
- It is easy to care for and maintain
- Can last for generations if taken care of properly.
- Provides a unique look that sets it apart from most other types of flooring.
- Can be easily scratched by small, sharp objects on the surface of the floor.
- Can fade and discolor easily.
- Subject to damage from excessive moisture and humidity.
Bamboo Flooring

If you’re trying to find a sturdy and exhausting sporting floor, you will need to contemplate strand woven bamboo. it’s over double as exhausting as Oak flooring, creating it ideal for busy areas or industrial properties. Bamboo flooring is extraordinarily versatile. It is put in over virtually any subfloor and employed in most rooms in your home. Bamboo is dimensionally stable, that means that it is employed in rooms with unsteady temperatures. Some sorts can even be used with underfloor heating. it’s straightforward to put in. you’ve got a option to either float it over associate degree underlay or fix it all the way down to the subfloor with nails or glue.
- Eco-friendly and sustainable flooring option
- Inexpensive choice compared to hardwood flooring
- Easy to look after and maintain
- Hygienic and great for allergy sufferers
- Available in different colours, styles, finishes and sizes
- Cannot be used in bathrooms or rooms with excessive water
- Not waterproof
- The surface can scratch if objects are dragged across it
Cork Flooring

Cork comes from the bark of the Quercus suber tree (oak tree) and is sporadically harvested from the living trees in plantations planted for industrial functions. Cork is, therefore, a very natural, recurring, and simply replenishable material. to make flooring product, cork is ground up, compressed, and shaped into sheets secured with resins. It’s sensible for anyone with allergies as a result of it resists mold and mildew.
Cork is additionally simple on the ears, taken with the feet, and light-weight on the pocketbook. And, additional music to our ears: installation is comparatively straightforward if you’ll be able to follow directions. whereas cork isn’t as in style as hardwood or vinyl plank, it’s got serious endurance. In fact, the cork will be derived back to Ancient Balkan country wherever it absolutely was used for construction and insulation. Portuguese and Spanish explorers even used cork on their ships.
- Are Insulating and can lower your utility bills.
- Easy to Install and perfect for the DIY crowd
- Sustainable, Biodegradable, and Eco-Friendly
- It is Sound-Dampening and Super Quiet
- It is Antimicrobial and Hypoallergenic
- Can fade from the Sun
- It doesn’t love big changes in Relative Humidity
- It can absorb water.
- Requires regular maintenance and sealing
Final Verdict
Which Is The Best Choice?
At the tip of the day, the most effective hardwood floors are entirely up to you. however altogether seriousness, everybody has distinctive wants once it involves their floors. the most effective wood flooring varieties are merely those that employment best for your scenario. Oak flooring, maple flooring, and cherry flooring are all smart selections. different species embody bamboo (which is really a grass), walnut, ash, and mahogany.
You’ll pay a premium value for additional exotic species, like teak, jarrah, and bush. Check to create certain the hardwood flooring you select comes from sustainably harvested forests. an alternative choice is rescued hardwood flooring, which you’ll realize at salvage yards. It doubtless has some signs of wear and tear and age, however, you’ll pay concerning what it might price for comparable new flooring. Now, the sole factor that is still is to search out a top-rated flooring store in your space. they’ll assist you to realize the right forms of flooring for you.