A Guide To Choosing Wooden Flooring

If you’re embarking on a decorating project and thinking of changing up the floor in the room, it’s possible you’re considering a new wooden floor. But did you realise there are many types of wooden flooring to choose from? If not, this guide to choosing wooden flooring will definitely help.

Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring is an attractive alternative solution so solid wood flooring and is made up from multiple layers of wood glued together. It’s then finished with a layer of hardwood lamella. It’s a more cost effective choice to solid wood and also offers great versatility as the composition is more flexible making it a great solution for underfloor heating. The layers give it a much great stability, and it’s much more resistant to moisture.

Solid Wood Flooring

Shown: Bamboo Solid Wood floor

Solid wood flooring is a 100% wood product which is cut from one piece to the desired length and size. Taken straight from the saw mill to the factory the wood can be cut in 3 different ways, including flat-sawn, the most recognised with a triangular grain and rift-sawn where the material is divided up into quarters. To complete the process the material is then dried and finished in the kiln. It’s timeless, high quality and durable and often the most expensive of the choices.

Parquet Flooring

A parquet floor can be either solid or engineered and is made up from blocks of wood arranged in a parquet (or kind of criss cross) pattern. It’s a very traditional style which has seen some resurgence recently and now comes in a variety of patterns including herringbone, basket and brick weave, to name a few. This has to be a favourite of mine and reminds me of old schools and church buildings.

Laminate Flooring

Modern and contemporary, laminate flooring is made to look like wood but really isn’t. Again it’s a layered type of product typically consisting of four layers: backing, core, image design and the wear layer. The image design will show you the print of the wood on a vinyl board, and then the final wear layer gives it protection and durability. There aren’t any issues with moisture and laminate flooring so it’s much easier to use in areas such as the kitchen and bathroom.

Of course all of these wood floor types are available in a myriad of styles, colours and finishes to give you the ultimate choice when it comes to buying your new floor. Like me, I’m sure choice will be guided by price range, but as you can tell from the descriptions above there are other qualities to take into consideration. Don’t forget to ensure the product you choose is suitable for the area in which it’s needed, that it’s easy to clean and maintain and won’t get damaged from wear and tear.

If you plan to cover your floor with rugs, and accessorise the room at the same time, don’t forget the anti-slip mats to prevent the rugs from moving around and causing unnecessary accidents.

So, there you have a straight forward guide to choosing wooden flooring. I hope that is useful and gives you some guidance if you’re about to remodel a room, or makeover a floor.

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Image: 1, 3 and 4 courtesy of Luxury Floorings and Furnishings || 2, My own. 

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