Hardwood floors are all the rage with homebuyers and those looking to remodel rooms with other less durable, tough, or natural flooring materials. Many different looks and types of hardwood floors are available today. Depending on your budget, there is a hardwood floor product for you. Make a trip to your local home center store to see firsthand the different options available. If you’re not the weekend handyman type ask for preferred installation contractors at the home center.Here are some handy tips and hints.
-Solid hardwood floors come in three varieties. Strip floors; this is the most common. Plank floors, random widths give any home a rustic, colonial, or country look. Parquet are short wood pieces glued to backing on 12 inch square tiles.
Solid hardwood floors can be sanded up to three times in their lifetime.
-Common hardwoods and softwood used are; birch, beech,maple,oak, red oak, pine, fir, and cherry.
-Laminated hardwood floors are not the same as solid. A thin layer or veneer is bonded to another less expensive wood, and typically pre-finished with both stain and sealer. The down side is these types of floors can’t be sanded and refinished.
-Bamboo floors are becoming more and more popular. Considered green-building-friendly, they are an easy-to-replenish species. Bamboo floors are more flexible than oak and maple. One downside is that it does stain more easily. Make sure that you apply an extra two coats of sealer.
-All wood flooring should be placed in the space where it is to be installed for a couple of days to acclimate the wood to the heat and humidity level in the space.
-All wood floors need to be applied or float over concrete or supporting floor joists. Sub-floors are a must for slab concrete installations. Wood floors should be installed perpendicular to floor joists.
-Squeaks in hardwood floors can be daunting to find and fix. Squeaks occur when a board works loose and rubs against another board or against the subfloor. Hire a professional to fix squeaks and you’ll get it done right the first time.
-Wood floors can be easily cleaned using a product such as Murphy’s Oil Soap once a week. Be sure you don’t wax wood floors that have been sealed with any polyurethane product.
By: Mark Nash
Posts Tagged ‘Hardwood Floors’
Hardwood Floor Options for Your Home
April 6th, 2010How Should I Spend My Home Improvement Budget
January 10th, 2010
How should I spend my home-improvement budget? – It seems now days everyone has an interest in home improvement, just flip through cable TV channels and you will probably find a home improvement show to watch. It is not hard to understand why home owners are interested in home improvement, the right improvements can increase a homes value tremendously and give the home more enjoyability to the home owners. The question that always seems to pop up is “how do i spend my home improvement budget?”
The average American will move every 4-6 years so always take resale value and home appeal into account when planning any home improvement project. People all have varying tastes so avoid doing anything to extreme that may hurt resale value and is to difficult to undo, but it is your home so express yourself just keep it within reason.
No matter where you live a kitchen or bathroom remodel will add the most value and appeal to your home. These are expensive projects to undertake and many bathroom and kitchen remodels will cost over $10,000. Although small cosmetic improvements like faucet upgrades and new cabinet hardware can increase the appeal of a kitchen and bathroom for little money.
New flooring is also a nice home improvement that adds value, however new carpet will not add as much as value and appeal as adding hardwood floors will. Many of todays laminate hardwood floors can be installed DIY by the homeowner relatively easily. If you are unsure how to install hardwood flooring check with your local home improvement store, many offer classes on hardwood floor installation.
Not all home improvement projects have to be expensive or large to make a difference. Some smaller projects can include improving or adding landscaping, interior and exterior painting, resealing a driveway and upgrading lighting fixtures. These are small projects that can be done in a weekend or a few hours. These home improvements all will add curb appeal and increase the value of your home at the same time.
The things you will want to avoid are adding items that require maintenance and ongoing expense such as hot tubs, saunas and swimming pools. While one of these items may appeal to you they may not appeal to a large percentage of buyers and will not increase your homes value by much, in fact they may cause your home to sit on the market longer if you ever decide to sell A swimming pool is a good example of a negative home improvement , swimming pools require additional homeowners insurance due to liability for injury/death, they are expensive and complicated to maintain and can be dangerous to small children and some pets.
With the proper planning and research spending your home improvement budget correctly is an easy task to accomplish. By using the Internet, television shows and your local home improvement stores as references and you are almost guaranteed to choose the right improvement for your home.
By: Darin Sewell