With the large increasing popularity of porcelain tiles, luxury vinyl, and plastic laminates— all can be produced now to look like wood flooring. Real hardwood has become less popular in recent years but the main and real hardwood flooring remains a Denver flooring material that is still preferred due to it looks. Obviously, the main goal of a new flooring product is to look just like wood. No one will make a flooring material with the aim of making it look like plastic, No!
Solid Hardwood vs. Engineered Wood
A floor that looks like solid hardwood may be exactly like that—solid planks of a hardwood such as maple, mahogany, oak or birch that goes together with tongue-and-groove joints and nails.
But it is likely that the floor is made with a form of engineered wood—planks that have been produced by bonding a thin layer of real hardwood over 5 to 7 thin layers of plywood glued together with the grain direction alternating and occurring from layer to layer. This construction give engineered wood flooring remarkable resistant to warping and stability.
Advantages of solid hardwood flooring include:
*Can be sanded and refinished over and over again.
*Thick flooring layers offers a solid feel underfoot
*Sound transmission is better than engineered hardwood
*Normally sold unfinished, so can be stained in any color desired
Advantages of engineered hardwood flooring include:
*Extremely stable flooring when in contact with a concrete subfloor
* Quite cheaper than solid hardwood
*It is easy to install
*Generally sold prefinished, reducing work required for installation
Tools and Installation Methods
Most of the tool necessary for installing hardwood Denver flooring is just ordinary carpentry tools, although specialty nailers can be helpful and shorten installation time.
Most times, hardwood flooring planks are nailed down diagonally through the side tongue as each plank is installed. This paves room for the nails to be completely hidden as the groove on the next plank covers up the previous tongue.
Pro flooring crews use specialty nailers that snug up the planks at the same time they drive the nails. Other than this, ordinary carpentry tools—table saws, power miters saw, jigsaws, and circular saws—are used to cut the hardwood planks.
There are many options with engineered hardwood flooring, as they can be laid with glue, nails or staples. Or, they can be "floating" floors in which the planks are secured and kept together with a proprietary kind of "click-and-lock" variation of tongue-and-groove joinery.
Tips for Surface Preparation
Much of the success of any hardwood Denver flooring installation lies on good preparation of the subfloor and underlayment.
Total removal down to the subfloor is often best to do. Except the existing surface is very well bonded, removal of the old floor is the best option and choice
Surfaces must be very smooth and flat. Floor-leveling compound can be used to fill and level uneven spots. Install a plywood underlayment if the subfloor is not secure and smooth or make the necessary repair to the subfloor before installing flooring.
Test for moisture issues, most especially over concrete. Make use of a moisture meter to verify check that the moisture levels do not exceed 4 percent between subfloor and hardwood. A moisture barrier or raised underlayment can be needed on concrete. Follow specifications from flooring manufacturers and design flooring according to the moisture condition of the room.
Test and check for pH (alkalinity) and calcium chloride before installing any wood flooring over a concrete subfloor.
Thoroughly vacuum and clean before beginning installation of flooring planks.
Where possible and necessary, remove baseboard foot moldings, doors, and door moldings before installing flooring.
The subfloor should be covered completely on the edge. On engineered flooring, thin layers of foam underlayment may be specified by the producers.
Store the hardwood planks for days in the area they will be installed before beginning. This will allow them to adjust to humidity conditions and can prevent later warping.
Pro Installation Tips
Professionals follow several practices when installing either solid hardwood or engineered hardwood flooring planks:
*To reduce chipping, use fine-tooth, carbide-tipped blade to cut hardwood flooring. When making use of prefinished engineered flooring planks, saw with the finished side facing down to reduce chipping
*Endeavor to leave narrow expansion gaps at the walls. These gaps will have room for seasonal expansion of the wood; they will be hidden when base moldings are installed.
*Using a tapping block to nudge flooring planks into position. Never strike the Denver flooring planks directly with a hammer.
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