Choosing wood floors for your home is one of the most important purchase decisions you will last. One reason is because you hope these new hardwood floors last you 50 yrs or more, which for many homeowner is longer than their remaining life expectancy. Another reason, is depending on the amount of square footage of the wood floors, it can be a significant dollar amount. For those reasons, it is important that you are informed and feel comfortable about your decision.

One choice selection is whether you want solid hardwood floors or engineered wood floors. The benefit of solid hardwood is that they can be refinished several times if needed, the downside is that they are more susceptible to contraction and/or expansion. The benefit of engineered flooring is that they are less susceptible to expansion/contraction and they are typically easier on the homeowners budget. The downside is that you might only get 1 or 2 opportunities at the maximum to refinish them if ever needed.

Another selection choice is the species of the wood. For most custom homes that select solid wood floors, the most common species selected is oak. For engineering hardwood flooring the most common are Birch, Oak, Maple and Hickory. Maple and Hickory hardwoods have a higher hardness rating then oak, so they are better for homeowners that have higher foot traffic or that might have pets and kids that do not want laminate floors.

Then other considerations that a homeowner might encounter is the plank structure such as the width, or smooth versus handscraped or distressed finish. Also is the different kind of edges.

Another important factor to a lot of homeowners are the warranty and the reputation of the engineered wood floor manufacturer. So as you can see there are many different factors to consider so do your research and ask your local flooring professional if you have any questions.

If you are ready to purchase your new hardwood or laminate floors, shop on our website, we have the best discount flooring prices around!

Brian Heltzel
817-426-3900
info@floorbarn.com
www.floorbarn.com
Burleson, TX

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