subject: What To Consider When Choosing The Best Hardwood Flooring [print this page] The Wood Species The Wood Species
The variety of the species is dependent on the style of floor you would like to create. For example, if you would like to create casual flooring, lighter colored wood is the best. On the other hand, for a more formal setting, the best hardwood floor is the darker varieties. With this in mind, here are the most popular wood species from which to choose.
Oak
Oak makes for one of the best hardwood floorings, and is the most popular. It comes in two varieties; red and white oak. Red oak is the more popular of the two. It is dense and stiff, wear resistant, coarse grained, and prominently red. White oak, on the other hand, is slightly brown, but may have a gray cast. It features swirls and burls, and it is the more durable and harder of the two.
Beech
This is a consistently grained, reddish brown hardwood. It is one of the best hardwood floors because it is shock resistant. Beech is also very wear resistant.
Birch
This hardwood is not as hard as oak, though it is popular for its wide range of colors. Birch comes in colors ranging from yellow to brown red.
Pine
Pine is also a yellow-colored hardwood variety. It forms a series of knots and swirls, which makes it one of the most beautiful species ever. Pine is also very hard and durable.
Douglas Fir
For a yellowish tan option, Douglas fir is the best hardwood. However, it is not very durable and only half as hard as red oak making it dent easily.
These are the most popular hardwood flooring choices. Though cherry is commonly used to decorate wooden floors, it is a soft wood making it very vulnerable to dents and scratches.
The next consideration is the type of flooring to use.
Types of Floorings
Wood strips
These are narrow wood boards, commonly made of oak, maple, teak or walnut wood varieties. This flooring type is easily patterned in a tongue and groove over a plywood subfloor.
Wood planks
This is among the best hardwood flooring types. It is similar to wood strips, though wider. It is often laid in a tongue and groove pattern with the ends matching. It is more preferable since it shows off more grain than the strips.
Parquet
These are mosaic patterned, square wooden planks, commonly made of teak, oak or walnut. It is easily patterned into Haddon hall, herringbone, Chaucer, Monticello, and Saxony. This is the most expensive type of wood flooring.
Wood tiles
These are similar to parquet tiles, though they are not laid in a mosaic pattern. However, this type of flooring makes good use of the wooden grain. This flooring is commonly made of maple or oak, and is the least expensive.
Once you decide on the color and pattern of the best hardwood flooring, you can now start considering the type of wood finish to use. The best flooring options are easy to clean and maintain once an appropriate finish is applied.
