Oak Flooring
Oak flooring will lend a look of elegance and airy spaciousness to your home. Solid oak flooring costs a good deal more than cheap oak flooring or laminate wood flooring. It is well worth the cost if you want your home to have an expensive, timeless and tasteful appearance. Your solid oak flooring should endure for the entire life of your home, as this kind of flooring has been known to last for centuries. For this reason, you will want to have a quality product instead of cheap wood flooring. One advantage of solid oak flooring is that you can sand and refinish it as many times as necessary over the years.
Solid Oak Flooring
Laminate flooring imitates the look of genuine wood flooring, but laminate can look cheap or plastic in comparison to the real thing. New solid hardwood flooring is extremely durable. In fact, some of these floors boast a finish that is nearly as hard as a diamond. Solid oak flooring is practical because it is stain resistant. Oak floors are much easier to clean than carpeting, and they are certainly more hygienic. Homeowners can, with the proper equipment, install solid oak flooring themselves. Consult with the manufacturer on the best adhesives to use to glue your new solid oak flooring to the sub-floor. It is important to check the moisture levels before the installation of your hardwood flooring begins.
The process of creating solid oak wood flooring involves cutting oak trees into thick slices. Sometimes these slices are kiln-dried, and sometimes the oak slices are left to season for months or even years. The wood slices are then cut even narrower, then they are polished and sliced and ribbed into oak floorboards.
Engineered Oak Flooring
You can also try engineered oak flooring in your home. Engineered flooring uses a thin layer of oak wood on a base of plywood, while a single plank of wood comprises solid flooring. Of course, there are advantages to having both solid oak floors and engineered oak floors. Because engineered oak flooring is bonded together using heat and pressure, it isn't likely to be affected by humid conditions. Engineered oak floors are also easier to install than solid oak floors. Usually, the floating method of installation is used, whereby the engineered floors are glued to an underlay to muffle noise and reduce echoing. However, you shouldn't sand engineered wood flooring more than twice during the lifetime of the floor. Another plus of engineered wood flooring is that it is a more affordable option than solid wood.
Reclaimed Oak Flooring
Then there is reclaimed oak flooring. This type of flooring can be found through wood flooring dealers, television advertisements or in newspapers. Reclaimed oak floors often come from large, older buildings, warehouses, churches, and even historic private properties. Or perhaps the flooring was engineered from larger wood pieces. Before purchasing reclaimed oak flooring, find out how much of it is available and what condition it is in. See that the reclaimed oak floor boards aren't split or damaged in any way. You will need to sand and refinish these wood floors once they are installed in your home. Varnish or wax will give your reclaimed oak flooring a beautiful-looking finish.
When considering the cost of your new flooring, keep in mind that advertisements may only list the cost of the oak wood flooring itself, and not the cost of installation and materials such as vapor barriers. You will also need to purchase trim, once the oak floors are laid down. Then add in the cost of the installation tools. You will need a utility knife, tape measure, hammer, putty knife, rags, wood glue, caulking gun and yard broom. If you choose not to do the installation yourself, there will be labour costs to consider. If you do choose to hire a professional, you should get estimates from at least three of them.
Cheap Oak Flooring
If you want to save money on the cost of your oak wood flooring, you can seek out closeout and liquidation deals. This is true especially if you don't mind a bit of variation in the colours of your wood planks. There may be limited quantities available from any one manufacturer, so flexibility is needed. Choosing pre-finished hardwood boards should get you even more of a discount.
Once you have your new oak wood flooring at home, stack it indoors for a few days. This will allow the wood to adjust to the humidity level in your house. Check the temperature inside your home to ensure that it is what it would typically be on any given day. Make sure that any sub-flooring is clean and dry.