Deep Reflections Hardwood Floors Co.

The choice of flooring is one of the most basic yet important decisions a homeowner has to make when undertaking a renovation, as it underpins everything else. While there are plenty of different options, from carpet to terrazzo, one material is the acknowledged standard: hardwood.

But not all hardwood flooring is created equal, and selecting a product isn’t simply a matter of choosing a preferred color. A range of other factors can have an impact on both aesthetics and performance.

How To Select Hardwood Flooring

Once you understand your budget and personal or environmental flooring preferences, there are a few simple steps you can follow to help you drill down to the best hardwood flooring choices for your home.

1- Color Preference –

Before starting to select wood flooring, it is always a good idea to have a color palette in place. What we mean by that is you should know the general colors you are going to be using for furniture, paint, etc. in order to give yourself a palette of colors to match with. This will enable you to more easily narrow your flooring color options down to a manageable number.

On the other hand, if you are starting with floor color and do not yet know what furnishings, paint and other elements you are going to be using in your home design, this can be more challenging. You will need to begin with an open mind on floor color and allow your eyes and preferences to guide your selection.

2- Smooth or Distressed –

Next you will want to determine your wood floor finish preference. Do you like the look of distressed wood, a smooth flooring style or maybe handscraped hardwood? We have photos showing what that looks like.

Selecting the texture you prefer will help eliminate wood flooring that might not come in that style.

3- Board Width –

Another wood flooring style consideration is plank size or board width. There are virtually hundreds of options of wood floor widths to choose from. Typically sizes range from 2 1/4″ up to 11″. Just as with finishes, choosing the width that best fits your decor plan will help you eliminate wood floor options that may or may not come in that specific size.

4- Wood Floor Species –

Hardwood flooring, engineered hardwood, and even laminate flooring comes in many different species. Each species of wood flooring provides a different base color, design pattern and overall look (Oak, Birch, Maple, etc). In addition, the varying hardness of a specific wood flooring species plays a role in its suitability for various installation applications based on the species hardness and overall durability. See hardwood hardness examples.

5- Environmental Application–

Ask yourself about the conditions that you are going to be not only installing your new wood flooring but the daily environment that your wood flooring will exist in. For example, if you have small children, active dogs, high traffic areas may require a more resilient wood flooring type. Other considerations such as available natural light, moisture areas such as bathrooms or basements could also impact color or composite preferences.

6- Sustainability –

Finally, consider your green requirements for your new wood flooring. Are you looking for highly sustainable green flooring options such as bamboo wood floors, or will lower impact environmentally friendly engineered hardwood flooring. Both are considered to be more Green friendly options over the traditional solid hardwood flooring.

Now that you know some of the considerations that will help guide you in your wood floor selection process, you also need to know one more important thing. You are not in this alone. Our professional design team is here to help you make your crucial wood flooring decision.

To explore the many options available click here to learn more.

Expert advice on how to repair hardwood floor water damage, hardwood floor gouge repair, repairing a hardwood floor finish, fixing wood flooring scratches, and more.

Repair Hardwood Floor Water Damage

In general, water is an enemy to wood floors. It can damage the finish, leave rings or discoloration or—at its worst—cause flooring boards to cup, warp, buckle, or grow mold.

Water damage to hardwood floors can be from minor to major. It can be caused by a potted plant that leaks onto the floor, from a burst appliance supply hose, or from major flooding.
Methods for dealing with hardwood floor water damage depend upon the severity of the damage.

Severe water damage. If several hardwood flooring boards have warped because of excessive water damage, they’ll probably need to be removed and replaced. In many cases, you can replace only the damaged areas. In order to do this, you’ll need to be able to identify and buy identical replacements. Of course, this isn’t always possible.

Removing a water stain. If someone has left a water-mark ring from a hot coffee cup or cold glass on the floor, you might be able to extract the stain.

Fold a white cloth or rag in half and lay it over the stain. Then set an iron to medium heat and use it to iron back and forth over the stain area. Do this gradually, checking frequently to see whether the stain is disappearing and to make sure you don’t cause further damage.
Larger stains on wood floors are typically water marks, caused by spills or over-watering house plants. The area must be sanded, sometimes bleached, and then refinished to match the rest of the floor, which is the trickiest part.

It’s a good idea to hire a flooring contractor like Deep Reflections Hardwood Floors Company who specialize and dealing with a large stain, particularly if the stain is in a highly visible area.
Polyurethane finishes are difficult to sand. Try using a scouring pad dipped in mineral spirits or use a sanding screen.

Expert Tip

Don’t ever wax a wood floor that has been coated with a polyurethane finish—this will make it impossible to re-coat in the future without having to sand the floor first.

If paste wax will adhere to the finish, you can use it to hide scratches, and the wax is available in clear, honey tone, or brown to match most any wood floor. Wood-repair wax sticks may help to fill deeper scratches and dents.

Hardwood Gouges and Dents

For deep gouges or dents, you can use a wood floor filler and wood stain to repair the damaged area. This should be done by a professional like Deep Reflections Hardwood Floors Co.
Badly damaged or rotted sections of flooring must be removed and replaced with new pieces. This involves cutting out or prying up a section of the finish flooring, gluing or nailing replacements to the subflooring, filling cracks to match, sanding the surface, and refinishing.

If you’re not experienced with this type of work, you’ll find the most difficult part is getting the new pieces to match the old. This job is usually best left to a wood-flooring professional. Click to learn more.