Hardwood floor installation
To make the best decisions you start with the right questions!
Considerations before installing hardwood floors
When putting in new flooring it is important to consider the following variables since all of these will help you determine which flooring is best for your home or office.
- How much traffic your hardwood floor will receive
- The climate that you live in
- The budget you want to spend
- Where the room is located within the home or office
How much traffic will the hardwood receive?
For high traffic areas you will want to look at a medium grade wood or higher of to stand up to the wear and tear through the years. A natural maple wood type and others in this medium grade is often used for gym floors or bowling alleys and so is a good place to start when looking for woods that stand up to high traffic areas of your home.
What kind of climate do you live in?
Areas with higher humidity will experience a more noticeable effect on their hardwood floors as the seasons change and the high humidity causes the hardwood to slightly expand, and then to contract again when the weather turns warm and dry. This is completely normal, however, if you don’t install the correct type of wood for your climate, over the decades, this expanding and contracting may cause slight gaps in some of the hardwood. But with the advice of a professional flooring specialist, you can select the perfect type of flooring for your climate that will last for generations to come.
What is your budget for the project?
Your budget will determine what type and quality of hardwood you to choose to install.
A top grade hardwood such as the Select red oak and others like it is a high grade quality of hardwood and runs in the region of $5 per square foot.
A medium grade hardwood such as one from the natural maple family is slightly more, costing about $4 per square foot.
A lower grade hardwood such as Rustic ash is a less formal wood, which would be a good choice to put in a family room or low traffic areas such as a bedroom. It makes for an excellent floor and is lower in price, ranging in the $3 per square foot.
Knowing your price range will help you and your flooring professional find the perfect hardwood for flooring project.
What is the location of the room or office for the hardwood flooring?
Different floor levels of a home or office will determine the type of hardwood flooring that is used. Since hardwood is sensitive to humidity, such as humidity that might be found in the basement of a home, the hardwood will be a different choice than that of one to be used above ground level or above “grade.”
Furthermore, you will want to consider the subfloor over which the hardwood will be placed. A subfloor consisting of a concrete slab will be treated differently than an existing wood subfloor.
With all of these considerations to keep in mind, it is nice to know that a hardwood flooring professional knows these answers will walk you through all these considerations to find the perfect hardwood flooring for your home or office.
