Hardwood floors are suited to both casual and formal environments; they feel at home with modern or traditional and will compliment the decor of both minimalist and eclectic designs. Hardwood can be classic, rock, jazz, country, or hip hop. Today's State-of-the-art technology coupled with an almost limitless choice of stains, finishes, styles and designs makes hardwood flooring one of the most practical and versatile floor coverings available. Their beauty is enduring and like a fine wine, they mature with age.
Nature provides the inspiration when designing with hardwood floors. The abundance of natural hardwood species provides a plethora of wood grain structures, each unique and each matching a particular décor. Oak woods contain a lot of growth ring patterns and knots, and are best suited to traditional and rustic decors. However, adding a high gloss finish can make them elegant enough for any formal dining room. Woods such as Maple, Walnut and Birch contain very little graining and lend themselves well to contemporary and modern designs.
The aesthetic appeal of hardwood is also influenced to a large extent by mineral streaking, the presence of knots and shade and color variation. These features are also used in the classification of hardwoods.
Clear – This grade of hardwood is free of defects though it may have minor imperfections. Flooring in this category tends to be very consistent with little mineral streaking and knots, also making it the most expensive grade. Select – This grade is almost clear, but contains more natural characteristics such as knots and color variations.
Common grades (No. 1 and No. 2) have more markings than either clear or select and are often chosen because of these natural features and the character they bring to a room.
No.1 Common has a variegated appearance, light and dark colors, knots, flags and worm holes. No.2 Common is rustic in appearance and will show all wood characteristics of the species. These grades have always been the least expensive, but the recent revival of the antique rustic look has resulted in prices skyrocketing.
Performance is a very important aspect when selecting a hardwood floor. Some hardwood species are less porous than others, making them harder and less susceptible to staining. The Janka Hardness Test provides the relative hardness of numerous wood species used in flooring. This rating should only be used as a general guide, as the hardness is also affected by growth region.
Plank construction and finish are also important factors when determining the durability of any wood floor. Plank construction comes in two forms, solid and engineered. Factors such as type of existing subfloor and relative air humidity will determine which floor is best suited to your needs.
Great advancements in finish technology have resulted in floors that are less susceptible to scratching, denting, fading, and are easier to maintain. The addition of Aluminum Oxide to the surface finish has added a measure of performance resulting in a hardwood floor that, maintained properly, should never have to be replaced.
Furniture Pads Hardwood Floors
Bruce Hardwood Flooring is the premium name in hardwood floors. If you are a discerning consumer who is looking for quality, value and choice in a hardwood floor, you should visit your Bruce distributor. They have a wide array of beautiful hardwood floors in many colors and finishes so you will be sure to find the exact one that suits your home decor, your taste, and the kind of use and wear your floor will get. This quality manufacturer stands by its reputation for creating a beautiful, natural looking floor for any look.
The Bruce Flooring Company has offered hardwood floors to the public for years and they are known for products that will give your home the natural elegance you strive for. For an individual look that is warm, beautiful and charming, Bruce products stand out. Be sure to visit their website to get great advice on products and decorating ideas, and they even have a feature whereby you can upload pictures of your home and apply their flooring products to your rooms for a total impression of how each product would look on your own floors. Isn't modern computer technology wonderful?
Bruce Floors can be installed by the home handy man, since their site gives excellent instruction on how to install these products. But for best results, they do recommend the services of a professional installer. They can even give you recommendations for installers who work in your area. Their website is very user friendly and you can easily find one to suit your needs.
Bruce Hardwood Floors can be used in just about any room in the house, but they do not recommend that it be used in the bathroom since it is subject to so much water and moisture. Natural wood does not fare well when it is exposed to excess moisture, and so the long lasting attributes of Bruce wood floors would not apply in this room. The company will give you plenty of tips on how to best care for your beautiful hardwood floors.
They also make and sell special products for cleaning and maintaining the floors. Just check the website for the local distributors of their products. Be careful when cleaning wood floor products that you do not use any abrasives which will scratch the finish and allow the wood to become damaged. Now that you have premium Bruce Hardwood Flooring instead of laminate floors, you want to make sure you take good care of it so it will last a lifetime. Discover where to get smart deals on and how to look after your floor.
Both Rusell Huth & Andrew Caxton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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