Hardwood
You’ve already made the most important decision.You want hardwood flooring.Whether building a new home, or tackling a remodeling project, you can be confident that
genuine hardwood flooring will add significantly to the beauty, quality and value of your home. It’s a smart investment that you will be able to enjoy for a lifetime.
The term
“hardwood”applies to varieties of wood flooring that are made entirely of wood (not to be confused with laminate, which is actually compressed fiberboard topped
with a visual of wood, stone or another design printed on paper). Genuine hardwood is real wood, through and through, providing warmth, character and sophistication to
discriminating homeowners.The hardwood family of floors is large and varied. You’ll want to be aware of its two distinct forms: Solid and Engineered.
Solid
Hardwood is just that, 100% solid wood, which is normally nailed or stapled to a wooden subfloor. Most are 3/4" thick, although some manufacturers also offer a “thin-
profile”solid that is 5/16" thick.While solid hardwood flooring is typically nailed to a subfloor, thin-profile solid flooring can be glued down over concrete and other hard surfaces.
Engineered
Hardwood is also 100% wood. It is manufactured by permanently bonding
together multiple layers of solid wood in a cross-ply construction. Engineered hardwood,
typically 3/8" thick, is designed to have superior strength and moisture/humidity resistance.
Other thicknesses are available. Engineered flooring can be installed over wood, concrete
or an existing floor. And, just like solid hardwood, most engineered hardwood floors can
be refinished if needed.