With engineered wood floors, you should experience very good stability no matter how wide the planks are.  Engineered wood floor planks typically start at 3-inches wide and go to 4, 5, and 6.  With the advanced construction of engineered floors, these planks should remain very stable with very little cupping, bending, or twisting.

Solid wood flooring comes in standard plank widths of 2-1/4-inch, 3-1/4, 4, 5, and 6.  And stability can be a problem with the solid planks.  The wider the plank, the less stable the floor.  My general rule is to install flooring that is no more than 4-inches wide.  I’ve seen too many floors with “wide plank” issues.  What kind of issues?  Gapping during the winter time (cold and dry), squeaking, and other minor annoying issues.  BUT major issues can come up that can only be fixed with a refinish.

If you plan on leaving the home for months with no temperature control (HVAC), expect to have issues as the wood expands with heat and shrinks with cold.  Temperature control in the home is by far the biggest factor that plays against solid flooring.  I would never advise a homeowner to simply turn off the HVAC and let it go for months.  Not only is it hard on your floors but on everything else too.

The science of stability: Engineered wood floors are built with a very stable, rigid plywood core attached which offers the benefit of stability.  Wood is an organic material with non-uniform density.  When this material is heated, it expands.  When it is cooled it contracts.  When it’s exposed to humidity it will swell and when it is dried out, it will shrink.  The non-uniform nature of the solid wood means that the wood will be subject to deformation like curling, buckling, or cupping when exposed to changes in the environmental condition.

In my own home, my wife and I have 3-1/4” wide, solid red oak plank floors and I’ve been diligent to keep the temperature and humidity within a reasonable range.  The result has been a stable floor with only a few minor squeaks here and there.

If your heart is set on engineered floors, you shouldn’t have any issues.  But if you really want a wide plank solid floor (5-inches or more) I recommend that you reconsider or expect to have issues over the life of your floors.

HSW Floors works directly with homeowners, skipping the retail markups, and providing only the highest quality floors and installations in Dallas, Allen, Plano, McKinney, Coppell, Flower Mound, and Frisco, TX.

HSW Floors continues to lead the way by successfully using water-based polyurethanes for wood flooring in Dallas.  If your flooring contractor is using the stinky old oil-based polyurethane, I suggest you take a look at the real advantages of water based sealers and finishes.

1) More Durable

The Taber Abrasion machine was used to test our preferred water-based finish (Basic Coatings – Streetshoe 275) against the leading oil-based polyurethane.  This test determines a coatings resistance to abrasion such as scuffing and erosion from surface friction.  Test results concluded that the water-based finishes were 5 times more resistant than the average commercial-grade oil-based urethane.

2) Less VOC

VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids.  These gases can have adverse health effects. They also combine with other elements in the presence of sunlight to form smog, a major air pollutant. Thus the government has begun restricting the amount of VOC’s that can be included in certain products.

• Waterbased coatings typically have half as much VOC content as the traditional oil-based polyurethane finishes.
• Basic Coatings waterbased finishes produce less odor than fragrant OMU’s.
• Green: Several of Basic® Coatings waterbased fi nishes meet the strictest of government regulations and LEED requirements.

3) Faster Dry Times

Water-based coatings dry in 2 to 3 hours.  Oil-based dries in 8 to 24 hours.  Multiple coats of water-based finish can be applied in one day with job taking less time and back in use faster.

4) Faster Cure Times

Water-based coatings take only 7 days to come to full cure as compared to 30 days with oil-based coatings.  Our preferred water-based finish is 90% cured in only 24 hours, which means less downtime before the area is safe for use.

5) Less Yellowing

Water-based finishes retain a clear, non-yellowing appearance.  Oil-based finishes will turn an unsightly yellow with age and UV exposure.  If the deep, enhanced look of oil-based finishes is what your project requires, we use a water-based finish that incorporates an organic tung oil for deeper color but will retain clarity over time without yellowing.  It’s the best of both worlds.

6) Non-Flammable

Oil-based polyurethanes contain petroleum distillates, which are combustible or flammable. Water-based finishes are neither combustible nor flammable.  The vapors of OMU’s are also combustible or flammable. Mineral spirits or solvents are needed to clean applicators or accidental spills when using OMU’s. Rags and other materials that have residue from OMU’s on them must be stored in safety containers to prevent spontaneous combustion.

If you have solid wood floors, you’re in luck.  Solid hand scraped wood floors and smooth sanded finish wood floors are the easiest to match.  If you know you have solid flooring such as oak, maple, walnut, or hickory; chances are very good that my crew can install new flooring and match the species, grade, cut, and size.  Matching the stain color might be easy but sometimes a refinish or recoating of the old flooring is necessary.  This is because the new floors will be in new condition while the older floors are showing their age.

It’s worth noting that hiring a flooring professional such as HSW Floors is different than shopping for flooring in a retail store.  I’ve found that most retail stores don’t deal much in solid flooring and may not have access to the kind of craftsman or product knowledge that your add-on project may require.

If you have engineered wood floors, this could be tricky.  If the new floors aren’t going to touch the old floors then this makes is much easier.  All we have to do is find a very close match and most people won’t notice the difference.  Attention should be paid to the color, variation, texture, and sheen of the finish layer if a matching look is the highest priority.  If you intend to lace in new flooring with old flooring, you’ll be well served if you temper your expectations.  Even if you use the same manufacturer, product line, and color; chances are very low that you’ll be able to find wood flooring in the exact same dye lot.  Even an untrained eye will be able to detect which areas are new and which are old.  If you can use a border or break the area up with some other flooring such as tile or carpet, you’ll avoid the exact matching dilemma.

What kind of floor do you have? Is it engineered? Solid? Prefinished? Click here to learn more about types of wood flooring.

What hardwood flooring does not include is laminate wood flooring.  Laminate wood floors have become popular and are synonymous with brands such as Pergo.  Laminate wood floors feature a synthetic top layer which is colored and textured to give the appearance of wood but at a lower cost and with enhanced durability.

Engineered hardwood flooring is identified by the multiple layers which are bonded together.  This type has a plywood core with a veneer on top and usually comes prefinished with stain and sealer.  For a more detailed explanation of different types of flooring, click here.

Solid hardwood flooring is cut from solid wood material and does not have a plywood core.  Typically solid floors can be refinished more times than the engineered floor and tend to be less stable over time than the engineered floor.  What does that mean?  It’s normal to see gapping and hear creaking in the floor throughout the year and as seasons change.

HSW Floors installs only high-quality engineered wood floors.  We have a relationship with ProSource with locations in Addison, Allen, and Ft.Worth where you can select from hundreds of samples to find the right one for you.  You can purchase the wood directly from ProSource along with all the transition pieces and installation adhesive too.  HSW Floors will pick up and deliver your engineered flooring and install it according to manufacturers guidelines.

By far the most popular floor for HSW Floors clients is solid red oak hardwood flooring, finished on site with a hand-scraped texture and sealed with 3 coats of water-based polyurethane.  If installed on the first floor, typically a solid floor requires the installation of a plywood subfloor and layers of vapor barrier.  HSW Floors provides all services which are needed to complete the project including flooring removal, baseboard removal and installation, baseboard painting, exterior and interior door adjustments, and shoe mould.

If you’re looking to upgrade the floors in your Dallas area home with hardwood flooring, please give HSW Floors a call.

Unfinished wood flooring comes out of the box with no stain, no finish, no sealer, no color; its bare wood.  This presents the homeowner with lots of options.  After the installation is complete, the installer will usually fill and sand the floors, stain or condition the wood to the desired color, and apply 2 to 4 coats of polyurethane.  If an authentic hand scraped texture is desired, the installer needs to select a solid unfinished wood or an unfinished engineered product with a thick (3/16”) wear layer.  If you’re looking at a very thin wear layer product, sand and finish is all you will be able to do.  Scraping will likely go right through to the plywood core and look very undesirable.

The upside to the prefinished product is that it’s consistent.  Color variations are usually very minimal and the texture is consistent too.  The downside is this may be very limiting if trying to match other wood features in the home.  But consistency isn’t always desirable.  One of the features of real wood is character and variation.  But sanding isn’t.  And prefinished floors eliminate the need to sand, stain, and apply sealer.  Convenience is a big plus with prefinished floors.

Unfinished wood or site-finished floors allows the homeowner or designer greater flexibility in selecting the color, provides more character and variation, and offers options in the sheen of the final coat.  It’s been my experience that touch-ups are easier with site-finished floors as well as spot repairs.  As prefinished woods go out of production, unfinished solid wood doesn’t so supplies will likely be available in 10, 20, or even 50 years from now if they’re needed.

And one final note… the ability to refinish a floor in the future will mean that your wood floors are a long-term investment; future-proofing if you will.  Your floors see more use everyday than any other part of your home and they will wear down.  The ability to refinish keeps you from having to replace a worn out floor.  Just refinish and your back to square one.

If you’re looking for hardwood floors in Dallas or the surrounding cities such as Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Coppell, or Flower Mound, HSW Floors would love to have an opportunity to earn your business.  We provide complete turn-key services which means you don’t have to find any other contractors to complete the job.  Getting the wood floors that you want couldn’t be easier with HSW Floors.

Every year these big name engineered flooring manufacturers create fresh new models.  New colors, textures, fancy names that sound more like Italian culinary creations than wood floors.  As romantic as they sound, does any of this “sexy sizzle” highlight something worth looking at?  I think so.

Engineered, prefinished wood floors are more convenient (in the short term), more consistent, and offer variation in size, color, and wood species that aren’t available or feasible in a solid wood floor.

Here’s a legitimate reason for the manufacturers to produce engineered wood floor instead of solid floors out of the same raw material.  Imagine that you have wood stock in a very exotic species of wood.  If you cut that into ¾” thick millstock, you’ll get the least amount of wood floor square footage to sell to the public.  But let’s say that you take that same amount of raw material and cut it down into 1/8” pressed veneers and glued that to a plywood core.  You’d get six times the amount of sellable material out of the engineered method as compared to the solid millstock.

When an engineered wood floor is processed in a facility, the staining and sealing procedure is able to produce a more consistent product.  It’s predictable.  The sample will look exactly like the product in the box.  The installer doesn’t have to stain or seal or do anything that affects the color, taking the risk out of the purchase for the end consumer.

With respect to convenience, an engineered, prefinished floor already comes ready to install with the color and finish already built in.  There’s no sanding, no buffing, no sealing.  So the installation only requires that the floor be attached to the subfloor.  Voila!  Ready to walk on in three days.

Contrast this against a solid wood floor installation which may take two to three weeks from start to finish.  Sounds like a pain?  Sure, but some homeowners are still choosing solid floors and we’ll examine some of the reasons why in another article.

HSW Floors installs engineered wood floors in Dallas, TX and surrounding cities.

A: There are two kinds of hardwood floors which may be good candidates for a kitchen:

1)      engineered and site-finished

2)      solid and unfinished (may require the installation of a plywood sub-floor)

Let’s take a good look at the important differences.  Engineered floors can be glued directly to a concrete slab or other rigid sub-floor, making the total floor very thin; about as thin as a standard tile installation.  Then there’s the solid wood floor which requires the installation of a plywood subfloor so the solid floor can be nailed in.  Note that most kitchens in the North Texas area are located on the first floor of a home built on a concrete foundation but I have seen exceptions.

Why is this difference worth discussing?  Answer: Thickness of the overall floor.  Because the thickness of the floor introduces the possibility of issues with cabinetry and appliances, the total thickness of the desired floor should be taken into account.  Some kitchens I have encountered will only work with a thinner solution while other kitchens aren’t restricted in choice.  If you are remodeling the entire kitchen including the replacement of cabinets, counter-tops, etc., you will may have the ability to plan for whatever floor you want.

Here’s some conflicts that I’ve seen as a designer/flooring consultant:

Fridge: If you have a built-in fridge, check to see if you have 1.25 inches of clearance above it.  Most don’t.  Blocking in your fridge is a no-no.

Dishwasher: The dishwasher will be sitting on the floor and they usually don’t have an extra 1.25 inches between the top of the appliance and the bottom of the countertop.  You’ll need a little wiggle room so if it’s too tight, then a decision must be made.  You can block in a dishwasher which means that servicing it might require a service call from a wood floor technician to remove and reinstall planks.

Range: Some kitchens have cooktops and some have ranges.  If your kitchen uses a range, examine it to see what it would look like if you raised it up 1.25 inches.

If any of the above issues are present in your kitchen, then an engineered floor is going to be the better option.  The engineered products will range in thickness from 3/8″ to 5/8″.

In the next article, I’ll discuss the pro’s and con’s of prefinished vs. unfinished wood flooring.

HSW Floors provides quality wood floors in Dallas, TX and surrounding cities.