If you’ve been somewhere and seen timber flooring in the past and have now come to a time in your life when it’s time for you to get new flooring and are considering the same, what is there to know?
It is of the essence to know and select the best option, even though you may at first be tempted to pick out a colour and plank size that perfectly matches your home or workplace decor and get it fitted. To obtain the perfect flooring you will need to fully understand certain features about these beautiful wood floors and how they happen to act under certain conditions.
- Indeed, one of the foremost important aspects of wood is to be familiar with its dimensional stability.
- This relates to how a particular wood will react to any changes in humidity.
- Every type of wood happens to expand and also contract with the different changes in humidity.
However, there are certain types of Australian wood which are extremely stable and expand and contracts significantly less than other varieties.
Which Room is it going to be installed?
- If you’re going to be using devices such as air conditioning and/or a humidifier to maintain a steady level of humidity in your home or workplace, you can then make good use of a less stable wood.
- Whereas any timber flooring that will see any exposure to the elements or are laid over basement concrete floors should be of a stronger, more stable type of wood.
Matters of Traffic
Along with having an awareness of dimensional stability, you must fully realise matters of foot traffic. Any heavy traffic areas should be fitted with the toughest wood possible, whilst those lower traffic spaces can have a softer type.
- Try to compare a wood’s hardness with its dimensional stability and then select three or four different choices and then later on break them down to the perfect one that perfectly fits your flooring requirements.
You will have to know that the toughest woods, will not necessarily also possess the best dimensional stability for your room, so understand that it is important to weigh everything out carefully.
And Yet another Option
Also, and in addition to the traditional hammer nailed down wood flooring, there is the option of what is known as “engineered hardwood”.
- This type of flooring material is made up especially for any areas that have a high moisture content.
- It is manufactured with a core which has a thin layer of wood facade on the top and often a thin layer of real hardwood.
- Engineered flooring provides more stability with regards to moisture, but works out more cost effective, although you must remember that the veneer types cannot be sanded down or refinished as a real solid hardwood floor can.
If you have anything that you want to know more about, just have a consult with a respectable flooring service in Melbourne and before long you will have an absolutely gorgeous looking floor smiling up at you!