Ready to buy hardwood floors for your newly renovated home or new construction project? Smart choice! Hardwood floors are among the most sought-out flooring option because they’re durable, sustainable and are so luxurious, they even add to a home’s real estate value. So what do you need to know before buying hardwood floors? To make your investment even smarter, we highlighted five things to prioritize when buying hardwood floors for your project.

Buying Hardwood Floors: Five Important Factors to Consider

There’s more to choosing a hardwood floor than just the colors. Check out five crucial factors to consider when you buy hardwood floors:

Type of Wood

Hardwood flooring is majorly divided into:

  • Solid wood flooring: essentially made from planks of solid wood and can be either unfinished or prefinished. Solid wood flooring has tight seams and is often tough to install, as it requires nailing to the subfloor. However, it’s durable, sustainable, and comes in nearly any color and grain you might think of but doesn’t do well in moisture-prone environments.
  • Engineered wood flooring: made up of two solid hardwood layers with a plywood/MDF core, engineered wood flooring offers better water and heat resistance, ease of installation, and is affordable but has limited color options.

Each type, as briefly highlighted above, has pros and cons. Carefully weigh them to determine which option is a better fit for you.

Style Options

Besides the type, you also need to prioritize the following when you buy hardwood floors:

  • Wood species: some hardwood floors are made from softwood species like southern pine and red cedar, while others are hardwoods like oak, maple and mahogany. Besides the degree of a wood species’ hardness, also consider its origin. Some, like beech, are domestic woods, while others, such as the Brazilian Cherry, are exotic.
  • Color and grain: Hardwood flooring differs in grain and color since it comes from a virtually endless array of wood species. From dark browns and greys to whites with highly defined grain patterns to natural hues, your options are simply endless. Consider your home’s style to select an ideal shade and grain.
  • Grading: a hardwood floor’s grading depends on its knot size and color variations. Some are categorized as prime fade, meaning they’re totally clean, and have zero knots, while others feature plenty of knots and are perfectly suited for rustic interiors.
  • Finish: if you decide to buy prefinished or engineered wood flooring, you’ll also need to consider the type of finish. Although there’s a variety, hardwood flooring finishes are either oil or polyurethane-based. Oil offers a soft, matte appearance and doesn’t scratch easily. Polyurethane, on the other hand, is more stain-resistant.

Plank Width and Thickness

Wide hardwood floorboards are typically easy to install and are often sturdier. The plank thickness also matters for solid and engineered hardwood floors. The thicker it is, the more durable and longer-lasting your floors will be.

Buying Quality Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood floors are all the rage, and for the right reasons. With the tips above, we hope you buy hardwood floors that fit your home’s style and match your budget.

Do you need more professional input on purchasing hardwood floors? Get in touch with our talented team today.