Country Natural Hickory >Ever heard anyone walk into a home and say, “Yuck. Wood floors are always right. They are at home in any home. And unlike wall color, tile, carpet, windows, cabinets, or any other home finishing or furnishing choice that is easy to mess up, you can’t miss if you choose wood floors. “People love wood floors because they are elegant, classic, timeless, go with every décor, are always in season, last and are easy to maintain,” says Marianne Murphy, director of operations for Floor Covering International. She is preaching to the choir. “I know,” I say, then to put this in true perspective, add, “wood floors are the pearls and diamonds of interior design. “Exactly,” says Murphy, whose company has 100 stores throughout North America. Now, back to you. I know what you’re thinking: Lady, have you priced wood floors lately? Yes, I have, which is why my conversation with Murphy quickly veered to the runners-up to solid wood floors.
In fact, in some cases, I’d argue, floors of engineered hardwood and porcelain wood-look tiles actually beat out solid wood flooring. I have chosen both of these flooring options over solid wood recently for two different interiors. Last year, when I fixed up my parents’ home to sell, I had engineered hardwood floors put in. Solid-wood floors were out of the budget, especially for a home I wasn’t planning to live in for decades. These floors looked fabulous. More recently, I considered porcelain wood-look tiles, which, purist that I am, I hesitated to embrace. On principle, I am leery of any product masquerading as another. Tile should look like tile. Wood should look like wood. Plastic should — well, you get the idea. So when a friend of mine asked what I thought of using porcelain planks that look like wood — and I mean exactly like wood, down to the textured grain surface — as flooring for his second home, a condo in Arizona he was buying and renovating, I was dubious.
So I checked it out. I saw samples in the store and the product on a floor. I became a convert. “It’s one of my favorite products!” said Murphy, when I told her the story. Those who have gone into wood-look tile are way ahead of the curve. Porcelain wins in all categories for lifestyle, look, function and price.”“I remember when consumers (I did not say me) once snubbed solid-wood-floor-wannabe products.” “Those days are over,” said Murphy, who credits technology. “Digital imagery has gotten so fine and sharp that products don’t look fake anymore.” “So flooring is catching up to plastic surgery that way?” “Just four or five years ago, even porcelain tiles meant to look like marble looked fake. Now technology lets manufacturers add textures, like grain and distress. Technology is driving prices down and realism up.” While many homeowners still choose solid hardwood flooring for its classic appeal and longevity, its price is causing many consumers to give other options a second look.
If you are pining for a wood look, here are your options:This is the gold standard, but you pay for it. Besides their traditional authenticity, solid wood floors last for generations. They can be sanded, refinished, restained and restored many times. Traditional oak styles are still common, but wide-plank floors in espresso and gray tones are currently popular. The downside: Apart from their higher cost, solid wood floors can’t go everywhere. For instance, you can’t install them over a concrete slab without first installing a subfloor.This flooring is made of actual wood, not laminate. Engineered hardwood floors layer real wood over a stacked core of compressed repurposed wood. The result is a stable, sustainable floor material less likely than solid wood to change with heat, cold and humidity. Because it’s sustainable, customers also like its greenness, said Murphy. Because it’s wood, it looks, feels and sounds real. You won’t have that plastic “click” sound you get from laminate wood flooring.
Engineered wood can also go where solid wood floors can’t, including directly over concrete. The downside: Unlike solid wood floors, which can last generations, an engineered wood floor lasts about 20 years, said Murphy. Homeowners can probably sand and refinish them once, but not multiple times, and they can’t change the color.This I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-wood flooring offers a fresh, clean, sleek look that can range from traditional dark brown to washed-out weathered gray. Tougher than ceramic, porcelain wood tiles come in long, rectangular plank lengths. They won’t scratch, dent, fade or ever need to be refinished. They can last for decades, and, because they’re water resistant, can fare better than wood in basements, bathrooms and laundry areas. They also work better with radiant heated floors than solid wood flooring. Like engineered wood, porcelain wood-look flooring costs less than most solid wood flooring. The downside: More than other wood surfaces, installation needs to be perfect.
Not to be confused with engineered hardwood floors, vinyl wood flooring is not wood, but a photo of wood laminated onto a surface. Also water-resistant, vinyl wood flooring works in bathrooms and laundry areas. Thanks to better technology and higher resolution photography, today’s vinyls look more realistic. Plus, installation is easy. Many homeowners can put these floors in themselves. The downside: However good they look, they still have that synthetic feel and sound underfoot. Syndicated columnist and speaker Marni Jameson is the author of “House of Havoc” and “The House Always Wins” (Da Capo Press). Click here for Inventory Monthly Specials 2201 Plantside Dr.Louisville, KY 40299 River City Flooring’s star-studded hardwood flooring collection showcases Armstrong, Anderson, Johnson, Bella Cera, Mannington, Vallaria, and Mullican, in addition to other top-quality products. Walk into our showroom and imagine our oak, maple, walnut, cherry, birch, and mahogany perfectly at home on your floors.
You will also be surprised by the colors and graining of exotic species such as acacia, tiger wood, merbau, and timborana. Running the gamut from rustic to sophisticated, today’s flooring is full of the unexpected. What’s fresh and new? Wider planks and random widths are hitting the pages of home design magazines, but traditional floors also live on in spectacular renditions. Advances in design and manufacturing now enable wood flooring to be installed anywhere in your home or business. However, the location will determine the type of wood flooring that should be used. The professionals at River City Flooring can help you determine the most suitable wood for your application. Below are some guidelines to keep in mind, as well as products in some of our most popular styles which you can see in our showroom. This type of flooring is a solid piece of wood from top to bottom. The thickness can vary, but generally ranges from 3/4″ to 5/16″. One of the many benefits of solid wood flooring is that it can be sanded and refinished numerous times through the years.
This adds great value to your home at resale, as a prospective buyer may appreciate being able to change the color or finish. Another important feature of solid floors is that they can be installed above or on grade. Solid wood floors are available as unfinished or pre-finished. Pre-finished hardwood floors–usually engineered–are pre-finished with a color and sheen at the factory. They do not require sanding or finishing. Many of these are “glue down” or “floating” floors, constructed to click together for easy installation. Some of our most popular brands of pre-finished floors are Bruce, Armstrong, Mohawk, Mullican, Shaw, SLCC Flooring, Urban Floors, Aurora, Bella Cera, US Floors, Prolex Flooring, Stone Wood Floors and Somerset. Unfinished floors are sanded and finished on-site following installation. They are most often solid wood. Engineered wood floors are real wood floors that are manufactured using three to nine layers of different wood veneers. The sub layers can be of the same or different species.