Archive for December 10th, 2009

When you first decide to replace your old boards and carpets, or just your carpets, with hardwood flooring, you are spoiled for choice. It is also very difficult to see what your home will look like from a few samples. You really need to see the wood installed, either in a showroom, or in a friend’s house. Also, you need to consider how your house is decorated. Not all woods go with all wall colours.

Many people choose oak simply because it is light and hard wearing Walnut wood flooring is good also, although unless you get natural walnut it can be very dark. You may be wondering which wood to buy; that’s not surprise, as most people are at first.

These days rural and rustic are very popular, largely because most people live in cities or suburbs, far from the idyllic villages they dream of. So it is not surprise that rustic finishes on wood flooring are also popular in some quarters. Despite the fact that these wooden planks are all machine planed and finished, people are ready to pay extra for hand scraped wood. Handscraped oak flooring is popular in London and the Home Counties.

Although lacquered finishes are quite good these days, but they can get scratched badly by things like skateboards and roller skates. If so, they need to be sanded down and relacquered, which involves quite a lot of work.

Oiled oak flooring is very durable. They are good floors for busy areas. It is important to keep the wood in good condition.

The alternative is laminated flooring, but these materials do not last well, and are easily damaged.