Hardwood Flooring Advice With Free Samples Delivered to UK

Nothing comes close to the warm, stunning finish that can be achieved with a hardwood floor. Each section of hardwood floor has a different grain which combines to form a unique look whenever it is used. A lifetime investment, hardwood floors are incredibly durable, stain resistant and do not trap dust so are especially good for allergy sufferers. By installing hardwood floors you can increase the value of your home and give it the edge over similar property on the market. There is a huge variety of hardwood floors available with many types of wood species, colours and widths available from hardwood flooring UK suppliers.

Hardwood flooring can be purchased in pre-finished or unfinished styles. For cheap hardwood flooring consider using unfinished hardwood flooring. Using a flooring supplier like UKCarpetsDirect is ideal as the offer free hardwood flooring samples delivered to the UK to help customers make the right choice. By lacquering and protecting the floor yourself you will save money. When laying unfinished hardwood flooring the product can be recoated several times to increase its life making it last considerably longer than carpets and laminate flooring. As the floor ages you can re-finish the floor and bring it back to life.

The biggest selling hardwood floor in Europe and the USA is Oak flooring with a vast majority being produced on the East coast of America. Oak is available in various species including White, Red and European oak, each with their own grain and colour characteristics. Cherry hardwood flooring is also popular due to its outstanding grain markings and solid composition. Over time cherry wood flooring darkens from a pale pink colour to warm dark red tone and like all hardwood floors it is highly resistant to damage. Exotic hardwood floors give a room a unique look are now readily available at major hardwood flooring UK suppliers alongside more traditional timbers.

Hardwood floor installation should begin with a flat, dry and solid sub floor. Deviations in level can be rectified with suitable floor filler. When using a wooden floor sub base the hardwood floor installation should be made at right angles to aid strength and stability. Carpet is not suitable and must be removed. Harwood flooring should be allowed time to acclimatise before it is set down by leaving the floorboards in the room for several days. A plastic membrane to stop moisture is recommended for hardwood floor installations in damp areas. A hardwood floor store will recommend to leave an expansion area around the perimeter of the room to allow for contractions and expansions of the hardwood floor. Expansion gaps can be covered with skirting boards or a cover strip.

Hardwood floors are extremely tough and with simple care and attention they can be kept in prime condition. Standing water can warp a floor so any spillages should be soaked up immediately. Any cleaning agents used should be pH neutral and specifically designed for hardwood floors as other cleaning agents can strip the finish from the floor. Where possible use the manufacturers recommended product which will compliment the flooring to the highest standards. Damp mopping is not recommended on hardwood floors which have a poor surface finish. Use doormats to keep gravel and dirt at bay which act as sandpaper and cause marks and scratches on your floor. Weekly sweeping and vacuuming will take care of any dirt that does settle on the floor and will reduce general wear. Dust mops are ideal for trapping dust. Only vacuum with a brush adapter and never use the beater bar which can cause dents in the floor. Better still use a vacuum specifically designed for hardwood floors. Avoid wearing stiletto heels on hardwood floors and if possible only wear indoor shoes or slippers on its surface. When moving furniture it should always be lifted and protective pads can be applied to furniture legs to prevent dents occurring.

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Instructions On How To Install Floating Hardwood Floor Panels

Have you ever wondered how to install hardwood floor panels to make your home beautiful inside? There are many methods of installing hardwood flooring currently in use. One of the best do it yourself hardwood floors is the floating hardwood floor. The term floating doesn't refer to a floor that is sitting in liquid. Floating means that, while the floor is fastened to itself, it is not fastened down to the subsurface.

A floating hardwood floor has some disadvantages you should be aware of before proceeding with your installation. These floors will sometimes feel like you're walking on a bubble. And, each bubble you step on will have a creaky sound.

On the other hand, those bubbles give the floor a much softer feel than a well-fastened hardwood floor. And, the floating floor is much easier to maintain. Best of all, it is one of the cheapest types of hardwood floors to install.

Before continuing with the installation of a floating hardwood floor, we highly recommend that you consider using oak as your hardwood floor material. Oak looks beautiful and provides lasting durability.

-Tools Needed to Install a Floating Hardwood Floor

Broom and Dust Pan - It is important to keep everything clean as you go. It is particularly important to keep the saw dust out from under and between your panels where it can really throw things off kilter. If it gets in there, there is no way to get it out without the very difficult process of hardware floor disassembly.

Carpenter's Crayon - You'll have to cut up your panels to make them fit in the corners and make them go around objects that cannot be removed from the room having the hardwood floor installed. You may also want to use your carpenter's crayon to mark a layout pattern of where to place your flooring panels.

Circular Saw - Your saw is what you will use as you cut along the lines you drew with your carpenters crayon.

Claw hammer - In most places, you will use a rubber mallet to help push the boards together, but in those places near the wall where you don't have enough room to swing the mallet, you can use the claw hammer to fit them together.

Cushioning Surface - You can make your floating hardwood floor feel even softer to the feet with the use of a cushioning surface under the floor. You would be shocked by the difference between a floor with the surface and a floor without the surface if you could try the two side by side.

Cutter Knife - The cutter knife comes in handy in more places than you would expect as you work on your floor. But the main reason we recommend this tool is so that you can make minor cuts on the panel ends when you just can't quite make them fit together.

Glue - Floating hardwood floors aren't supposed to be glued together. However, you might find you get better results if you just put a bit of glue at the end of each panel as you connect them. Of course, this will mean you'll need to be very careful not to get any glue on your floor surface.

Nails - You will need to nail the floating floor to the wall strips. It may help to use a drill to do pilot holes to prevent the wood from splitting, but if you're a gambler, you can just hammer these nails in without pilot holes. Most people do that anyways.

Rubber Mallet - The rubber mallet is what you use to fit the panels together at the joints. However, you need to be very careful not to hit the panels too hard and damage the panel surfaces.

-Preparing to Install Floating Hardwood Floor Panels

Before you install your floating hardwood floor panels, you need to get your cushioning sheet installed. You can use your cutter knife to make it fit. Some people find that making it into many small pieces is much more manageable than trying to fit a large piece in the room. These pieces should be laid in the same direction as your panel rows.

One of the nice parts of using a cushioning sheet is that debris on the sheet or lumps in the surface below it have a less dramatic effect on the floor. However, you should still try to get all of these straightened out to the extent you can see them.

For debris, just use your broom and dust pan to remove them. It's not such a big of a one-time task when you consider the implications are pretty close to permanent if you fail to remove them.

-Installing a Floating Hardwood Floor

1.Place your first panel in the corner with the ends with a cavity in them towards the walls.

2.Put a little bit of glue in the cavity of the next panel.

3.Attach the next panel to the first panel quickly after step two.

4.You may need to work with the rubber mallet gently to ensure that the two panels come together snuggly. If the wall gets in the way of the rubber mallet, you can use your claw hammer to nudge it in place.

5.Continue this until you get to the end of the row where you will need to mark off the excess length of your last panel with the carpenter's crayon. Then cut the panel to fit using the circular saw.

6.Use the remaining piece of the panel to start the next row of hardwood.

7.If you are using the glue, as in step two, you'll need to be careful to get the entire adhesive off of each row as you complete it or it may do permanent damage to the hardwood surface.

8.Make sure you fit your entire pieces well, especially the last corner piece. If you have fit everything together just right, your floor will be much more stable. And, it will look better after the next step.

9.Now you go around all of the room walls and place the wall strips. You should nail these strips to the wall and to the floor. This will stabilize your floor. This will also make the edges of your new floor look better.

-How to Install Floating Hardwood Floor - Clean Up

As with any big woodworking project, you can expect to have a mess as you go. There are such debris as saw dust, cut splinters, glue spots, and more. While you were trying to clean as you went, you should really do a final inspection and cleaning at the completion of the project. You don't want any saw dust or wood chips scraping across your new floor before you even get to admire its smooth shine.

After your floor has had a day to settle you can clean it with a mildly wet mop to get everything else up that you might have missed. You need to dry the floor up right away after mopping, of course. Otherwise, your wood will swell and lumps will form.

-Hindsight Tips for Installing Your Floating Hardwood Floor

You do not need to be terribly careful with the cushioning sheets. Don't spend all day trying to get exact measurements. As long as there are no major overlaps or separations between them, your floor should be just fine.

When you are working with your hardwood panels, it is important not to rush. You should not be moving on and placing another panel until the current panel is completely and firmly connected to the other panels. But be very careful when using the rubber mallet and other tools on the panels not to cause surface damage.

The surfaces are quite fragile when they are not yet anchored in place. It is very hard to go back and fix later if you missed a panel early in the installation process.

Be careful when measuring your panels for cutting at the end of the row that you are marking off the right part of your panel for cutting. One of the most common mistakes is to have the panel backwards while measuring it and then end up with the wrong pieces being the lengths you need. Save yourself some time and be careful.

-Feeling Good after You Install Your Floating Hardwood Floor

You have saved a lot of money by installing a floating hardwood floor yourself. And, if you don't like it, you've chosen one of the easiest hardwood floors to replace. But, of course you like it.

Hardwood floors look great. And, your new floating hardwood floor feels great too with its cushioning surface. Your neighbor's glued down floor may not creak much, but your neighbor's feet don't feel like they're floating when he walks on his floor.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/instructions-on-how-to-install-floating-hardwood-floor-panels-326211.html

Hardwood Flooring Utah

If you thought that Hardwood flooring is a gift of the modern era, then you are completely wrong. The true origin of this kind of flooring dates back to the early 17th century rich homes of Europe. Beautifully, intricately designed hardwood floors became affluent in the wealthy and royal homes during this era. The credit for the unique hand cut contrasting colored hardwood floors lies completely with the French parquetry and marquetry patterns. The old technique of making hardwood flooring involves rubbing it with sand first followed by the process of staining and polishing. Slowly but surely, the art of hardwood floor making spread towards the west and became a hit trend in the United States in the period between 1840 and 1910. Now common people could enjoy the warmth and smoothness of hardwood floors and get off the cold earthen floor. Today, we have such a large collection of different varieties of hardwood flooring which would have made our ancestors faint due to shock.

Just like any part of the country, Utah is also a famous hub for hardwood flooring. Whatever your needs and demands are, they will get every chance to be fulfilled when in Utah. The variety of hardwood flooring available in Utah can be categorized in all possible manners based upon type of material, form of the material and the way the material is laid out. When classification comes to type of wood, the different varieties available are oak, walnut and teak. Under form of wood also, you can get three varieties in the form of solid wood, engineered wood and acrylic impregnated wood with each differing from the other in terms of strength. The way of laying out the material has two categories under it namely planks and parquets.

As said earlier, these varieties can be easily found in any part of Utah. Any type of hardwood flooring existing on the face of earth will be readily available to you in Utah. Hale Flooring at Jeffrey Lane is one of the best places in Utah where all your flooring needs will be looked into. Not only do they have variety, but they provide one of the best services in the state with expert advice and handling. Also, the rates charged are quite economical and total value for money. C-J Carpet Installations is another place where you can get the flooring of your choice. Excellent service, helpful advice and reliable quality are the main features of this place. To get the best in hardwood flooring, look no further than C-J Carpet Installations. Along with these two shops, there are several other galleries which you can visit to satisfy your dream of having nice, elegant hardwood flooring. Some examples are Timber Creek Hard Wood Floors, Mountainview Construction & Remodeling, Inc., Oquirrh Mountain Hardwoods, Specialized Hardwood Floors Inc, etc.

By: Crawmer Justin

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Six Things To Remember About Your Hardwood Floors

"Installing hardwood floor instantly raises a house’s aesthetic value. It gives it a touch of elegance, glamour and sophistication --which is precisely why hardwood floor care is a matter not to be taken lightly. Wrong hardwood floor cleaning practices could damage and dramatically decrease your floor’s appeal.

To help you properly take care of your precious flooring, here is a short guide on the six things you should remember about your hardwood floors:

§ Water is not a friend of your floor.

Water and hardwood floors don’t mix. So when juice, wine or any other similar liquids gets spilled on your floor, be sure to wipe it off immediately with a dry and soft cloth. Water can harm your floor in two ways. First, it could considerably lessen the luster of your floor (which is probably the most attractive thing about it in the first place). Second, it could cause your floor to warp and change its shape.

§ Regular, careful cleaning is absolutely necessary

Dirt, dust and the other particles can serve as tiny abrasives. As such, while they could do nothing more than make your carpeted or ceramic-tiled floors, they can seriously damage hardwood.

It is therefore advised that you regularly clean your floor of dust and dirt using soft brooms, cloth and vacuum cleaners (remember to use the attachments made specifically for hardwood floors, though). It is also best if you put welcome mats near your home’s entrances so people could wipe their shoes before they enter your home.

§ It is best to leave major hardwood floor refinishing jobs to the professionals.

While you might fancy yourself to be the ultimate do-it-yourself man, it is best to leave major hardwood floor refinishing jobs to professionals with the right experience, training and tools. If you are having second thoughts about paying for professionals, then remember this: it’s cheaper to pay for professional refinishing services than to replace hardwood floors irreparably damaged by a botched do-it-yourself job.

§ Be careful with the cleaners you use.

Sometimes, even the best intentions could have adverse effects. If you think you’re doing your hardwood floor a favor by cleaning it vigorously using strong cleaners, well, you’re not. Cleaners like oil soaps can leave residues on your floor that will make it harder for you to apply maintenance coats later on.

When you clean your floors, it is best if you use cleaners that are made specifically for hardwood.

§ Unlike carpets and ceramics, hardwood scratches.

Unlike other types of flooring materials, is quite prone to scratches. So NEVER drag furniture and other heavy objects on your floor lest you want large, ugly markings to mar the smooth, shiny and flawless beauty of your floor.

§ Rugs are good.

The hard pounding of high-heeled and boot-clad feet can cause serious damage to your floor. To minimize shoes-induced damages, you can either prevent people from walking on your hardwood or, more realistically, you can put decorative rugs on the high-traffic areas (e.g. living room) in your home.

Your beautiful hardwood floor is the focal point of your home. Follow these steps to ensure that they remain so."

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Reclaimed Hardwood Flooring - What is It, Why Use it and Where to Buy It?

If you are looking into buying wood flooring, you probably have come across the term "reclaimed wood" and may be wondering what exactly does this mean. This simply means that the wood material has been used previously and was discarded or not needed anymore. In the past, usually when a wooden structure wasn't needed anymore it was just disposed of to a landfill dump or perhaps burned. This is an unfortunate way to deal with wooden materials that come from structures that are being remodeled or demolished. These older woods many times can be reused by milling, refinishing or sanding.

As people have become more aware of environmental concerns such as deforestation, the practice of reclaiming wood has become more popular. Reclaiming hardwood flooring materials has many advantages such as : reusing old growth woods that are valuable and rare, reducing deforestation, reduce harm to environments from logging, reducing solid waste and offering economical alternatives to new wood materials. Perhaps the best reason to reuse wood is that it just doesn't make sense to throw away beautiful wood material that took so long to grow. Recycling wood just makes sense and people love it's appearance.

Reclaimed flooring can come from different types of wood products. It doesn't just have to come from old wood flooring, although that is one of the most popular sources. It can also come from old barns, wine barrels, water towers, bridges, homes, wharfs, docks, schools etc... On the outside the wood of these materials may not look like something you would want to use on your floors, but that is deceptive. For example if you take a thick piece of a large oak beam that is cracked and splintered on the out side, you will find by milling it into smaller pieces the inside looks fresh and beautiful without the wear and tear of the sun, wind and water.

Finding reclaimed hardwood flooring material may not be as simple as going to your local large building supply franchise. Usually these types of businesses won't carry these reclaimed products. The best way to find a company that specializes in flooring and specifically has experience in these materials. With a little bit of searching online you can find someone in your area who can help you.

To find out more info go to reclaimed hardwood flooring experts Tamalpais hardwood floors.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Phelan

Learn More About Hardwood Floor Refinishing

For those who adore the hardwood floors in their homes, the refinishing comes as a routine task so that the floors will be maintained properly to look new and sparkling. Refinishing hardwood floors can sometimes be a tedious task, which can consume lots of money and time. But this is the price you need to pay to maintain your precious flooring.

While you consider refinishing, you will be astonished to know that this is a task that you can do yourself without paying professionals high amounts of money to do it for you. But it would be worth to understand that you would need to have time to spend on your refinishing project to make sure that you end up with the effect you wanted to achieve.

Hardwood floor refinishing is definitely a time-consuming project, if you want to do it by yourself. However, it does require you to move out of the home until you complete this task. Also, the coatings for refinishing these floors do not have any strong fumes that may be dangerous for anyone with respiratory problems. But the only thing you will have to remember is not to walk on the floor until the finish is dry.

If you forget our advice and jump on to the freshly refinished floor, your completed task will have your footprints all over it, and believe me it would be in more ways than one. There are many books you can buy on the subject and you can also get many useful resources when you search online.

Now when you have weighed all the possibilities, you can move on to the task. For this project you will need some equipments like the heavy-duty sander that you can always rent from your local supplier. When you begin with the project, you first have to move all the furniture and take up any rugs or mats that you have on the wood floors. If you have some sort of allergy with the dust, you need to wear a dust mask so that you won't breathe in the dust coming out.

The most important equipment you will need for this project is the heavy- duty sander. When you use one, move gently back and forth over the wood floors. Move the sander in a straight line similar with the pattern of the hardwood boards. Try not to go across, if the flooring has a beveled edge with small grooves.

Also do not apply additional pressure in one place that in another. This will help you to avoid taking out the gouges from the floor. When the first finish is sanded off, you have to sweep or vacuum up the dust and give the floor a light washing.

This will help you avoid the staining marks if dust is present on the floor. When refinishing wood floors, it is essential that the first coat is dry before you apply another coat. The more coats you put on, the shinier your floors will be. But at the same time will more coats will result in added cost.

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Knock On Wood, Walk On Hardwood

When it comes to home renovations, hardwood floor refinishing is a fast becoming trend. Why the interest in these types of floors and what good does it do to your living space? And with almost all kinds of wood these days that can be turned into hardwood floors, what are the best types of hardwood to consider when designing your homes?

Hardwood floors add a certain degree of sophistication into any home. It gives out an expensive and high-quality finish that can only be found in high-end apartments or designer residences. It’s also a long-term investment as its durability can withstand the test of time and increase the market value of your house. It’s very easy to maintain and if taken care of in the right manner, it doesn’t damage easily, making for a pleasing living environment. Hardwood is also a healthier option as it emits lower levels of chemical emissions as opposed to natural wood products and as opposed to carpets that easily accumulate dirt. But of all the causes for installing hardwood floors the most favored reason has to be plain and simple – comfort. Hardwood floors add not just style but provides for a comfortable living area as well. It contributes a sense of warmth and hospitable feel that no homeowner can resist.

There are several types of floors that can be used depending on the kind of home you would like or what kind of style you’re going for. Here are just a few examples:

Cypress Floors. Cypress comes from the pine species. Subtleties of brown, ambers and a bit of green make this earthy toned material perfect for dining room areas as they blend well with any type of wood such as dining furniture.

Hickory floors are also a popular choice. With well-blended tones of brown and tan, hickory can match any wood furniture as it practically goes with everything. Hickory hardwood floors are also the most durable material you can use. This type of wood is also a hit with contemporary homes. The mix of its classic features with simple but modern furniture is absolutely amazing.

When it comes to strength, you can also never go wrong with ash hardwood. Use not just in the production of heavy-duty baseball bats, it can also bring natural beauty into your home. Its light to medium tones give that sophisticated look in highly established households.

If you want to give a little light to your small rooms, hallways or any small space in your home for that matter, Maple Hardwood is the one you should go with. Maple has a light, soft and consistent color tones with clear grains that brightens any room. Color tones such as these are also perfect for waterfront homes or beach houses with the light of the sun and a clear blue sky magnifying its brilliance further.

If you’re looking for something more traditional, Red Oak Hardwood is also wise choice. Its subtle golden reddish patina and consistent grain makes it a perfect choice for traditional households. It can also hold on its own while making other parts of your interior design stand out. Other types of floors to consider for a more traditional home are white pine, antique heart pine, cherry, and antique chestnut.

European design ideas are also a great thing to consider when it comes to designing your floors. White Oak Hardwood has grayish charcoal-like tones that give out a French country look. It also works for any room and has a clean finish despite its bold color.

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Keeping The Shine In Your Hardwood Floors

You have put in a lot of time and a good deal of money installing your hardwood floors and you want them to be clean and shiny all the time. The best way to go about keeping those beautiful floors looking great is to find out just what to do to keep them in the best of shape.

Oil based cleaners should not be used on hardwood floors as they leave an oily residue, which not only makes cleaning more difficult but also creates adhesion problems when it comes time to buff or recoat your floors. The best bet, according to the National Wood Flooring Association, is to use a solution of very diluted vinegar and water (capful of vinegar per gallon of water) along with a damp, not wet, cloth or mop.

Of course it is recommended that you consult with the maker of your floor, or the instructions that came along with your floor for further information, as one maker of floors believe that a vinegar solution is too acidic and may ultimately weaken the finish. If you are going for the absolute safest way to clean your hardwood floors, most manufacturers of wood floors also make cleaners that are specifically designed to work with their floors in order to keep them looking beautiful, clean, and protected for many years to come. You can find these floor cleaners at most flooring supply stores as well as many home improvement stores. Follow the package instructions for usage and you should be well on your way to prolonging the life and beauty of your floors.

If you are finding that your floors seem to lack luster or look dull and mottled it very well could be caused by the cleaner you are using. The cleaners we use on our floors affect so many things about the appearance of our floors as well as how long our floors last.

Remember that mottling or blotching is a direct result of a film that is not being removed during regular cleaning. It can also be a residue left behind by any cleaning solutions that are in use. However, this problem can be corrected by use of the floor cleaner made especially by the manufacturer.

The specialty cleaners recommended by your flooring manufacturer may cost more than other cleaners in your local store, but in the long run, using a suitable cleaner could add up to five years of life to your flooring which could be well worth the initial expense.

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Hardwood Floor Installations That Delight Buyers and Owner

Your choice of hardwood flooring is a decision that can dramatically impact the very essence of your home's character.

Because all people are unique, the best flooring suppliers do offer a diverse selection of hard wood flooring styles produced in a wide range of wood species and colors. Award Hardwood Floors are one make of these floors which say that they are sure to satisfy even the most discriminate consumer.

Commitment to high quality products and state of the art manufacturing advances is only a feature of the very best suppliers and can easily be seen from product to product, board to board in the finished result.

Since 1998, thousands of home owners and various home decorating publications have looked to FloorFacts for helpful flooring information for all types of floors, including: hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, carpet, cork, bamboo floors and ceramic tile. Their consumer reviews cover all types of floors for both for new home construction as well as remodeling projects.

Hardwood flooring suppliers offer a wider selection of sizes, colors and species and finishes than ever before. To learn more you may want to see the HF Guide, Types of Hardwood Flooring, what you should know about Flooring Prices, also a new article: Longevity Of H'wood Floorings.

While wood flooring has been much in vogue in recent years, it has received little if any exceptional treatment from do-it-yourself writers. This is all changing now that Bollinger, who we understand is an experienced flooring contractor, states that he has produced what has to be the definitive guide to installing and finishing wood floors. He writes about the three types of flooring: strip, plank, and parquet covering such topics as estimating costs; selecting wood types and grades; preparing the underlay; planning the layout; sanding; and applying various finishes.

Bollinger says he brings in many tricks of the trade, such refinements as wood and metal inlays, and ideas for dealing with the irregularities that invariably crop up in the repair or layout of floors as part of renovation projects. Nicely illustrated with photos and drawings. For most public libraries with active how-to collections. A companion video is also available; contact the publisher.

Using crisp photos and drawings, Bollinger says he gives you step by step instructions through the process. You will learn how to estimate materials, select the right kind of wood, prepare the subfloor and achieve a blemish-free finish for an old or new floor. This supplier says he also provides numerous tips and tricks, and sources of supply. The book is indexed for easy reference.

Nothing gives a home an air of timelessness and quiet elegance like a quality hardwood floor. At one supplier they carry a wide range of prefinished engineered, solid and floating floor systems designed to suit almost every need. They say that they have carefully selected their lines based on their reputation, quality and value for money, and to continually be on the look out for fresh, exciting flooring solutions to bring to you.

We recommend you use a full service hardwood flooring company providing expert sales and installation for your home. Plenty of duppliers offer knowledgeable service from initial design consultation to final installation and maintenance programs.

When you enter a room, your first impression of it is made from the floor upwards. It is essential to get this right, and by fitting hardwood flooring, you have usually at a stroke, solved the most difficult and important part of making an impact. Wood flooring gives you the ultimate in timeless elegance, flexibility and durability. Its hard wearing qualities and range of styles make it perfect for any room in the house.

Most suppliers provide hardwood flooring in Ash, Beech, Cherry, Hevea, Jatoba, Kempas, Maple, Merbau, Oak, Red Oak and Walnut, allowing you to create the ambience and mood to suit the design qualities of your home.

Regular care of your wood floor is simple and practical, and involves merely vacuuming and wiping your hardwood floor with a damp cloth. It helps to attach felt pads to the bottom of furniture, and bear in mind that any spilt liquid should immediately be dried of from hardwood floors.

Add the warmth and beauty of ready-to-install hardwood to almost any room in the house. Engineered Hardwood floors can be installed below grade in basements and on concrete. Hand-sculpted and exotics available.

Enjoy the luxury of solid hardwood with ready-to-install selections of beautiful wood flooring in a wide variety of domestic and exotic species. A hand-sculpted type may also available. Select from a broad palette of species and grades. Choose from traditional domestic species or exotic foreign hardwoods. Finish it with your choice of stain and sealants.

Inviting, familiar, and stable. Your home will be your refuge, your castle! By all means, make it beautiful, starting with the floors.

Our web site provides Hardwood Floor data provides a Newsletter great. Why not sign up now?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_D_Evans

Refinishing Hardwood Floors Without The Mess

Do you have hardwood floors that could use some work? Would you like to get them in shape but can not stand the mess of traditional wood floor refinishing or can not pay the price? If you answered yes then you are in luck. Today many carpet cleaners have started using a dustless wood floor refinishing system. Read this article for some information on this method of wood floor refinishing.

Wood floors have become increasingly popular over the years. When these floors start showing their age you have two choices. You can go the traditional route and have someone come in and sand he floor and then apply a new topcoat. This is the most expensive option and can leave your home full of dust and smelly fumes. It can also take days to finish leaving your house in chaos. The other option is to use a new technique that is now available. That techniques is dustless refinishing. The process is simple. The technician will lightly scuff the floor and use a chemical to etch it and prepare it for the new topcoat. Then they fix any minor scratches and damage to the wood floor. Finally they then apply the new topcoat and are finished without all of the mess. You can have your floors back in a day instead of days. This process is also much cheaper than traditional sanding only costing a fraction of the full price. This process is not for everyone though. If your floors are in very bad shape you might have to have them completely sanded down to good wood. This process is for floors that are worn but not damaged.

If you think you might be interested in having this process done to your floors, call a cleaning company in your area that performs it. It should not be too hard to find one. You will thank yourself when you see your wood floors shining again.

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Bruce Hardwood Flooring - Buy From The Largest Hardwood Company In The World

Installing Bruce hardwood flooring on the floors of your home is one of the best investments that you can ever make. It will add to the ambiance of any room and increase the value of your home if you ever want to sell. Each grade of wood used in Bruce hardwood carries a warranty all its own. Choose from three grades of hardwood - Good, Better and Best - to have hardwood floors with knots and character. The Best grade in Bruce hardwood flooring is the most expensive, but it also has the best quality wood and the best warranty.

Even with Bruce hardwood flooring, you will see variations in the wood in each plank. This is what will give your hardwood floors the unique appearance that you want to achieve. This variation exists in all qualities of Bruce hardwood floors because no two boards are the same. You do have to be careful even with hardwood even though it is solid. If you place furniture with sharp edges on the flooring it will dent the hardwood. Bruce wood flooring also goes through a natural aging process so if you have an area covered with a rug, when you move it the floor underneath will be lighter in color. It is recommended that you do move rugs from time to time to prevent this discoloration from occurring.

Sometimes, people who have installed Bruce wood flooring in their homes hear popping sounds when they walk across the floors. This is not defect in the Bruce hardwood flooring and is perfectly natural, so there is no cause for alarm. All hardwood goes through a process called patina and it may be caused by an uneven subfloor under the Bruce hardwood floors. If you glue the hardwood planks in place, you do have to make sure that you use the trowels properly when applying the adhesive so that you have a perfectly uniform surface for the hardwood floors.

Although it is not recommended, you can have Bruce hardwood flooring in the bathroom of your home. This is because hardwood is not conducive to areas of the home where there is excessive moisture. The choice to use unfinished or prefinished Bruce wood flooring is a matter of personal taste. It depends on how much work you want to do to finish the floor yourself or how much time you want to spend on maintenance of the Bruce hardwood floors. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, so you can ask the Bruce experts for advice when you are selecting your hardwood flooring. Prefinished hardwood does have more advantages, such as longer finish warranties, uniform stain application in a factory setting and it is easier to keep clean.

If you want to install Bruce hardwood flooring in areas where there will be lots of traffic, the Dura Lustre Plus finish will allow you to do this without any worries. Bruce offers commercial finishes for its hardwood floors, but it doesn't recommend using mats in doorways or in front of the kitchen sink. Bruce does not recommend that you wax Bruce wood floorings. To keep the natural shine of Bruce hardwood flooring all you have to do is wash it up with a water based cleaner for hardwood floors and give it an occasional buffing.

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Cleaning Hardwood Floors Durable

Any type of floor requires care, whether it be bare hardwood floors or flooring covered with carpeting or linoleum or tile. Hardwood floors can be scratched by dirt, dented by high-heel shoes, or ruined by water, so care must be taken.

The elegance of hardwood floors improves the appearance of practically any home, with the lustrous brown or golden tones adding a touch of life to the rest of the decor.

When you lay your hardwood floor, you'll find that there are many styles and colors of wood to choose from, from as to birch to cherry to hickory to maple to oak. The style of the floor also varies, from parquet, to plank, to strip. And finally, the colors vary from blonds to reds to honey to natural. So matter what decor you have, you will find a type of hardwood floor to complement it.

Hardwood floors are durable, but they do need to be taken care of. But then - so do carpets! Unlike a carpet, hardwood floors - properly treated - are not stained irreparably if you spill a glass of cranberry juice or something similar on them - so long as you clean it up immediately. Carpets may hide the bits of grit or sand that may come off your shoes as you enter the home, but they do dirty your carpet. However, it is slightly more serious on hardwood floors, as the finish can be scratched by ground in dirt. So its best to take care to ensure that this doesn't happen. Prevention is always better than cure.

Mats and Rugs

Mats with bristles placed outside your doors will allow visitors to wipe their feet. Once they enter the house, shoes should be discarded and replaced with indoor slippers to wear instead. (This is a good idea even if you do have carpeting, as it'll save you having to vacuum more often than necessary.)

Furniture

It's always a good idea to place felt pads under all furniture legs, so that they may be moved about easily when you're cleaning. Move furniture carefully so as not to gouge or scratch the floors.

Water

Excessive water can damage hardwood floors just as it will damage carpet. Hardwood floors are usually treated to repel water - nevertheless any spills should be cleaned up immediately. If you have a hardwood floor in your kitchen, area rugs in front of the refrigerator (if it has an icemaker), the dishwasher, and the kitchen sink are essential.

Daily Care For Hardwood Floors

There are no special tools needed to clean your hardwood floors on a daily basis - a broom works just fine.

Weekly Care

Hardwood floors are usually waxed, or have a polyurethane coating over them. Just as with cleaning linoleum, or even furniture made of wood, you'll want to make sure you use the proper cleaner so that the finish doesn't yellow. Consult with the manufacturer of your flooring to learn which cleaner they recommend. If you're going to mop your floor, make sure you use a very dry damp mop - excess water can seep into seams and ruin a wood floor.

However, with the proper care, your hardwood floors will grace your home for a long time to come.

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Hardwood Floor Maintenance Tips

Even though flooring material developments have become success and provide variety of choice of the materials available for home owners to choose from. But seem that most of home owners still appealed and attracted by the materials from natural. Moreover many of homeowners tend to choose the materials that are renewable for their decoration. Hardwood or solid wood is the material that we are going to described in this article. Hardwood is the material that popular among home owners because it is durable and easy to maintain. Apart form those; there are varieties of choice ranging from affordable to the most expensive. There are many types of hardwood that can be made to flooring material such as pines, maples teak, and mahogany etc. Today hardwood floor supplies have to compete with other type of synthetic materials such as vinyl, glass or metal in terms of easy to keep and maintain but if you give the proper method of maintenance so you will find that hardwood is something that can be your first choice without worry.

The way of daily maintenance your hardwood floor is really simple and it is not different from caring other flooring materials. By only using vacuum cleaner and slight damp mop daily to remove dirt and spills. In case for some area such as where there are only slight travelled area, that need special care and use of additional cleaning and protection agents such as wax and formulated wood cleaner. However, the method you will use to maintain your hardwood floor really depends on which kind of seal you have; penetrating seal or a surface seal. Both type of sealing need extra care and you have to follow the instructions from manufacturer so you can see which way will suitable for each type of wood to avoid make unexpected damage to your floor.

According the most distinct advantages of hardwood floor, which keep you room looks shine, welcomed, generate warm atmosphere as well as it looks luxurious and expensive. But in exchange, they need intensive care, so homeowners who decide to use hardwood floor need to invest amount of money on many of cleaning accessories to make your floor in good condition for years. There are two things that you have to pay extra attention, which is about substances that dangerous for wooden floor. Water and gritty dirt are the worst thing for wooden floor and you have to be very careful not allow them existing in your room. However, sometimes it is almost impossible not to have water in the room but incase water drops on the floor, you have to dry it immediately (by mop or dry clothe). Water can damage the wood texture, in some case of laminated wood floor, water will reduce the quality of glue inside the laminated wooed and damage. Using extremely wet mop or wet clothe to clean wood floor must also be avoided. So you may have to consider to use other flooring material in the area that will be risky of water drop such as kitchen and toilet, otherwise you probably have to be very careful if you have wooden floor in these area.

Is there really any information about hardwood floor that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another. Those of you not familiar with the latest on hardwood floor now have at least a basic understanding. But there's more to come.

Cherdkiat Taesookavat is an architect, providing information and directories about home decor, please visit Hardwood Floors

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