National Floors Direct - Solid Wood Floors

National Floors Direct for centuries people have sought the natural beauty of wood floors. At one time wood floors were fairly simple. The wood planks were cut from large logs, milled into planks, nailed down, stained and then finished in your home. These early floors were mainly 3/4″ thick, 2-1/4″ wide, solid strip planks that were waxed after staining. There were also wide pine planks used in some areas.National Floors Direct

Today, homeowners have more choices than ever before from olde World to classy contemporary to rich exotic styles. Combine all these exciting new offerings with the latest wood finishes that are more durable and easier to maintain and its no wonder so many people are starting to use hardwood floors throughout many rooms in their homes. We hope the Hardwood Flooring Guide will help you better understand all your wonderful and different hardwood flooring options, Plus, we hope to explain some of the common misunderstandings about hardwood floors, as well as some of the latest trends in wood flooring.

Solid Wood Floors - National Floors Direct

Always use a moisture meter to test for excessive moisture in the substrate before selecting solid wood flooring. Be sure to acclimate the wood planks before installation, and follow the manufacturer’s recommended installation procedures.

Today’s solid wood floors are still much like the solid wood floors of ages ago, except we now have more wood species to choose from, more widths and thicknesses and whether we want prefinished or unfinished solid wood floor. Even the finishes have dramatically improved for both factory-finished as well as job-site finished floors. Many wood species from far off lands are now available in solid wood planks as well as the more common red oak, white oak, ash, American cherry, and maple hardwoods.

Solid wood floors are cut as one solid piece with the tongue and grooves milled on all four sides of each plank. Due to the nature of solid wood these planks are more sensitive to changes in moisture and humidity than engineered wood planks. Changes in humidity will cause the wood planks to expand and contract. This is why solid wood floors are NOT recommended to be installed below ground level, in any wet areas, or directly over concrete slabs. Also, all solid wood flooring has to be nailed-down to an approved wood sub-floor.