Solid Wood Flooring

The Benefits of Solid Wood Flooring

Solid wood flooring is one of the most popular types of floors, this is because nothing quite beats the luxury of real, solid hardwood. However, because of its popularity, solid wood flooring is often more expensive than engineered wood or laminate, which only imitate solid wood. While the cost of solid wood is more, this usually means you can expect longevity with this type of floor.

Where Should You Lay Your Solid Wood Floor?

While solid wood flooring looks great in every room, there are certain guidelines you should follow to avoid excessive damage. Primarily, solid wood flooring is not suited to rooms which will see a lot of moisture, for example bathrooms. This is because wood will absorb water and expand, which will ruin the overall appearance of your floor and weaken the floorboards. Rooms such as offices, living rooms and bedrooms are all perfect for a solidfloor.

Choosing Your Solid Wood Flooring Grade

Solid wood flooring is available in four different grades, all of which have their own unique qualities. For example, they differ by the number of knots, which are the ovals often characteristic of wood.

• Classic or select grade flooring is free from sapwood, so you won’t find any knots, there is also little variation between each board.

• Prime grade flooring has very few knots and has little variation in colours throughout the whole pack of floorboards.

• Rustic grade flooring offers the full characteristics you’d expect of wood, including knots varying in size and shape, shakes where the wood has split, sapwood and a significant variation in colour between each board.

• Finally, natural grade flooring is the balance between rustic floorboards and prime flooring. As it features more knots than most floorboards, but not as many as a rustic floor.

Read more here: A Guide to Different Flooring Grades

How to Install Solid Wood Floors

• One of the most important things to do before installing your new solid wood floor, is allowing it to acclimatise. The moisture in the air will make the floorboards expand slightly. So leave your flooring out of its packaging in the room you intend to place it for roughly one week before installing.

• Make sure your subfloor is completely clean and dry before laying your new floorboards.

• Start from the left hand corner, fixing each board down with either glue or nails as you go. With either method, ensure you leave a gap of roughly 15mm around the perimeter of the room to allow for skirting.

• If you’re using glue, apply the glue to the subfloor and not the panels. Spread this evenly using a notched trowel and place a board firmly on top, wiping away any excess glue.

• If you’re using a hammer and nails, insert these at a 30-degree angle into the tongue of the board and the subfloor.

• Once your boards are neatly stuck down, simply add the skirting to the expansion gap around the room. Fix this into place using a hammer and nails.

Read more here: How to Install Solid Wood Floors

How to Maintain Your Solid Wood Floor

Once your flooring is finished, most solid wood flooring companies would recommend applying a finish. This acts as a barrier to protect your floor against any spillages, however it also creates a beautiful sheen over the wood. Use a lacquer or varnish and apply using a brush.

The benefit of a solid wood floor over engineered or laminate, is that if your floor undergoes excessive damage, you can simply sand away the damage to reveal a good-as-new floor underneath. This is recommended with any dents or scratches. After sanding, ensure you refinish the floor.

Finally, to keep your solid wood floor clean it’s recommended to sweep away any dust or dirt often. If your floor is particularly dirty, use clean or distilled water on a mop. However, use as little water as possible to avoid damage.

Read more here: How to Clean Your Solid Wood Floor

Factory Direct Flooring have been operating online since 2005 and have since built up a reputation for providing excellent flooring solutions, alongside customer service. So if you have any further queries about our solid wood floors, please contact us on 0330 100 00 15, or request a free sample.