install hardwood on a concrete floor

Hardwood Floors 101 - What You Need To Know

Hardwood floors are incredibly versatile and durable which makes them perfect for most rooms within a home. You will find these particular floors made from species of wood such as elm, ash, maple, oak, cypress, walnut, teak, cherry, maple, and rosewood—not to mention a few other more exotic varieties as well. Colors will vary according to wood type as will grain, hardness, stability, and durability. The grades commonly assigned to hardwood floors include: common 1, common 2, clear, select, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3.

Hardwood floors can enhance the look of any room if you choose a tasteful color and style for that particular room. When used in combination with well-chosen pieces of furniture and art, hardwood floors bring unparalleled elegance to a room.

Installation Methods for Hardwood Floors

Nail Down—the name really says it all. In this method nails are used in order to fasten the hardwood to the sub floor. This is appropriate for use with hardwood that is about ¾” thick.

Staple Down—this name may be a little tricky as nails can be used with the assistance of a pneumatic stapler in order to attach the hardwood to the sub floor. Stapling is much easier and quicker than nailing individually and the vastly preferred method of the average do it yourself home repair man or woman.

Glue Down—this method is appropriate for parquets and other patterned wood panels. You simply glue the panels to the sub flooring which can be either wooden or concrete.

Floating—not quite what it sounds like on one level and yet exactly what it sounds like on another. In this method the hardwood isn’t actually attached to the sub flooring. When floating your floors you are installing them, typically over a layer of some sort of foam padding, through a method known as tongue and groove. Much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, these pieces pop into place in order to form beautiful floors with no worries of nails working their way up. This process allows the installation of hardwood on surfaces that aren’t perfectly even.

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While hardwood flooring is relatively easy to maintain the following information might help you prolong the life and beauty of your new floors.

1) Sweep and vacuum regularly to prevent scratching as the result of dust or dirt accumulation. 2) Use doormats at entrances in order to prevent the tracking in of dirt and debris. 3) Use padding on the feet and legs of furniture in order to protect your new floors from the damage they may inflict. 4) Maintain a humidity level within your home of about 45% humidity year round if possible in order to avoid the possible expansion and contracting of your hardwood floors. 5) Whenever possible, protect your floors from direct sunlight as this can result in fading and discoloration.

You can treat your hardwood floors with a gloss that will help harden it while protecting it from some of the damage that everyday living inflicts on our floors. A hardwood floor that has one of these surface finishes will not require waxing which minimizes the maintenance requirements.

Wax finishes offer a low gloss finish but require buffing fairly regularly in order to restore the sheen. High traffic floors should be protected with acrylic finishes designed to increase the hardness and durability of the wood.

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