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Hardwood floors
Hardwood floors can be installed anywhere in a home and
is usually
prepared from several types of wood, for example, elm, ash, oak, amendoim, cypress, teak, cherry, walnut, rosewood, hickory and
maple.
The hardness, stability, color, and alterations in color
vary with different wood types Chestnut, Douglas fir, and North American
Cherry offer low hardness, whereas hardwood from Brazilian
Walnut, Caribbean Cherry, and Blood wood is extremely hard.
The
stability of hardwood flooring has an inverse relation with the
moisture inherent in the wood and is independent of the
engineering. The appearance of unfinished hardwood flooring
plays an important role in the grading process. The commonly
assigned grades to hardwood flooring include clear, select,
common 1, common 2, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3.
Hardwood flooring enhances the look of a room and when laid in
harmony with the furniture and other elements in the interior
design of a room, it bestows an elegance that synthetic flooring
is unable to match.
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Hardwood floors can be installed as follows:
Nail Down - Nails are used to attach hardwood to the subfloor
either on grade or above grade. Nails are usually used for
hardwood with a thickness of 3/4". Staple Down: Nails can be substituted with a pneumatic stapler
for attaching the hardwood to the subfloor. Stapling is easier
to accomplish as compared to nailing and is therefore favored by
DIY enthusiasts.
Glue Down - Patterned wood panels or parquets can be glued to
the subfloor on, above, or below grade. The subfloor can be
either wooden or concrete.
Floating - Engineered and Longstrip floors can be installed
using the floating process in which a pad of foam is placed
between the floors and the subfloor. The hardwood boards are
held in place by means of adhesive that is applied in the tongue
and groove portion of each board. Floating enables the
installation of hardwood on uneven surfaces.
The following
guidelines should help each and every homeowner, to ensure the beauty and
longevity of their hardwood floors:
- The flooring must be swept and vacuumed regularly to prevent
the accumulation of dust that may scratch the finish
- Doormats and rugs at entrances prevent sand particles from
abrading the hardwood flooring
- Furniture and chairs should have padding on the legs in order
to prevent scratching the floor while dragging/moving furniture
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- The dimensions of hardwood flooring are liable to
change with
humidity; a relative humidity of around 40-45% should be maintained
all year round
- A rug or mat should be placed in front of workstations,
washbasins, kitchen sinks in order to prevent scratching and
staining from utensils, detergents, and water
- Hardwood flooring should be protected from direct light,
whether natural or artificial. Intense direct light can lead to
discoloration of the floor
Hardwood floors can be treated with surface finishes that lend it a
gloss, increase resilience, and make it water-resistant. The finishes
consist of urethanes and polyurethanes.
Remember that wax finishes penetrate the cells of the
wood and offer a low-gloss finish. Periodic buffing helps to restore
the sheen of wax-finished floors. Hardwood floors used in areas of high
traffic such as stores and restaurants are impregnated with
acrylic finishes that increase its hardness and durability.
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