Buy Hardwood Flooring, Construction, Janka Hardness Rating

Hardwood flooring provides beauty and warmth to a room and also adds value to your home. If you have decided to buy hardwood flooring, you’ll find a variety of different types of wood to choose from such as bamboo, cork, and domestic and exotic woods. You also have the choice of buying prefinished or unfinished flooring. Prefinished hardwood is stained and finished with a stronger coating than most site-applied finishes; prefinished coordinated mouldings can also be purchased. Learn more about choosing wood flooring for your home in this video from the DIY Network:

Key factors you need to consider before you buy hardwood flooring are the construction, type and method of installation.

Construction

Hardwood is available in multiple constructions to facilitate installation over different types of subfloors and to minimize water damage. Changes in moisture can cause your flooring to gap or warp. Choose the right hardwood flooring construction and installation materials and keep moisture levels within the manufacturer’s recommendations. You can also install a moisture barrier to provide extra protection. Due to fluctuating moisture conditions, installing hardwood in full baths is not recommended.

You can install hardwood flooring over concrete at ground level, over a plywood subfloor at or above ground level, and over basement concrete below ground level. The four constructions of hardwood floors are engineered, locking, 3/4-in. solid and 5/16-in. solid.

Engineered hardwood has a cross-layer construction that limits expansion when exposed to moisture, making it suitable for any location in the home including the basement. Unlike laminate, which has a printed paper veneer, engineered hardwood has a real hardwood veneer. Since the veneer is only a few millimeters thick, it is more eco friendly and also less expensive.

Locking hardwood is also engineered, but like laminate, it is a floating floor with a locking tongue and groove system, making it a great DIY flooring solution.

3/4-in. thick hardwood expands more than engineered hardwood when exposed to moisture. For that reason, it can only be installed over a plywood subfloor at or above ground level. Adding a moisture barrier underneath the crawl space (if you have one) is recommended.

5/16-in. thick hardwood can be installed over plywood at or above ground level or glued down to concrete at ground level. If you will be gluing this wood down, moisture barriers are recommended and urethane adhesives are required.

Types of Hardwood

When considering hardwood flooring, you’ll find you have a wide selection of species, colors, widths, textures and hardness available. You can choose an exotic like cork, Brazilian cherry or bamboo or a domestic wood like cherry, maple or oak. Each species has a distinctive grain pattern. Domestic woods come in a variety of colors, while exotic woods are chosen specifically for their natural color. Textures types include distressed, hand-scraped, smooth and wirebrushed. The wider the plant, the fewer the visible seams in the floor. The current trend is for wider floors over three inches. Hardness is measured using the Janka Hardness Rating. Species such as Brazilian walnut and Santos Mahogany have very high Janka Ratings while black cherry, cedar and southern pine have very low Janka Ratings. You should opt for a floor with at least a medium Janka Rating if you anticipate your floors will take a lot of abuse.

Other points to consider include grades and defect rates. Different grades offer distinctive looks. Cabin and millwood grades allow color variations, knots and streaks to show, while select and clear grades provide the cleanest look and minimize species characteristics. High defect rates can cause installation problems. If the defect rate is over 50%, you will have to buy almost twice as much wood.

Method of Installation

Hardwood flooring can be nailed through the flooring tongue into the wood subfloor. This method is appropriate for 3/4-in. solid construction. Engineered hardwood can be glued or stapled. Locking hardwood is easy to install as no glue, nails or staples are required. All that is needed is to roll out the moisture barrier underlayment and lock the planks together, floating the floor over the subfloor. 5/16-in. solid construction requires an MS polymer or urethane glue; staples can be used for a plywood subfloor at or above ground.