For a beautiful floor, you can't beat installing wood flooring. In general, a hardwood floor is more durable and more resistant to damage from the wear and tear that comes with daily use. However, if you maintain your softwood floor carefully, it should last just as long as a hardwood floor. Here are some of the more popular wood flooring choices presently available to homeowners, provided to help make choosing your new flooring a little bit easier.
The Hardwood Floor
A well installed and properly finished hardwood floor is as good as it gets when it comes to wood flooring. It's one of the best looking flooring solutions on the market; it's durable; and when it does start to show wear, you can re-finish it to look like new. Here's a few of the more popular hardwoods used in flooring today:
Oak is one of the most durable hardwoods, with a tight, dark grain. It is by far the most popular material when it comes to installing wood flooring in homes.
Maple is the second most popular hardwood. Maple has a lighter color and a less pronounced grain than oak, and gives a room a lighter, softer look.
Ash is also popular as a hardwood floor, and is known for its uniform light texture and consistent grain.
Softwood Flooring
As mentioned before, whenever you're talking about installing wood flooring, a hardwood floor is preferred. Despite that fact, many homeowners are drawn to the soft, rustic feel of softwood flooring, in spite of some disadvantages.
From a durability standpoint, softwood just isn't as durable as hardwood alternatives. It's going to show more scrapes, dents, and wear over time than a hardwood floor. If properly maintained, however, it can still last a lifetime. It can always be refinished to restore it like new, and many homeowners like the western feel, and fresh scents, that come hand in hand with softwood flooring. Here's the most popular softwood options for you to choose from:
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New Flooring
Pine is perhaps the most popular softwood sold as flooring material. It is often found in older homes because it was more widely available and less expensive than hardwoods. If you're worried about durability, consider the fact that there's an 800-year-old church in Brno, Czech Republic that still has its original pine floors intact and in excellent shape. There's no better testament to the possible longevity of a well-maintained softwood floor!
Birch is another popular softwood similar to pine. It tends to have more knotholes and thus more character than its pine counterpart.
Fir is the other common softwood. It has large patches of dark grain that many homeowners find attractive, though it is certainly the least durable softwood used in flooring applications.
Other Wood Flooring Options
Of course, a hardwood floor and softwood flooring aren't your only choices when it comes to wood flooring options. Bamboo flooring is taking the flooring industry by storm as of late. It's every bit as beautiful as traditional hardwoods, is actually tougher than traditional hardwood, and comes from a renewable resource, unlike hardwood cut from felled trees that take centuries to re-grow. Laminate flooring is also a very cost effective option, if you're strapped budget-wise. Made from composite materials, it can be almost indistinguishable from the real thing. It's almost indestructible, and is much easier for a home handyman to install without the help of a professional contractor.
To discover the best wood flooring option for you, talk to a wood flooring contractor about which material will best suit your budget, your home, and your personal preferences.
Matt Goering, formerly a carpenter and house painter, is a freelance writer for the home improvement industry who has published over 600 articles.
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