Wood flooring

Installing wood flooring in your home is one of the best ways of changing the look of a room, whether you are seeking a classic or contemporary finish.

The choice of styles of wood flooring now available is vast, so you are sure to be able to find something you like. You can choose from products which range from restored planks which can add character to any room to floorboards with a painted finish that are ideal for a stylish modern look.

But aesthetics are not the only reason to choose a timber floor as part of a home improvement project.

Wood is one of the most practical floor coverings you can buy, as it is easy to clean, hard-wearing, simple to restore and hypoallergenic.

It is also an environmentally-friendly product - providing you make sure it comes from a sustainable source.

What types of wood flooring are available?

A number of different types of timber are used for flooring. The most common are hardwoods such as oak, ash, maple, cherry, mahogany, beech and birch, but softer woods such as pine are also used.

When buying a new timber floor, you will have to decide whether you want a solid or engineered product.

Solid wood flooring is, as the name suggests, simply planks of your chosen wood. This has many qualities, including being resilient and easy to maintain, but it is susceptible to contraction and expansion caused by moisture and changes in temperature.

Engineered wood flooring is manufactured by bonding a number of layers of wood together to form a more stable board. This type of product is increasingly popular with homeowners, as it is one of the simplest to fit.

You will also need to think about what grade of flooring you want. Typically manufacturers grade their products on a scale of one to three, with one the most consistent and unblemished planks and three consisting of boards with lots of graining, knots and colour variation.

This is largely a question of taste and the look you are trying to achieve. If you want a sleek modern finish to your room, a grade one product will be most suitable, but if you are restoring a cottage and want a more rustic feel, grade three boards with lots of character marks may be a better choice.

The look of your timber floor will also be dictated by the format of the product you buy. Wood flooring is available as narrow or wide planks and sometimes as parquet tiles, and you will also have to decide whether you want straight or bevelled edges.

Although it is possible to buy unfinished floorboards which need varnishing or staining, there is a huge variety of different pre-finished products available. These range from age-distressed to white finishes, meaning you are certain to find something which matches the rest of your interior design scheme.

How long will your wood flooring last?

One of the major reasons homeowners opt for wood flooring is that it is among the most durable products available. Most products come with 30 or 40-year guarantees, but some manufacturers of timber floors offer lifetime guarantees.

Much will depend on the quality of the boards you choose, but a well-fitted and well-maintained wooden floor can last 100 years. In fact, there are lots of examples of floorboards being reclaimed from old properties and, after a little restoration work, reused.

As wood is a naturally hard-wearing surface, your floor should be able to cope with everyday foot traffic relatively easily without suffering extensive damage. Minor damage can be repaired and it is possible to replace individual floorboards if necessary.

You will also be able to change the look of your floor if you are planning a new interior design scheme, as it is possible to refinish wooden flooring planks.

Is wood flooring an environmentally-friendly product?

The production process has very little adverse impact on the environment and most planks are finished using natural products - many manufacturers now label their wood flooring with information about whether any volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been used.

Most flooring companies use wood from forests with sustainable management policies. Regular planting means that the size of forests is maintained, while timber companies also act to ensure the biodiversity of the forests is not damaged.

If you are at all concerned about the source of your chosen wood flooring product, make sure it has Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) status before buying it.

How can Rated People help with your wood flooring installation?

It is possible to install wood flooring as a DIY project, as long as you are aware of issues such as how to prepare the sub-floor. But, a botched job may be difficult to live with and will take years off the life of the floor.

Rated People can help to simplify the process of finding a reliable flooring specialist to carry out the work you need doing.

Register with the site and post details of the job you want doing - both of these steps are free of charge - and Rated People will introduce you to up to three local tradesmen keen to provide a quote for the work.

You can then use the quotes and the on-site recommendations from people who have already given work to the tradesmen to decide who to award the job to.