Solid Hardwood Flooring

But--as the ads like to tout--nothing quite feels like real, solid wood flooring. It's sturdy, feels good under foot, and maintains value.

1. What Is Solid Hardwood Flooring? Hardly a Dumb Question.

Thus the emphasis on solid hardwood flooring--flooring that is hardwood from top to bottom. And the hardwood part is significant, too, as soft woods like pine are not used for daily-use flooring. Bamboo is not a solid hardwood--in fact, it's not a wood at all--yet it is sold within the same category. Finally, classic tongue-and-groove is one hallmark of solid hardwood flooring.

• Learn the Basic Types of Wood Flooring
• "Q: Why Do I Keep Hearing 'Solid' Hardwood Flooring?"

2. Where You Can Install Solid Hardwood Flooring

• Basements: No. Basements, also known as below-grade locations, are a poor choice due to the high moisture content.
• Dining, Bedroom, Living, etc.: Yes. All at-grade or above-grade locations, with the possible exception of the locations listed below, are excellent choices.
• Kitchens: Possible. Solid hardwood can work in kitchens, but many homeowners choose to install more moisture-resistant surfaces such as tile or resilient flooring.
• Bathrooms: Not recommended. Too much moisture.

3. Choosing Solid Hardwood Flooring Over Other Types of Flooring

• Solidity: Solid hardwood feels solid. Except for engineered wood floor, no other wood or wood-type flooring gives you that same feeling of solidity.
• Structural Properties: This solidity is due to solid hardwood's structural properties, bridging minor gaps, smoothing minor bumps. Engineered wood provides this, but laminate and resilient flooring do not.
• Resale Value: Solid hardwood is a plus that will increase the value of your home. Engineered wood's resale value is comparable.
• Price: Good solid hardwood floor starts around $4.50 per square foot. Engineered flooring ranges around the same price, and laminate is far cheaper than either.
• Installation: If you're considering DIY-installing your solid hardwood, you may get a better result if you hire a crew. Laminate and resilient flooring are DIY-friendly.

• Learn the Basics of Engineered Wood Flooring
• Laminate Floor Guide

4. Choosing a Wood Species

Provenance: i.e., Where does the wood flooring come from? Wood flooring falls into either domestic or exotic species. Domestic species--oak, maple, beech--tend to be cheaper and have milder coloration. Exotic hardwood flooring--ipe, kempas, anything "Brazilian"--may have dramatically contrasting colors and be harder woods.

Hardness: Any wood can be soft or hard, and even so-called hardwoods can be quite soft. Heartpine and ash are soft hardwoods that may dent and scratch over time; mahogany and Brazilian walnut are two examples of hard hardwoods. The Janka hardness rating system rates the hardness of wood by firing a .444 inch steel ball into the wood and measuring depth of impact.

Grain: Close-grain wood has fibers which are packed tighter together and offer a harder surface. Maple, alder, and walnut are examples of close-grained woods. Open-grained woods are loosely packed and splinter more easily. Pine and fir are extreme (non-flooring) examples of close-grained wood. Within the flooring world, oak and ash, while still relatively hard, are more open-grained that other types.

• Maple: Maple is a close-grained light wood with a creamy color.
• Red Oak: Possibly the most popular solid hardwood floor species, red oak has a pink tinge and an open grain. It is relatively inexpensive.
• Beech: Beech is one of my personal favorites, as I once installed it in my house. Beech has very dramatic, contrasting streaking and whorls.
• White Oak: Not white, but with a coloration verging on light brown and a medium Janka hardness similar to his red oak cousin.
• Cypress: Cypress, like beech, has a very in-your-face appearance, not for the faint of heart. Cypress will give your home a home-like, cabin-y feel.
• Bamboo: Absolutely not a hardwood, not even a wood. But bamboo is now categorized in the solid hardwood arena, so we include it. Bamboo is a grass. Bamboo is made durable for flooring by the adhesive used to bind the materials and by use of the strand bamboo method.
• Kempas: Kempas is a very hard flooring wood originating from Malaysia and Indonesia, ranking a high 1710 on the Janka scale.

Janka Scale - Hardness of Solid Hardwood Flooring

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