CHOOSING WOOD FLOORING THAT IS BEST FOR YOUR HOME

Solid Wood Flooring better suited to your needs?

What is solid flooring made of wood? It is exactly as it is sounded, a solid piece of wood that may vary in the thickness. Unlike engineered wood floors, this type of flooring can only be used in rooms above the ground. Solid wood flooring is best for rooms such as living and bedroom spaces as well as kitchens, dining rooms, and bathrooms. Wood flooring can also be sanded and refinished or repeatedly refinished.

Floor Sanding Oxford  Contact us today for an estimate at no cost for engineered or solid wood flooring today!

Light-filled, Open-Airy Rooms

There are over 50 types of wood that homeowners can choose from. It is important to find one that suits your personal style. Light woods are the best choice if your style room is light and airy. These wood species include maple and ash.

A Room with a Cozy and Warm Feel

A cozy, warm feeling is another popular one homeowners want in their home. This feeling is most common in medium-sized wood species. Oak and Hickory are two species that can bring this feeling to your home.

A Refined & Stately Room

The third style homeowners prefer for their homes is elegant and stately. This look is often achieved with dark woods like mahogany or walnut.

Hardwood Flooring's Durability

The National Wood Flooring Association states that Floor Sanding Oxford is a product of the association. It is an integral part of, after you have decided on a style of flooring, it's important to consider how the flooring will be used over time. Are you a single person or a couple who lives alone? Do you have young children and pets? A Janka scale is used to rate each wood species for hardness and durability.

Once you've decided on the type of wood floor you want and the durability, you can begin the wood flooring process. These helpful tips will make it easy to choose the right look for your home. Call us today for a free estimate in your home 01865 575440.

HOW HOUSING TRENDS AFFECT THE HARDWOOD FLOORING MARKET

Both homebuyers and homeowners love the look and feel of hardwood floors. Shifts in the home trends affect that level of appreciation and boost the popularity of specific wood flooring.

Whenever the Housing Market Declines

Declining home markets make it tough to sell your property. And when houses aren't selling, most homeowners invest in home improvements. Upgrading from carpet to hardwood floors is one of the most popular home improvement jobs, increasing property value and improving the look and feel of a space. Homeowners also invest in exterior and interior upgrades to help their house stand out in a market that is flooded. This contributes to increased sales throughout the hardwood floors market, but those increases may only occur in certain product lines. Laminate and engineered hardwood floors price less than solid hardwood, but provide a similar upscale look. Homeowners looking to put their home up for sale at a declining housing market might be more prone to invest in these kinds of flooring to attain a greater return on their investment. Some types of hardwood flooring, such as bamboo and cork, are considered green alternatives. Homeowners seeking to improve their current house and have a better impact on the environment turn to these floor alternatives.

When the Housing Market is on the Rise

Improvements in the home market may also activate a rise in hardwood flooring earnings, as more homeowners demand the strength, durability and warmth of wood floors in their new home. A increase in new home building tends to be echoed by a rise in the overall hardwood flooring market. Mid- to high-end new builds frequently call for hardwood flooring, and many homeowners offer it as a reasonably priced upgrade. Upward trends in the housing market may also activate a spike in hardwood floors sales as homeowners invest cash into their property via home developments. Frequent upgrades include replacement vinyl and carpeting with luxury exotic hardwood floors such as Brazilian Black Tiger or even Asian Walnut Acacia. These products produce a fresh feeling for buyers moving into older houses and attract browsers into new builds.

Redecorating and DIY Trends

Redecorating is another home tendency that spreads into the hardwood flooring market. Popular television shows and websites influence the redecorating market, causing ripple impacts to move across the flooring industry. Lately these impacts have made waves from pre-finished hardwood floors, a product that provides an exceptional appearance and remarkable longevity. Quality pre-finished hardwood comes in a vast range of finishes, and will last the whole life of their home without any requirement for replacement. This attracts many interior designers and homeowners searching for a unique appearance and reliable products. The DIY trend continues to grow, and hardwood flooring producers and retailers are reacting with simple to install products. Just click lock engineered hardwood could be set up anywhere in the home with regular tools and limited skills. This housing trend has affected packaging and manufacturing within the hardwood floors market, allowing for greater choice for both DIY fans and hardwood flooring installers. The hardwood floors market remains closely intertwined with housing trends. As home markets move down and up, the demand for hardwood floors changes too. Through all of it, discerning homeowners recognize the worth of this quality goods and continue to opt for warm, attractive flooring.

What Is Fumed Oak Flooring?

 

Fumed, or stained oak is walnut wood flooring which has been treated to change its colour. Fuming or smoking entails putting the oak in an enclosed environment where ammonia is introduced to the atmosphere. This enclosed environment may be a closed tank or a sealed jar or some form of container into which only a relatively modest amount of ammonia is introduced. The impact of the ammonia in the atmosphere is that the colour of the timber is changed.

It is a frequent error that fuming or smoking oak includes the application of this ammonia into the oak, but this isn't the case. The change in color comes about from the wood's response to the presence of ammonia in the air. Effectively what occurs is the ammonia causes the tannins from the wood to be attracted to the surface. The nearer the tannins are into the surface, the darker the wood will look. The more the timber is subjected to the ammonia, the darker it becomes. The results obtained from fuming or smoking will vary from a rich brown colour to almost black.

Essentially, the level of the colour and also the tone of the color depends upon the length of time the wood stays in contact with all the ammonia fumes. Periods of as few as half an hour will provide a lightly fumed effect and 72 hours per darker end result. What's more, the higher the temperature in the room, as you'd imagine, the quicker colour change results will appear, but not just that, the tone is going to be affected. Hotter temperatures normally present red tones and warmer temperatures green tones allowing for creativity in regards to the fuming or smoking process.

Like many things, it's reputed that fuming was discovered by accident. Dating back to the turn of the twentieth century, it's thought that the initial discovery was first made in horse stables. At that time, it had been noticed that the beams above the horses were substantially darkened compared to the beams in different parts of the secure and this darkening process was connected to the ammonia at the horses' urine. Fuming or smoking as a timber treatment process became common place with arts and crafts furniture makers and to this day, is very common. Although not difficult, fuming oak flooring is not something which would usually be performed on a DIY basis for flooring, although it is commonly used on this basis for colouring small pieces of furniture.