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Buying Hardwood Floors? Consider These 4 Things

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If you have ever looked at installing hardwood floors in your home, you are likely aware that it is quite the investment. My husband and I are on the hunt to purchase and install hardwood floors into our third home. With every home, we learn a little more about flooring. To read a post why we prefer hardwood floors, check out this link. If you are in the market for hardwood floors, here are some things to consider when shopping for floors:

Foundation

Your foundation will determine the type of floors you can have. Concrete slab foundations will transfer moisture throughout the year from the ground to the floors causing solid hardwood floors to warp over time. Buyers should consider engineered hardwood floors to install on concrete slabs to avoid warping. Both engineered hardwood floors and laminate flooring consist of a layer of material that buffers the concrete foundation and wood preventing warping from any moisture.

Homeowners on a crawlspace or above a basement can purchase solid hardwood floors without the fear of warping. An added benefit of using solid hardwood floors is their ability to be sanded and refinished more than once. Engineered floors are topped with a small layer of wood and can be refinished only once or twice. Laminate floors cannot be refinished.

Durability

Hardwood floors are all made of different types of woods. Maple, oak, birch, acacia and more. The type of wood not only affects the overall look of your floors, but it also affects the durability of the floors. In addition, some woods are naturally harder than others. Most stores who sell flooring can offer information on how to tell of a floor is soft, hard or easily scratched.

Finish

We learned the hard way with our first home, that shiny finish is pretty, but difficult to keep clean. In our first home, we bought a very hard engineered maple floor with a shiny finish. Although the floors were gorgeous, the floors showed every paw print, foot and hand print. When we listed our home for sale, I literally mopped myself out of the home to clean it before showings. Any shoe prints left behind could show buyers that the floors were a pain to keep clean.

Longevity

Hardwood floors have been in style for a long time. At some point, a generation or two lost their minds and installed cheap carpet or linoleum over hardwoods. A good hardwood floor can outlast any carpet and live well past other temporary trends. Skip trendy colors and stains, and buy a classic hardwood that you will not regret in a few years. In addition, hardwood floors can increase the value of your home on resale.

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