How to Buy Hardwood Flooring

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Hardwood flooring comes in a variety of materials and styles. With a little shopping around, you can find the perfect choice for your house.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Pre-finished Wood Flooring
Unfinished Maple Flooring
Unfinished Oak Flooring
Unfinished Pine Flooring
Electronic Room Measurers
Measuring Tapes
Pencils
Pencils
Spiral Notebooks
Pencils

Step 1

Determine the areas where you want wood flooring installed.
Step 2

Measure the areas to determine the square footage.
Step 3

Determine whether a plywood subfloor is in place already (such as in an area where carpeting has been removed). If you're remodeling, you may find that a 5/16-inch or 3/8-inch engineered flooring product will fit, while standard 3/4-inch-thick flooring would require you to change or trim the doors in the room. In other instances you may want the structural stability of a 3/4-inch product.
Step 4

Consider whether you want an unfinished or pre-finished wood flooring product. Pre-finished flooring has the polyurethane coating already applied, so once it is installed the project is complete. Unfinished flooring requires sanding and coating after installation.
Step 5

Consider the stain color if you are buying a pre-finished product. (Unfinished floors are stained after installation, but a pre-finished product comes already stained.)
Step 6

Decide if you will hire an installer or if you will be installing the flooring yourself. Flooring comes in varieties that can be nailed, glued, or even affixed with pre-attached strips of adhesive tape. A pre-finished glue-down product is easier for a novice to install than standard unfinished nail-down flooring.
Step 7

Consult your installer before ordering the material. Flooring involves a waste factor that varies with room geometry and the type of product. Expect approximately 15 to 25 percent waste. Make sure that you and the installer agree upon the amount of material needed for the job.
Step 8

Shop at several home centers or suppliers to check out the various products and compare prices.
Step 9

Order the material from your chosen supplier. Don't forget to order nails, glue, or any other material required.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 I think it's a good idea to examine engineered flooring closely. While it is more stable than solid hardwood flooring, there are many types. Most important is the actual wear layer, or the surface veneer.

Expect lower priced engineered products to handle only one successful refinish. Some cannot be refinished at all. Others of better quality (1/8" veneer) can usually be refinished 2-3 times, but it will also depend on the refinisher's knowledge and the flatness of the subfloor.

Today, many exotic hardwood floors offer hardness factors twice that of more common red oaks and maples. This means that impact resistance is higher (scratches and dings won't go as deep into the hardwoods), but they will still be noticeable. This is not to say that exotic hardwoods are going to last longer. Longevity depends on the care and maintenance given.

on 11/22/2005 Pine floors have been around for ages. They are not a wise choice for those who don't want to see imperfections after the installation, but many are being sold as character grades today.

I wouldn't place glued-down hardwood floors in the "do-it-yourself" category, although the big-box stores will tell you differently. This type of floor is very prone to failure, including those floors installed by professionals. The easiest installation for any "do-it-yourself" homeowner would be floating floors. Some are glued together, while others "click" together.