The Best Types of Hardwood Floors

The best types of hardwood floors for a home depends on the preferences and lifestyle of the homeowner and her family. Hardwood floors are made from planks or blocks cut from deciduous trees like oak and maple. Hardwood is generally denser than softwood, which comes from conifers like cypress and pine. Softwood floors are more porous than hardwood and are easier to dent. Despite the name, hardwood floors charleston sc are supple enough to feel good beneath bare feet.

Hardwood floors come in so many colors and grains that the homeowner is bound to find flooring that’s perfect for the decor of her home. Light colored woods go very well with more modern homes, while dark colored woods look their best in a more traditional setting. More than one type of wood can be laid on a floor. Oak boards, for example, can be installed in the center of the room and trimmed with contrasting strips made of ash or maple.

Wood flooring is graded and graded differently according to the species. Oak comes in clear grade, select grade and common grade. Clear is the most expensive, with select being a little less expensive and common being the least expensive. The good thing about common grade oak wood flooring is that many homeowners prefer it because it has more character than the higher grades. They find the burls and knots that come with this grade desirable. Maple, on the other hand, comes in First, Second and Third grades.

Some of the best types of hardwood floors are:

Oak
The most popular sort of hardwood floors charleston sc are made of oak. Oak is both beautiful and long lasting, and its grain pattern tends to hide dirt and dents a bit better than some other types of wood. Depending on the species, oak can be reddish-gold to gold to different shades of brown. Some oak samples have grayish undertones.

Maple
Maple is a pale wood that’s harder than oak. The grain can be so fine that sometimes it’s hard to see. Hard maple may have a sought after pattern called birdseye, which are little marks that look like a bird’s eye.

Birch
Birch is a bit softer than maple. The most popular types are red birch and yellow birch. Red birch comes from the heartwood of the tree and is a lustrous brown-gold color with red undertones. Yellow birch is the sapwood of the tree and is cream colored with yellow undertones. Like maple, it has a very fine grain that might even be hard to see.

Walnut
Walnut has a good, straight grain and often comes in a rich brown color. Many homeowners like walnut for the warmth it gives to a room. American walnut is one of the softest hardwoods, but Brazilian walnut is one of the hardest.