How to blend old wood flooring and new wood flooring

It is common for wood floorboards to suffer damage or cracks if they’ve been subjected to heavy blows or impact. Sometimes old age and low maintenance over the years can make this happen too. In these situations, you’ll need to replace the old wood boards with new wood boards. The only problem is that your new wood boards probably won’t match the existing wood boards that are still on the floor.

What do you do in this situation? You could try going to a home improvement store or lumber yard, but they’re probably not going to have a wood colour to match the old wood boards of your home. They may have modern colours for newer homes made within the last 20 or 30 years. But if your home’s wood flooring is over 50 years old, then it’ll be virtually impossible to find a new wood floor to match the colour.

Therefore, your only solution is to blend the old wood flooring with the new wood flooring. Some people will rearrange their old and new floorboards in order to create a custom pattern or design on the floor. If you’re only replacing a couple of boards, then try staining your new floorboards with a colour which matches the old floorboard colour. You can find a plethora of coloured stain solutions at any hardwood store or home improvement store.

Before you stain the new wood boards, make sure you sand them down first. After the stain is applied, a sealer or finish coat goes over the stain. This will do the best job possible in imitating the original look of the flooring. Now just replace the wood boards with the new ones that you’ve stained and coated with sealer.

If there are still some colour differences between the wood boards on the floor, then consider staining all of them together with the same colour. You’ll need a professional floor sander, vacuum, stain roller, and other commercial quality equipment to perform this task. But if you take the time to stain everything the same colour, then you’ll have no inconsistences in the appearance whatsoever.

Staining the whole floor is only needed if you have several damaged wood boards to replace. If you only have a few boards, then you can just focus on staining the replacement boards instead.

How thick is oak hardwood flooring?

Oak hardwood flooring is one of the most popular types of solid hardwood flooring that you can get for your home. It will match virtually any type of décor or renovation that you make in your home. Oak hardwood flooring is popular because it looks magnificent and is in high demand by other home buyers. If you ever need to sell your home, then you’ll want to have oak hardwood flooring in it.

With hundreds of different colours and styles available for your hardwood flooring, the thickness and width of oak hardwood will be about the same in every case. You can expect the average oak hardwood flooring to be 0.75 inches in thickness and 2.25 inches in width. However, if you choose plank floors, then the width might have another 3 or 6 inches added onto it. But the thickness will pretty much stay the same.

Some people do not prefer the prefinished versions of oak hardwood flooring which use these dimensions. They’d rather have customised dimensions where unfinished wood planks are custom milled to their specifications. Someone may want a width of under 2.25 inches or higher than 6 inches. Sometimes the thickness might be under 0.75 inches in unique circumstances.

Overall, the thickness and width are dependent on where the oak hardwood flooring is going to be installed. If it is going inside of a residential home, then the standard 0.75 inches of thickness should be fine. But if the oak hardwood flooring is meant for a more populated area where people are going to walk on it repeatedly, then you’ll want the flooring to be thicker than 0.75 inches. You’ll sometimes see this in commercial settings which use hardwood flooring to provide a classier look for guests.

If you’re inexperienced at hardwood flooring installations, then have a professional carpenter or contractor perform the installation for you. They’ll know which size to cut your wood planks so that they accommodate your environment appropriately. Then you can learn from the experience and know what to do the next time you’re interested in installing hardwood flooring in a room of your home. 

What to do about your expansion gap?

When carpenters or contractors install wooden flooring in any room of a home, it is fitted with an expansion gap around the perimeter of it. This is the edge of the wooden flooring that would otherwise touch the fireplaces, radiator pipes, doorways, and/or walls of your room. It is important for all wooden flooring never to make direct contact with any fixed objects like these.

Now you might be wondering, what is the purpose of an expansion gap? Well, the purpose relates to wood’s natural ability to expand when it is exposed to airborne moisture. If the interior of your property contains any amount of humidity, then your wooden floors will absorb the moisture. Once that happens, all the wooden planks of the floor will start to expand.

If you have an expansion gap in place, then the expanding wood of the floor won’t get damaged by expanding into the wall or another physical object in the way. Instead, the expanding wood will fill the expansion gap without suffering any damage. You see this situation a lot with solid hardwood floors. But there are engineered hardwood floors which are made to withstand temperature changes to some degree.

Obviously, you don’t want your expansion gaps to be too big or else they’ll look unattractive. But even if you have normal size expansion gaps, it is not a good idea to leave them exposed. They could easily accumulate dust, dirt, and debris if they’re not covered completely. Most contractors will use skirting boards to cover the expansion gaps of the wood floor. In other cases, they may use pipe covers, beading, or T-mouldings. It depends on which physical objects are present.

Skirting boards are the easiest and cheapest solution for covering expansion gaps. They are usually made from either vinyl or wood material. The boards are placed up against the lowest area of the wall surface. They’re kind of like a barrier between the wooden floor and the wall. The bottom of the skirting boards will cover the expansion gap completely. That is why you cannot see expansion gaps when skirting boards are present.

What is the most durable wood floor?

Wood is a popular choice for flooring due to its durability. But did you know that certain types of wood are more durable than others? The level of durability you’ll need for your wood depends on the conditions that it’ll be subjected to. If you have pets or children on your property, then you’ll want to focus on the durability of your wood flooring.

The level of hardness of a wood species is measured by using the Janka scale. Basically, the Janka scale measures how much force is required for a 0.444-inch steel ball to be embedded into a wood species in order to reach 50% of its diameter. The higher the number on the scale, the more durable the wood species is.

Below are 4 of the most durable hardwood species used for flooring. If you maintain these floors with the proper finishing, they’ll stay beautiful and last for a long time.

Brazilian Walnut

Brazilian walnut is definitely one of the hardest wood floors available. It has a 3,680 rating on the Janka scale. If you have a home with a lot of people walking and running around constantly, then Brazilian walnut flooring can handle this kind of consistent impact. You don’t really need to stain or seal the flooring either.

Hickory

Hickory is another highly durable hardwood floor. It has a 1,820 rating on the Janka scale. Some people don’t like the appearance of hickory, but it does a good job as far as durability is concerned. It can withstand most scratches and dents.

Bamboo

Bamboo can rank anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 on the Janka scale. It all depends on whether you’re using standard bamboo boards or strand-woven composites. Even though bamboo is really grass, it is harder than a lot of other natural woods. A good durable finish will ensure it lasts a long time on your floors.

Red Oak

Red oak has a 1,300 score on the Janka scale. This is considered to be one of the softer hardwoods in comparison to the others. It can handle a few scratches and dents, but nothing too extensive. If you’ve never installed a hardwood floor before, then red oak might be a suitable starting point.

Selecting and Installing Hardwood Floors

Are you renovating your house and stuck having to choose between engineered hardwood flooring and solid hardwood flooring? This is a common problem that many homeowners face because they’re both so similar.

Most professional flooring companies will tell you to choose engineered hardwood flooring. It is comprised of a hardwood upper layer that is bonded to lower base layers which prevent floor shifting. Solid hardwood flooring is comprised of planks that were cut from solid wood pieces. There are no separate layers to these planks like there are with engineered flooring.

The only downside to engineered flooring is its surface cannot be refinished or sanded down because it’s too thin for these actions. If you install the engineered flooring someplace with a lot of people or heavy items consistently on the surface, then the flooring won’t last very long. Engineered flooring is better for environments with fewer people.

Solid hardwood flooring has a more durable surface because the entire piece is one wooden layer. You just need to worry about the contraction cycles of the wood. However, you could install the solid hardwood planks over concrete or plywood to make it more like engineered flooring.

The Installation Process

After you’ve chosen the hardwood flooring that you want, the next step is the installation of the flooring. Usually, you nail or staple down the solid hardwood flooring and glue or mechanically fasten down the engineered hardwood flooring. It all depends on the thickness, construction, and width of your wood planks. If you’re installing a hardwood floor for the first time, you might want to have a more experienced person assisting you.

The first step is to acclimatise the wood planks in the room where the installation will take place. This means leaving the wood in the room for a couple of days in order to get accustomed to the environment and its moisture content. Try to keep the humidity between 35% and 55%. 

Read the instructions of the installation carefully. Some video tutorials online are also available to assist you. Clean and dry your subflooring before the installation. If you already have ceramic or marble tiling on the ground, then you can just install the engineered hardwood flooring over it with adhesives. If you’re nailing down solid hardwood flooring, then put vinyl tiles or a vinyl sheet down first.

For expert advice get in touch with the TimberZone team to help you with the installation of your wood flooring.

Engineered Hardwood Flooring vs. Solid Hardwood Flooring

It is common to think that one type of hardwood flooring exists. After all, wood is wood, right? Well, there are two different types of hardwood flooring: engineered hardwood flooring and solid hardwood flooring. If you were to look at them after they’re installed, they would look almost identical. But there is a difference between them. What is it?

The difference between engineered hardwood flooring and solid hardwood flooring relates to how their planks are constructed. The planks of engineered hardwood flooring contain several wood layers, while the planks of solid hardwood flooring are just whole solid hardwood pieces.

The wear layer represents the surface of the engineered hardwood flooring. This is the layer which everyone sees, and people walk on. It is made of either walnut or oak wood and is anywhere from 2.5 to 6 millimeters thick. The other layers of the flooring are base layers which provide it with durability, stability, and strength. You can expect the base layers to be made from eucalyptus or plywood rather than hardwood.

When the planks of the solid hardwood flooring are first prepared, the wood is taken directly from the trunk of a tree. A chainsaw is the preferred tool of choice for this task. Once the wood is taken, it is cut, sanded, and sized appropriately as planks for the flooring. A finish is also added onto the top of it too, although you can choose unfinished hardwood flooring if you want.

Which is Better?

Now you’re probably wondering, which type of flooring is better? The answer depends on where the flooring is being installed in your home or building. Basically, any room or environment with fluctuating temperatures and regular humidity would be better off with engineered hardwood flooring. After all, this type of flooring is designed and manufactured to adapt to moisture or changing temperatures in the air. Kitchens and conservatories would be good examples of rooms which should have this flooring in it.

As for solid hardwood flooring, that might be better for living areas and hallway entrances. Any area with a lot of people walking back and forth each day would be better with solid hardwood flooring. The wood must be sanded and finished repeatedly, though. If you don’t mind the extra maintenance, then solid hardwood flooring is the more durable choice.

For more information on the differences between Engineered Hardwood Flooring and Solid Hardwood Flooring get in touch with the TimberZone team today.

Things That You Must Know About Engineered Timber Flooring Materials

When you are out choosing the flooring of your home, you are likely to come across the term engineered timber flooring at some point of time. Plenty of people use engineered timber flooring materials these days so it is not surprising that you may get intrigued by this product. Basically, engineered flooring is just what it states; it is engineered by a special group of experts by combining multiple layers of wood together. Among these layers, the topmost layer is actually 100% natural wood. This wood can be obtained from a variety of different species of trees. The bottom or lowest layer of the engineered flooring material is also wood. The middle section is made up of a core that is comprised of around 5-7 layers of plywood which are arranged in a crisscross manner in different directions.

The engineered timber flooring materials are known for their highly stable core which is not likely to contract, expand or shift even when exposed to humidity, moisture and temperature. Such benefits really make engineered wood flooring one of the best options when it comes to installing flooring materials in rooms which are subjected to moisture. They can be installed in rooms that have radiant heating systems or concrete slabs. It is therefore no surprise that this form of wooden flooring is often used in basements where there is always a high risk of exposure to moisture. They are also a popular choice for places and areas where solid hardwood flooring materials cannot be installed.

Another reason why many people choose to go for engineered timber flooring these days is that they often present greater durability and endurance features, particularly while dealing with moisture, humidity and temperature changes. Temperature alterations are one of the major reasons due to which wooden flooring materials can get damaged over the years. However, with engineered timber flooring that never seems to be a problem. Engineered wood materials can be easily sanded and refinished multiple times over the lifespan of the floor. So if you have a home, office or store area where humidity, moisture and temperature changes seems to be a major problem, you can easily go for this type of flooring material as it can ensure you smooth performance over the years. The layered construction of these flooring materials ensures greater stability against any kind of environmental changes. The premium engineered timber products always comes with warranty coverage which provides with the assurance of their performance.

There is yet another reason why this form of flooring product is more popular among many buyers and that is lower price. Generally, engineered timber flooring products tends to be much less expensive compared to solid hardwood products. While premium engineered timber collections that come a with thick hardwood top layer and features like enhanced durability and uniquely artistic designs that make it costlier than the average products, the standard versions are actually quite pocket friendly. The high performance engineered timber products are known for their solid pricing which is why they are favored by many consumers.

So if you choose to get engineered timber flooring products for your flooring needs, make sure that you get in touch with an Engineered Timber Flooring London manufacturer who can get you reliable products. These companies make use of innovative techniques to create these flooring products that can ensure reliable performance for many years. The leading manufacturers of these products can also offer you great choices in terms of the wood variations they come in, such as Maple, Oak, Hickory, Cherry, Birch and Walnut as well as exotic woods such as Acacia, African Mahogany, and Tiger wood.