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	Hardwood Brands We Carry Bruce Casabella Hardwood Columbia Harris-Tarkett Kahrs Miannington Wood MULLICAN Muskoka Philharmoniker Shaw Hardwoods Somerset Westhollow Wood Woodstock Hardwood Solid Hardwood Floors The traditional wood flooring, solid hardwood floors are made of wood through and through. Typically 3/4-inch thick, it provides excellent insulation and adds substantial strength to your home's structure. Solid wood floors come pre-finished and unfinished, in a wide variety of traditional and exotic species. Engineered Hardwood Floors Composed of three to five layers of wood glued together using cross-grain lamination, engineered wood flooring is more resistant to expansion and contraction due to temperature changes and moisture. Thinner and more dimensionally stable, engineered wood floors are also more dent-resistant and ideal for high traffic areas. It can be installed over concrete subfloors, and above, below, or on-grade. For a multi-floor house or building with wooden subfloors, nail-down floors like a solid wood strip or plank are good choices. You can also use engineered floors which can be stapled-down, glued, or floated. Remember to check each manufacturer's installation guide prior to installing on your upper floors. Condo Installation Condo owners nowdays prefer to use engineered wood flooring because of its design flexibility and durability. An important consideration for any condo installation is getting the right underlayment to reduce the amount of noise transmitted to a downstairs neighbor. A 6mm cork underlayment works best, same as rubber. Be sure to check your condo by-laws and building code prior to installing any hard surface floor. Basement Installations Engineered hardwood flooring works best with below-ground installation because it is more resistant to moisture than traditional solid floors. Engineered floors must be used together with a moisture barrier, and installed through a floating method. Hardwood Basics (Brands differ in their capabilities and limitations. ALWAYS follow the manufacturer's recommendations for each individual flooring choice when installing or making other decisions regarding your project.) Most people simply love the way wood flooring enhances a room. It gives a room a sense of permanence, stability and warmth. Even in a small house with minimal square footage, wood floors give a house a well-crafted, "high-end" appearance. In fact, 90 percent of realtors say that wood floors help a home sell faster and for more money. There are many good reasons why wood flooring may be right for your home. There are also a few good reasons why wood flooring might not be the right choice for you. It's definitely worth the time to educate yourself about the benefits and limitations of wood before you make the investment. Among the reasons to choose wood are: Wood floors tie a room together, yet complement virtually any furniture, artwork or overall style. The wide range of species, colors and patterns offer endless design possibilities. Wood floors are easy to clean. They're ideal for people with allergies, asthma or other respiratory problems, because dust particles, pollen and dust mites stay on the surface where they can be thoroughly wiped out. For the price of a high-quality carpet installation, a well-maintained hardwood floor can easily last beyond a 30-year mortgage, while carpets are replaced an average of three times in that same time span. Before Considering Wood, Consider What's Under It Before looking into the merits of various wood floor types, wood species, finishes and all other considerations, it's extremely important to talk about the floor under the floor. Or, stated more simply: a wood floor is only as good as the subfloor. Most solid hardwood flooring will need to be nailed or stapled through the face or blind-nailed through the tongue. The subfloor must be able to hold the nail or staple. For that reason, concrete won't work. It's also not a good idea to install a wood floor over particleboard because it doesn't hold a nail well. And even if it does initially, it will soon work loose, leaving you where you started. Plywood, OSB or tongue-and-groove decking products over joists are recommended for most installations. Vinyl floors, glued-down carpets, and other existing flooring types are not suitable as subflooring and must be removed. Before installing solid wood flooring, get down to the solid, flat and dry subfloor. Remember (and, yes, we're being repetitious), a wood floor is only as good as the subfloor. On-Grade, Above-Grade, Below-Grade Most appropriate installations are considered "on-grade," meaning that the floor is level with the height of the exterior grounds with joists or post-and-beam construction supporting the floor. When installing on-grade, it's important that the crawlspace or basement under the subfloor is well-ventilated. If ventilation is inadequate, moisture will likely result in the cupping or warping of the hardwood months after installation. "Above-grade," meaning upper floors of a multi-floor house or building may be appropriate for solid wood flooring if the subfloor is wood. Another consideration is the amount of flex in the floor prior to installation. While all floors have (and need) some flexibility, a more rigid floor is necessary for strip solid wood floors. "Below-grade" situations, such as basements with cement floors, limit your choices considerably. Some parquets, as well as the solid wood Natural Reflections Line from Bruce can be installed over cement using a direct glue method. In general, though, cement floors mean moisture, which spells disaster for hardwood. Your best bet would be to install an engineered wood floor over a moisture barrier using the floating installation technique. Click to enlarge wood grain		Hardwood finishes Among the wood flooring we sell, there are many finish choices available. Here's a bit of general information about some of them: Swedish Finish Actually, we don't carry any flooring with a Swedish finish. But because it's so often heard in conversations, we think it's important to tell you why. Simply, there are no prefinished floors that have a Swedish finish. This type of finish is only applied on-site, after the flooring has been installed and sanded, and after you've moved out for a while. That's because you can't be in the house while the solvents evaporate. Basically, a Swedish finish involves a sealer coat and a wear layer coat, or a polyurethane product with a solvent base. These floors are generally very smooth from the sanding, and they almost always have tiny pieces of lint, dirt, small bugs and the hair of flooring installers. There's simply no way for an installer to keep all particulate out of the finish as it's applied. Prefinished flooring, on the other hand, is applied in the factory where the air quality and the finishing process are carefully controlled. Polyurethane Finish Until recently, polyurethane was the most commonly applied finish. But despite new advances in durability, polyurethane is still considered a very good finish that can be stained to give it even more versatility. There are many different kinds and blends of polyurethane available; for example, Kahrs flooring uses a polyurethane and acrylic mix to achieve a very tough finish. Maintenance is reasonably easy. And while spot repairs can be done, they're usually easy to see. Acrylic Impregnated Floor This flooring can be found in the Hartco and Bruce floors, and it provides excellent durability. The finish is actually forced into the floor itself to create a finish that goes all the way through the wear surface. It is frequently used in commercial projects, because it is so tough. Currently, only oak and maple are offered using this technique. Maintenance is easy and small scratches are easy to fix with a spray finish that makes them disappear completely. One negative: water can leave permanent spots if allowed to dry on the surface. Ceramic Finish Recently, the same ceramic finishes used for tile have been offered for wood flooring. They offer incredible abrasion wear resistance. With this finish, a floor is more resistant to stains, scratches and other imperfections. Maintenance is easy, but the finish is so tough and wear-resistant, it makes repairs difficult. Aluminum Oxide Finish More and more companies are turning to aluminum oxide finishes for their toughness and abrasion resistance. Like the ceramic finishes, their toughness makes them easy to maintain but difficult to repair. Wax Finish A wax finish is available for people whose mothers did not make them maintain a floor in their youth. But while a wax finish is hard to maintain day to day, it is easily repaired. Many super high-end floors use the wax finish because the planked look combined with the wax finish can look absolutely spectacular. Newer types of wax flooring make the maintenance easier. Other Considerations Are you installing in a high traffic area? As a general rule, high gloss floors show scratches and imperfections more easily. If the area you're covering is a high traffic area, especially areas well traveled by children and large pets, it's best to stick to satin or lower gloss finishes. They can look stunning, yet won't show as much day-to-day wear. For a formal look or in a low traffic area, the high gloss choices may be appropriate. Is the house climate-controlled year-round? A great deal of temperature variation or changes in humidity can cause gaping, cupping and warping in some solid wood floors. If you're installing in a structure that's seldom occupied or in a high humidity area, you may want to consider engineered wood flooring or another flooring choice. Is there a potential water problem in the area you're considering? If so, there are alternatives to wood flooring. You should choose one of them. Is the subfloor at the same level as that with a different type of flooring? Many prefinished solid wood flooring is 3/4" thick, so if it is installed next to, say, vinyl flooring, there will be a substantial lip. Other subflooring can be brought up to the same level, but that can be expensive and time-consuming. Ask yourself some other questions related to the new flooring thickness. What's the tolerance at the sliding door? Will doors still work? Will your refrigerator still fit under the cabinets? Will you be able to remove the dishwasher in the future? What is the impact on the baseboard? Remember, every one of these problems can be solved. Just be aware of what you're getting into before you make your choice. How Much Flooring Should I Buy? Measure each room, multiplying length by width. Add extra to cover any cut waste or imperfect boards. First Grade or Clear: Order 3% to 4% extra Second Grade or Select: Order 5% to 7% extra Third Grade, No. 1 Common or No. 2 Common: Order 10% to 12% extra (unless you're willing to live with the larger imperfections in a cabin or vacation property) If needed, remember to measure for shoe molding, quarter round or wall base, reducer strips, T-molding, and thresholds. Is the subflooring wood or concrete? Is the installation below grade, on-grade or above grade? Is there radiant-heat flooring? The list of installation questions and considerations can be lengthy. We recommend you look through some of our other articles, especially those on subflooring rules and general installation guidelines before proceeding with your project. Wood Flooring Tpes Prefinished vs. Unfinished Prefinished wood is excellent for people who want to do installation themselves, but without the sanding and the exhaustive finishing process. Price is generally not an advantage. For the cost of a very high-quality prefinished floor, you can probably find a local contractor to install, sand and finish a floor cheaper. However, prefinished flooring offers a much cleaner, clearer finish than a floor finished in your home. Because the wood is finished in carefully controlled factory conditions, it does not have the dust, dirt and other particles that are visible in almost any floor that's finished on site. You also don't have to move out when the finish is applied. Prefinished also offers more variety than standard unfinished flooring. The extra choices give you the opportunity to install interesting African hardwood species like Purple Heart, or to use contrasting species as accent pieces. For our purposes, we're discussing only the four prefinished wood choices offered here: Solid Wood Flooring Solid wood flooring is the type most consumers recognize because it has been available longer. This flooring is comprised of wood strips nailed side by side. It provides excellent insulation and adds substantial strength to a home's structure. Many people feel solid wood flooring is the most aesthetically pleasing, especially considering the wide range of species and colors available. In addition to the many choices we have, we also offer several brands of "handscraped" hardwoods. These are more expensive because each board has been hand-altered by craftsmen to give the flooring an overall burnished, timeworn appearance. The marks in the floor are unique and intentional, and the flooring gives a room a comfortable, timeless look. These floors also have excellent finishes that lock the qualities in place. Because solid wood floors expand and contract with temperature variation and moisture, they should only be installed in homes that are climate-controlled all-year round. If there is a high degree temperature variation or humidity present, the floor is likely to experience cupping, warping or gaping. These conditions are not related to the installation and are generally not covered by warranties as they are with other wood flooring options. If you're choosing wood flooring for a summerhouse or a cottage that's often left unattended, unheated and uncooled, then nailed-down solid wood probably isn't the right choice.

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