Why You Should Choose Solid Hardwood Products
Are you considering investing in new floors for your Cleveland home? Are you interested in the look of hardwood floors? There are many laminate and vinyl products that look like hardwood. However, it is hard to beat the look of natural hardwood floors. These are made out of solid planks of hardwood. This means that they are more expensive and they do require a little bit of maintenance. However, there are many perks to installing solid hardwood floors. This article explains why you should invest in solid hardwood over the other popular flooring products.
Solid Hardwood is Changeable
Solid hardwood floors have the unique quality of being changeable. This is due to the fact that solid hardwood planks are made out of one piece of wood. Engineered floors are as thick as solid floors but they are made out of thinner layers that are glued together. Since the top layer of hardwood is so thin, you cannot refinish it. Refinishing requires you to sand off the top layer of stain before applying a new stain. This is not an issue with solid hardwood products. In fact, you can refinish your floor as often as you see fit. Imagine that you have a planks that are 1" thick. The sanding process when refinishing hardwood probably shaves off the top 1/8" at most. So, you could conceivably refinish your floor 5 or 6 times over the years. This is great if you like to always keep your home interior up to date with current trends.
Solid Hardwood Ages Well
When compared to vinyl or laminated floors, solid hardwood ages much better. This is because solid hardwood floors are sealed with liquid stain instead. This means that the texture and density of the wood is preserved. So, the inevitable scratches, dings and dents in a hardwood floor will add character to your floor. Eventually, you will be able to achieve an antique look. Even the patches on solid hardwood can add character to your floor, rather than detract from it. Meanwhile, the same damage on a vinyl or laminate floor will ruin the protective finish and require more drastic repair. In fact, patching vinyl floors with a printed finish is difficult and the end result is often ugly.
Solid hardwood flooring is not only practical and great-looking, it is also very strong. It is easy to see why solid hardwood has been used for flooring construction for many years.