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WOOD FLOORING - The three common types of wood flooring made today are laminate, engineered, and solid wood. All three have their advantages and disadvantages, depending upon the environment they're being installed in.

In this article, we'll discuss the types of flooring, installation techniques, along with the care and maintenance of your floor.

LAMINATE FLOORING - Although laminate looks like real wood flooring, it's actually a photographic image of wood put onto a composite and covered with a durable clear layer. A total of 5 photographs of wood might be taken, each with a different grain appearance. The 5 photographs are then used throughout the box, giving you the variety necessary so the floor does not look repetitious.

Because laminate flooring comes in an interlocking installation design, it's a very popular choice for do-it-yourselfer. Even when professionally installed, the cost is less because of the speed of installation. No nailing or gluing is necessary. The installation method of interlocking flooring allows the floor to float over the sub-floor, meaning it is not actually secured to the plywood sub-floor. The floor will expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity.

ENGINEERED FLOORING - Unlike laminate, engineered flooring is real wood throughout. Made like plywood, it is composed of several thin sheets of wood, glued together to created a strip of engineered flooring. The top sheet is the actual finished strip of wood in the specie of choice and stained to the color of choice. A durable clear finish is applied to protect the wood. If you look closely at the side of an engineered floor plank, you'll see 3 or more lines. These are the various plies that make up the floor.

Engineered flooring can work in places where a composite type floor cannot. It can tolerate light moisture making it good to use in a finished basement. It will not hold up well in places that can possibly flood, such as a kid's bathroom or a wet basement. This type of floor can be installed in various ways. It can be done in the glue down method, stapled to the existing sub-floor, or as a floating floor using an interlocking type of floor.

SOLID WOOD FLOORING - Solid wood flooring is sold wood cut into planks or strips. A typical wood used in this type of floor would be Red or White Oak, or Maple. The floor comes finished or unfinished and is installed using the nail down method. The product is finished with a tongue and groove method for joining the planks together.

When using solid wood flooring, it is important to allow the floor to acclimate itself to the environment. The floor should be left in it's environment for several days before installing it. This allows the planks to expand or contract. Not allowing for the wood to acclimate itself could cause problems such as cupping or opening of the seams.

Solid flooring is not recommended for areas that have moisture, such as a basement. It is also not recommended to be installed over a concrete slab since moisture can come up through the concrete. A plus is that solid wood flooring can be refinished several times. Wood floors can last a hundred years.

Next Topic: Installing your wood floor