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TheHardwoodFloorGuys.net             TheHardwoodFloorGuys.com
The Hardwood Guys LLC
Hardwood Flooring Contractor,
Seattle - Tacoma - Everett - King
county - Pierce county
- Spokane
County
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Wood Flooring adds beauty and value to your home.  With so many
options to choose from, we would like to help make that decision easier
by offering some basic information about your wood flooring options.
The main choices include:
  • Solid Hardwood Flooring:  A solid piece of hardwood, generally
    cut into 3/4" thick planks.  Recommended for above ground; not
    recommended for concrete slabs.  Solid Hardwood flooring
    comes unfinished, which is then installed and finished on-site;  or
    prefinished, which is completely finished at the factory with
    several coats of durable finish, before it's ever delivered to your
    home, then simply nailed down.  So, if you have decided on this
    option, now just figure out your what type of finish you want, of
    the many options.
  • Engineered Hardwood flooring:  are several plies of wood that are
    glued and laminated together to form a wood plank. Range in
    thickness from 1/4" to just over a half inch.  Can be installed
    almost anywhere in your home, including over concrete.

















  • Longstrip Hardwood floors are engineered floors, but with a
    longer and wider plank, which allows the top layer to show 2 or 3
    rows of thin hardwood strips.
  • Exotic Hardwood Floors - Different hardwood specie from
    around the World.  Not found in North America, these hardwood
    come from Australia, Africa, Brazil and the Far East. Exotic
    hardwoods offer unique wood graining and colorations. Many
    exotic floors are available in and in solid hardwood planks as well.

Another choice to consider with solid hardwood flooring, is whether to
go with prefinished flooring, factory finished;  or unfinished flooring,
which is sanded and finished on site.  
Click here to read some advantages
and disadvantages of both.

Wood flooring is offered in a variety of sizes.  As outlined, thickness of
the flooring generally ranges from 1/4" up to 3/4" for most solid
hardwood.  The width varies from 1" on up to about 6", with the most
common sizes being 2-1/4" and 3"  Each size will give a different look to
your floor, so your decision should be based on your desired outcome
and look you wish to achieve.

Wood is graded on scales, which set limitations and set rules on the
number of defects and variations allowed for each grade.  Each
hardwood comes in a "clear" grade or "first grade", followed by "second"
or "select" grade.  You can view standard grading options used for oak
flooring, as well as the difference between the milling, "plainsawn" or
"quartersawn"
here.  

Another factor to consider is the hardness of the wood, which is a
reflection of it's durability.  There is a test used to determine each wood's
hardness, the results reflected on a scale known as the
Janka Scale.

Engineered - What is 1-strip, 2-strip, or 3-strip?


3-strip floor, in which the entire board consists of three parallel strips of
the same width.

The 2-strip consists of 2 parallel strips

1-strip consists of just one strip.
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Affordable Excellence in Hardwood Flooring.