When you are ready to choose flooring for your home, it isn’t enough to just choose timber floor covering. There are different types of timber floors so you need to be as specific as possible. Here are some of the choices that you will have when choosing timber floor coverings.
Tongue and Groove Hardwood
Tongue and groove hardwood flooring is traditional flooring that is laid in planks that interlock so there are no seams. It can be laid over concrete or joists or it can be laid and nailed on old timber floors. This type of timber flooring comes in many different species and colours including red mahogany, spotted gum, Australian beech, rose gum, blackbutt, and jarrah.
While they are beautiful floors, hardwoods can easily scratch or dent from people walking on them with spiked high heels, from pet nails running across the floor, or by having toys being pushed across them.
Pre-Finished Engineered Flooring
Engineered floors are also made in planks that have interlocking tongue and groove designs. However, they are more durable than traditional hardwood flooring as they consist of four to five layers of timber that are fused together and then coated to protect them against wear.
They are easier to maintain than traditional hardwood floors and they can be laid in half the time. Engineered floors are available in many of the same colours and patterns as hardwood floors even though they are not made from only one tree species.
Laminate Flooring
If you want to have the look of timber floors in your house but you have children and pets who run amok, laminate flooring may be the perfect flooring for you. It looks the same as hardwood but it is made by imprinting pictures of timber on a synthetic flooring product.
Since it isn’t real timber, it is very inexpensive and very easy to maintain. For instance, laminate flooring can be mopped with a damp sponge mop to clean it. It is available in a wide variety of colours and patterns to resemble real wood species.
Cork Flooring
As a natural flooring product, cork flooring is cool during the winter months and warm during the summer. It is also very durable so it is great for high-traffic areas in your home. Cork flooring is made from the bark of the cork oak tree.
The bark is ground, made into sheets, and then baked in a kiln to finish it. It is available in many colours and styles or it can be customised to suit your needs. The flooring is available with either a satin or gloss finish.
Parquetry Flooring
If you want a unique floor design, then parquetry can provide it for you. You can choose from either mosaic or block parquetry. Mosaic parquetry is made from small pieces of timber attached to form tiles. Block parquetry comes as single pieces of wood that can fit together in any pattern.
Determine where the timber floor product will be placed and how much traffic it will get to choose the best type to buy.