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Posts Tagged ‘hardwood’

The modern, environmentally friendly and durable alternative to hardwood is bamboo flooring. Being a grass, as opposed to timber, gives bamboo the edge as not only a building product (being strong and at the same time flexible), but also as a sustainable resource: wood takes approximately 15-20 years to reach maturity, whereas the non-harmful harvesting of bamboo takes a mere 3 to 5 years. Bamboo has traditionally been the material of choice in most of Asia, and it is only recently that its benefits and environmental properties have begun to be utilised more fully in the west. The growth in popularity in recent years for wood flooring has increased the burden on already stretched timber resources.

Due to its flexibility as a material, bamboo flooring has a broad appeal that can be manipulated to suit a variety of styles. Its range of applications varies from period homes to offices, designer hotels and bars. As well as being environmentally sound, bamboo flooring is competitively priced and easy to fit. Ease of fitting is always a worry for the prospective purchaser, with bamboo flooring the process has been simplified by the formulation of three different methods:

1) Floating floor: this involves gluing the tongue and groove joints of the bamboo flooring together over an underlay.
2) Secret Nailing: the bamboo floor is secretly nailed down to a wood sub-floor.
3) Gluing down: literally gluing the bamboo floor to a sub-floor.

One concern that has arisen with the implementation of bamboo flooring is regarding the use of Urea Formaldehyde, which is used as a binder or adhesive in the manufacture of bamboo flooring. Using the present technology, its use is unavoidable. However, reputable bamboo flooring suppliers with firm environmental principles, make every effort to ensure that its use conforms to the rigid E-1 European Standards. It is important to stress that exposure to any dangerous chemicals in bamboo flooring is negligible.

The benefits of choosing bamboo flooring are chiefly to found in the warm, comforting ambience it creates. Bamboo flooring immediately draws attention and recognition to a room, giving it character and focus. With its hard wearing properties, environmental benefits and natural beauty, bamboo flooring is the flooring of choice for generations to come. The advice above was given by one of the roofing contractors who’s also a professional at alarm systems installing and window replacement.

Maintaining a hardwood floor in prime condition doesn’t take much skill or effort, but it requires consistency and good care on a daily basis.Especially for rooms that experience heavy traffic or are exposed to additional “treatment” from kids and pets, it’s essential that you keep an eye for suspicious stains, marks and spilled or sticky substances.

Floors can be categorized in two: wax finished and surface finished and each needs to be treated in a different manner. More than the regular cleaning by way of dust-mopping, sweeping and appropriate vacuuming, you should be well equipped to deal with minor damages that may be caused accidently, for those are likely to happen at some time or the other. So you have to take Bissell wood cleaner seriously.

Starting with the regular cleaning routine itself, never use water to clean the surface. Unless the floor manufacturer (if you have a prefinished floor) or the floor finish manufacturer (for floors finished on site) allows the use of damp mops, you’re only going to cause a lot of grief to the protective coating and in no time, to the wood underneath it. On reacting with water a treated floor may lose its color and shine and get buckled or crowned. Rather than using the common household cleaners, use only the cleaners as recommended by the manufacturer of floor. If the latter is unknown, use a generic hardwood floor cleaner that’s designed for the type of floor finish you have.

You should not delay taking action against any stains caused by ink or pets. Once the surface gets stained, you will be required to use fine or very fine steel wool to scrap the upper crest for approaching the contaminant and its subsequent removal.

It’s good idea to use Oreck vacuum cleaner besides regular equipment. Use the specified wood floor cleaner along with a bit of mineral spirits to get rid of the stain, give sometime for the area to get dried up and then apply wax before finally buffing it.

If you’re looking for durability and natural beauty, a hardwood oak floor is one of the top choice when it comes to flooring material. It does not matter if it’s in the dining room, the living room, the family room or any other place, wood flooring is a practical, beautiful choice that will add value to your home. The temperature and the moisture in the air may cause it to move, but can rot or warp if it’s left wet. Because of this, hardwood flooring isn’t usually used in the bathroom or the kitchen. However, when maintained properly, it can work even in these less than perfect environments.

There are several different types of hardwood floors. Traditional hardwood and oak flooring comes in strips or planks, which is fastened to sub flooring. Then, the floor is sanded and finished with a durable substance – varnish, polyurethane, or wax. New types of hardwood flooring can come prefinished. They’re fastened in much the same way, but no work is required after they’re installed.

For those who want to install their own hardwood floors, this can be a real blessing, since finishing and sanding are difficult jobs best left to a professional. Of course, you get much less choice in these floors – wood types and colors come in a relatively small range. For the best quality floors, see a professional installer. Composite and veneer wood floors are also available, but these are not true hardwood, and will last a much shorter time. They are less expensive, however.

Remember to make sure that your flooring is being laid on a base that’s clean, level and smooth, as well as being capable of holding up your floor in the long run. Stack flooring indoors for a few days so it’ll adjust to the climate of your home, and make sure you install it at a right angle to the joists in the floor. Mark their positions on the wall before you start, as well as the room’s center line. Many people cover the subflooring with asphalt felt to minimize squeaking and provide moisture protection, but this isn’t strictly necessary.

If you find that your room is very out of square (common in older homes) make sure you position the tongue of the first row of flooring parallel to the center line, ripping the groove side parallel to the wall. Boards can be cut with a power miter saw or a radial arm saw. Use the longest and widest planks to make up the first row. Face-nail these boards through the subflooring to the joists when you get near the wall. This area will later be covered by a base shoe.

For every row after the first, move a short piece of flooring along the edge of the row, rapping it with a mallet. This tightens the new row against the one before it before you nail, and makes sure that your rows will be installed evenly. Do not line a joint with a joint in the subflooring, and when using planks, you will want to be certain to leave a space wide enogh to fit a putty knife between each plank. This allows for expansion.

Lay out several rows of boards as you begin installing the flooring. Just make sure that no end joint gets closer than six inches to any end joint nearby. Pieces next to the wall should be at least eight inches long, and installed with a half inch gap at the wall itself. Never drive nails flush when blind nailing. You’ll see indentations from the hammer on the board. Leave every nail projecting up about an eight of an inch. Then, use a nail set to drive and recess the nail without making any marks in the hardwood. After you’ve put the first few rows in, you can use floating nailers.

Once you reach the final row, a pry bar and block will be needed to get the last boards into position. Drill holes and face nail these boards where the baseboard molding will cover, as you did with the first row, and set nail heads below the surface with a hammer and nail set. When the flooring will cause a level change between this room and an adjoining one or hallway, always remember to install a reducer strip with a rounded edge. This keeps you from having a sudden transition between the two areas.

Get more tips and help from the Hardwood Professionals at http://professionalhardwood.com

Figure out what type of floor you have installed so you can start with proper cleaning. A surface sealed floors do not need much care at all, and if you have a new sealed floor, chances are you have one of those installed. In case you have an older floor, you most likely have penetrating seal treated floor. Oils and waxes will have to be used to properly care for thisfloor type.

For cleaning hardwood floors, in the case of a surface sealed floor, you merely need to mop using a product recommended by your flooring manufacturer. Products that do not contain oil, like Oil Soap, are safe to be used. For this type of flooring, one soap and one damp mop would be a safe solution. It is a must to clean and dry your floor entirely when you finish, because the water can damage the surface of your flooring.

If you have a penetrating seal treated floor, you will not be able to mop with water-based products. Instead, for routine cleanings, you can simply sweep or vacuum your floor. You will have deep cleaned floors if you remove the old wax coating and apply new one every once in a while. You are free to do this task two times a year.

Stripper needs to be used and you should also make sure to follow the directions. Good ventilation is needed for your wood floors to dry in time. Then purchase a product for waxing your floor that is approved by your floor manufacturer. Read the instructions so you can properly apply the number of coats you wish for.

And at last, we have an important step to do, to use a electric floor scrubber. You will have to use this process so that the wax can sink in properly and the floor can be sealed and shiny. Most people think it is a great idea to buy wood floor buffer because it helps them finish the job sooner and with less hassle. It’s good to know that a new wood floor buffer will simply pay for itself after you use it 3 to 4 times in your home.