Making Better Hard Wood Flooring

You may be thinking of improving your home by changing its flooring to hard wood flooring. It may uplift the beauty of your home and also add to its market price. You may spend a lot on the hard wood flooring of you home. These expenses are worth only when they present an actual picture of your real taste of design and style for home interiors and your perception of a really beautiful home. The way you might have thought it to be.

Please note that two most important selection factors for a hard wood flooring over the other factors. First one is the choosing the right wood species and next is the selection of correct width of the planks.There is a variety available to choose from.Through this article you will be able to take a right decision and make a best choice.

Choice of Wood Species
One may use any hard wood from many of species available for making hard wood flooring. All species of wood have their own different grain structure, color of wood and associated wood characteristics. Because of these variation each species gives an exclusive different appearance.Thus the appearance of the hard wood flooring is not same for all the species.

Wood Grain Patterns Selection
Each species of wood has its own grain pattern. Grain is microscopic cellular structure of wood which includes annual rings. Grain of wood is also defined as the formation and distribution of its natural fiber structure- a sort of veins in wood. There are many different spread patterns such as straight spiral form, curly or wavy grain lines, course or fine grain pertaining to the different wood species. Annular rings are formed year by year in each tree as it grows and the grain structure is thereby formed. It depends on the way each tree of a different species grows. Different species form different type of grains in them. As for example you may find denser and evenly placed grains in cherry, walnut and birch wood. Their grain is spread more uniformly. Both contemporary and traditional hard wood flooring design styles mostly use the wood with uniform grain patterns. Ash and oak wood are having more grainy pattern and are mostly meant for casual use rather than being used for elegant style design. Hickory wood is very hard, it has tighter or dense grain besides having a few knots in it. You can use hickory wood in hard wood flooring for both modern and country type design.

Wood Color For Flooring
Better appearance to the flooring will also depend on the color of wood selected. It is another important factor when you are selecting the type of wood for hard wood flooring. It is a practice to use dark wood in more formal and traditional type interiors. Lighter colors are more suitable in casual, country type and contemporary hard wood flooring. If you are using dark colors, you may select walnut or cherry wood. In some species like hickory, there may be wide variations of color in the same board or plank. The color varies from lighter color to darker one.

However, there can be many natural variations within a particular species which finally will affect the appearance of patina and the beauty of the flooring.

Dynamic Character of Wood
In all wood species, you will find a different grain pattern giving it a distinct appearance. Same appears in the hard wood flooring made from it in your home. Each plank of wood has its own unique formation of grain patterns and color which together contribute to the unique appearance of the flooring.

Techniques of Sanding and Finishing of Wood
There are different techniques applied for sanding and finishing of wood. All these processes may change natural appearance of wood species. You may think of using old reclaimed or recovered wood for making hard wood flooring. Reclaimed wood is wood fallen in forests or sunk in sea or has outlived its use and is re-milled for making use again. This gives exclusive distressed wood appearance because of present old nail holes, and other natural damages or wear marks during usage and aging of wood. It may have changed patina - the exterior surface, changed with the time which may give it a different unique antique appearance.

Natural Aging of Wood
As the time passes, natural aging of wood occurs. Thus with the aging, many wood species get changes in their color and acquire a natural patina or exterior surface. During the initial 3 to 6 months, most of the natural aging of wood is over and then it continues at a much slower rate. There is a significant change in the color or patina of cherry due to its natural aging. When cherry is directly exposed to sunlight, it starts changing its color quickly from a very light color to a medium color and then ultimately to a much darker shade. You should be prepared to accept these natural changes taking place in the hard wood flooring put in your home.

Different Grades of Wood
There are different grades of wood available. The grade of the wood varies with the presence of amount of heart wood or sap wood , number of knots, surface imperfections like character marks, pin or worm holes and discoloration of wood.

A good grade is having lesser flaws and more uniformity of appearance. You need to make a selection of the wood grade which has minimum number of knots and has more uniformity in color, grain pattern and its character or appearance.

Plank or Board Width
Selection of the proper board or plank width is another important aspect that affects the final quality of appearance and design of the flooring in the room. Enterprise Wood Products supply widths sizes from 2" to 7" which are readily available with them. But how will you find out the best width for your hard wood flooring? This needs to be answered.

It may be a wise selection to use narrow boards if one is not very much concerned about any particular design style. Most people use narrow boards in homes including both traditional and transitional type designs. The width of narrow planks usually varies from 2" to 3". You may find many of the contemporary flooring done with narrow boards of the species with more uniform color and grain patterns.

It is customary to use wider boards in all types of homes. Use of wider planks makes the room look large. To achieve a country or antique look generally 5" to 7" board width is used. If you use a technique to get a distressed antique finish, it is recommended to use wider boards for getting a superior look.
Hard wood flooring can be so done with mixed board of varying widths to get random design patterns

Conclusion
You may design and work with hard wood flooring using the above information to meet your own need and make floor style. But you should know that it is possible to make varied floor designs with the same wood species for flooring. Most of the wood species can be purchased in many different grades. Thus you have the option to use different grades, sizes and species to get different appearances. There are no rigid rules which exactly determine the method for making the hard wood flooring. The ultimate aim is that you should get satisfied with the result of your selection .

The peculiar thing with natural wood flooring is that a piece used will not resemble with any other one in appearance. When all pieces are put together in your hard wood flooring, you do not get a cookies like uniform pattern. Rather you get a unique appearance of your floor with all wood planks put together to give a great look.