The decision to invest in wood floors is an important choice for the future of your home but most home owners find the benefits far outweigh the relatively minor maintenance and upkeep issues. Learn how to select and maintain wood floors with these quick tips.
Why Wood?
· Cost Effective. Unlike carpets, wood flooring can last a lifetime when property maintained while the average lifespan of carpet is officially five to seven years.
· Timeless. The natural beauty, versatility and beauty of wood never goes out of style.
· Neutrality. Decorating is easy with wood floors. Changing furniture or painting walls might clash with carpet colors – but never wood. Wood is also a great choice when selling a home since there is never a need to replace the colors or style.
· Cleanliness. Wood floors aren’t subject to the accumulation of dust, debris and other potential pollutants common in carpets.
· Sustainable. New wood floor options like bamboo are increasingly made from environmentally friendly and sustainable resources unlike carpeting which is often petroleum based.
Which Wood?
· Color. Although wood floors are neutral, some colors tend to go better with different decorating schemes. For example, use light wood color grains for a casual or contemporary flair and darker colors for a sophisticated or conservative style.
· Grade. Wood floors are available in a wide variety of installation options including above grade and below grade. Areas subject to moisture problems, like a finished basement, should avoid using solid hardwoods and opt for engineered products instead. All types of wood can be installed in above grade areas.
How to Maintain Wood
· Keep Clean. For nearly maintenance free wood floor upkeep dry mop daily. If daily dry mopping sounds like too much of a chore then consider the purchase of an inexpensive robotic vacuum like iRobot that can be scheduled to do the task for you. They work great on wood floors and tile with the added benefit of making daily maintenance an easy chore. Simply set the schedule and be sure to empty the container at the end of each day. It takes less than 2 minutes!
· Professional Upkeep. During the course of time, wood floors can dull and lose their shine and luster. At least once a year it is a good idea to schedule a routine wood floor cleaning with a professional provider like Kiwi Services of Phoenix.
All in one simple step to determine what is required to preserve, restore or simply clean your Phoenix wood floors cleaning and phoenix hard wood floors cleaning services.
It’s the season to begin renovating your home with a fresh open look with a new wood floor! You have the paint colors selected for your living space and you are just beginning to think about affordable options for your living room flooring. You want to make the right selections in adding the finishing touches to your home that give it a new look of contemporary design.
The options are endless when selecting the quality of products for home renovations and it can be difficult to stay on track with a fixed budget. The right paint to the perfect flooring can sometimes be a difficult decision especially if you are on a strict budget. Take your time to discover all of the options available to you when selecting the perfect home design.
Perhaps, you crave the finished look of a hardwood floor but can’t afford the high cost of the elegant look, and really have no desire for interior carpeting. Your next best choice is a bamboo wood floor. It is an affordable option similar to hardwood but at a lower cost. It is a great way to stretch your dollar and maintain the quality of your home without compromising your budget.
The fact of the matter is bamboo wood flooring is an economical option to hardwood and provides the same quality with its beautifully pre-finished designs. It is also environmentally friendly and provides you with many options in the texture of the wood that you can select. The possibilities are endless with bamboo wood flooring whether you aim for an eclectic feel or contemporary design for your home.
The money you save on bamboo flooring you can put back into other areas of your home such as a new lighting for your living room or perhaps a new leather couch. The great fact of the matter is the choice is up to you with the money you will save by selecting the sleek appearance of bamboo wood floors. You then will be able to stretch your dollar a little further to enhance the value of your home.
A bamboo wood floor will increase the value of your home and give it a fresh open look with timeless appeal. If you can increase the value of your home with a sophisticated style without going over half of the cost then isn’t it worth it to you? Your home deserves the best in order to increase its value by making a simple change to your flooring with the durable quality of bamboo wood.
You can select from a wide array of pre-finished looks that save you time and money in remodeling your home. You can select a little spicy paprika coloring or keep it bright with the air of the tropics with a beige undertone – it’s your choice in deterring your home style. It’s about you – creating a style of your home that offers elegance and style on a budget.
Before you make your decision on deciding which type of flooring is suited best for your home, take the time to do your research and invest in a durable wood product that will leave your home looking great. You deserve the best for your home and you can keep it simple with elegant designs that will offer a contemporary look to your home. You should be able to afford the best quality without having to go over your budget and worry about additional costs.
Bamboo wood flooring provides a soft finishing touch to any home style and offers sleek look with durable quality. It’s about enhancing your home and giving it a rich appeal in home designs that match your style. The elements of bamboo wood floors will give your home its own sense of character with the elegant feature of wood.
1. Wood Doors
Change the interior doors to matching wooden doors. There are a large variety of wooden doors now available especially oak doors. There is a full range of veneered oak doors, walnut doors, cherry, beech, pine, pitch pine and white doors – almost any colour to match any wooden floor.
Bespoke doors are also available however these are more costly due to the individual manufacturing processes. The doors can complement a wood floor perfectly and come in a variety of finishes. A large number of oak doors are unfinished when purchased so they can be sealed to match the floor with either an oil or varnish – they can even be colour oiled to blend with a similar colour oiled floor. Oils are the most common finish for doors however varnish / lacquer is adequate. The majority of doors are veneered hardwood for both conservation and stability however there are a small number of solid wood doors available.
Most doors have an identical style in half hour rated fire doors which will pass all building regulations where 30 minute fire doors are required. A new line of supermodel doors also contain glazed fire doors which enable more flexibility with style and design. External doors also come in various timbers – usually veneered again for stability due to the high exposure to cold, heat and moisture. A new front door is a perfect finish to the front of your house.
Wood doors range in style from Victorian style, 1930s style to the modern and contemporary – there is a door style to suit all tastes, colours and styles.
2. Skirting, Architrave and Door casings
The best way to complement a new wood door is to accessorise with the matching door frame, architrave and skirting. There is a large range of door casings, architraves and skirtings available to complement the wood flooring and doors you have chosen in many styles and timbers.
The most popular is the oak – there are both engineered and solid door casings. There is very little difference between the solid and engineered casings however joiners will often specify the types preferred or there will be a preference due to location (ie. In below ground applications) There are two types of door casings – rebated door casings and door linings which come with a loose stop. They are both suitable for all types of doors however where a fire rated door casing is required there are ready made door casings with the intumescent strip for the building regulations.
Architraves also come in both solid and engineered timber. Sizes vary from approx 45mm – 90mm or wider depending on the application. A standard size is usually around 57mm for most houses dating from 1900’s. The style of architrave varies and matches most skirting board profiles. It is also possible to have architrave blocks – small squares on the corners – an older design now becoming popular once again. Styles of architrave include original designs such as torus, ogee and lambs tongue, plus other more contemporary styles such as pencil round (bullnose), chamfered and square edged.
Architraves are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors .
Skirtings can make your new floor look completely finished – they enhance the hardwood floors giving clean lines around the edges of the room – the floors look like they have been part of the home for some time. Once again, oak skirting is the most popular timber to blend with the oak floors.
Engineered and solid skirtings are available in numerous sizes. The engineered skirtings are veneered with a top layer of real wood and give the option of more types of timber such as walnut which is very rare in a solid skirting but more widely available in a veneer.
The standard sizes of skirtings range from 95mm to 220mm however the most popular ones are between 95 and 140mm. Often you will be guided by the size of skirting previously fitted as sockets and plaster will dictate the height. Styles of skirting match all the architrave styles – original designs like torus, ogee and lambs tongue along with contemporary designs such as square edge, bullnose (pencil round) and chamfered.
Skirtings are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors. Oak skirtings have often been used to complement light coloured carpets as well as oak flooring to break up the room between light floors and light walls – this is often done in bedrooms where people often want the comfort of carpet but with a hint of wood.
Window boards in the same timber as your floor will brighten up any window and make them look like new – as with the skirting, doors and architrave – the most popular ones are oak. The window boards can come in the original bullnose edging or with a square edge for a contemporary look.
The sizes of the window boards are available between 100mm – 350mm in both a solid board or veneered oak MDF board. The window sills are available unfinished or prefinished in a lacquer / varnish, oil or colour oil to complement the room.
These boards can also be used as stair cladding to clad over an existing staircase. The bullnose is perfect for the tread of the stair and square edge can be used for the riser – no need to rout out the existing overhang as the stairs can be packed first for the cladding to go over. A perfect accompaniment for all wooden floors.