This type of flooring is a solid piece of wood from top to bottom. The thickness can vary, but generally ranges from 3/4″ to 5/16″. One of the many benefits of solid wood flooring is that it can be sanded and refinished numerous times through the years. This adds great value to your home at resale, as a prospective buyer may appreciate being able to change the color or finish. Another important feature of solid floors is that they can be installed above or on grade. Solid wood floors are available as unfinished or pre-finished.
Pre-Finished
Pre-finished hardwood floors–usually engineered–are pre-finished with a color and sheen at the factory. They do not require sanding or finishing. Many of these are “glue down” or “floating” floors, constructed to click together for easy installation. Some of our most popular brands of pre-finished floors are Bruce, Armstrong, Mohawk, Mullican, Shaw, SLCC Flooring, Urban Floors, Aurora, Bella Cera, US Floors, Prolex Flooring, Stone Wood Floors and Somerset.
Unfinished
Unfinished floors are sanded and finished on-site following installation. They are most often solid wood.
Engineered
Engineered wood floors are real wood floors that are manufactured using three to nine layers of different wood veneers. The sub layers can be of the same or different species. The top layer consists of high-quality wood. The grain of each layer runs in different directions, which makes the floor very stable. This means the wood will expand and contract less than solid wood flooring during fluctuations in humidity and temperature. Engineered floors are especially appropriate for Louisville’s varying temperatures and humidity. While this type of floor can be sanded and refinished, the process cannot be done as many times as it can with solid wood flooring. The number of times it can be sanded and refinishes depends on the thickness of the top layer. Engineered wood flooring is glued to the sub-floor or concrete and can be installed above, on, or below grade.
