Wooden flooring is the most common and popular flooring option in the western countries. From past decade, Indian construction and interior market has started adopting it due to its elegance and rich looks.
There are different types of wooden flooring materials in the market with varying quality.
Wooden Flooring can be broadly classified into following 3 types.
1) Solid Hardwood Flooring - It consists of single piece of wood milled from solid lumber. It is natural and organic flooring option. Solid Hardwood Flooring comes in variety of finishes including lacquered and oiled wood. It can also be stained and finished according to our personal taste. Common thicknesses are 14mm, 15mm, 18mm (Standard)
One main advantage of Solid wood flooring when compared to other types of wooden flooring is that it can be sanded and refinished numerous times to maintain its natural beauty. Solid hardwood also improves it grace over a period of time due to ageing.
Solid Wood flooring will help to keep the room warm during winter and tends to have a cooler feeling during summer. Solid wood Flooring gives the real coziness of wood.
They also tend to attract less dust and are nonallergenic.
The Solid wooden flooring is less prone to chipping or damage if any heavy object falls on it.
It tends to blend any scratch with the normal grain formation in the wood which keeps the decor of the flooring intact for a longer period of time compared to tile or marble flooring. In short solid wood flooring can hide scratches to some extent because of the natural grain structure.
Ideal place for installation of Hardwood Flooring
One can lay the wooden flooring in bedrooms, living rooms, lounge, dining rooms etc.
However, wooden flooring on the areas like bathrooms, basements and kitchen may be avoided due to the potential for damage from ground moisture.
Solid hardwood flooring has long life and durability, however the flooring need to be maintained on a regular basis. It is advisable to polish the floor once every 3-4 years especially where the traffic tends to be high.
Onsite-finished and Pre-finished options for Solid Wood
One can choose solid wood from onsite-finished or pre-finished options.
Pre-finished option will be factory finished one and you just need to install them. The advantage of pre-finished option is that the installation process will be faster than on-site finished. Also there will not be any dust or dirt produced due to sanding and staining of solid wood. Solid hardwood flooring comes in a variety of finishes which includes lacquered, oiled etc.
The advantage of On-site finished one is that once the installation is completed and if there is any difference in levels, you can rectify it by sanding the floor. Once all the imperfections are removed by sanding, staining can be done according to our choice.
Price Range: Rs 500 to Rs 800 per square feet
Solid Hardwood can be further classified into
a) Parquet - Mainly for providing designs & patterns to the flooring. It consists of strips which are about 83mm wide and 300mm in length.
b) Planks - The solid wood / engineered wood planks commonly come in thickness ranging 12-15 mm
The plank size varies from manufacturer to manufacture and designs
.
The hardwood used for wooden flooring is available in different types of wood species. Each type of wood has its own qualities with regard to color, grain and texture etc.
Teak wood flooring
Teak wood has the property to resists termite attack. One can use teak wood for flooring if your house is in an area which is more prone to termite attacks. Teak wood is a very hard wood and hence the labor required is higher if one is looking at on-site finish or looking to cut the size to adjust for floor length. The cost for Teak solid wood flooring would be in the range of INR 200 to INR 500 per sq/ft depending on plank size, thickness and quality
Oak wood flooring.
Oak wood flooring comes in red and white oak variety. They both have a pale colour, while the red oak has a slight pink color running through it. Oak wood is known for their ease of deployment. White oak is harder when compared to red oak hence more difficult to saw and nail. The cost for Oak wood flooring would be in the range of INR 400 to INR 600 per sq/ft
Mahogany wood Flooring
This is an excellent choice for flooring. It is harder than oak with a naturally abrasion resistant surface. The most striking feature of this wood is its color, a rich reddish brown which ages to a luxurious burgundy over time. The cost for Mahogany wood flooring would be in the range of INR 500 to INR 700per sq/ft
2) Engineered Hardwood Flooring - Engineered wood is actual wood itself but the only difference is that instead of one solid piece of wood it contains several plies of wood that are cross layered, glued and pressed together to form a plank. From the surface it looks like a solid wood and has more structural stability than Solid Hardwood.
Each wood plank contains 3 to 12 layers of wood. Engineered wood with larger number of layers are better. For example engineered wood with 7 layers are better than 3 layers. The top layer that we actually see is available in thickness ranging from 0.6mm to 6 mm. It is advisable to have a minimum thickness of 3mm otherwise it will be very difficult to renovate and sometimes not possible to renovate at all. The overall board thickness ranges from 10mm to 21mm.
Engineered wood have more resistance to higher moisture levels than Solid wood. Also Engineered wood is less susceptible to shrinking and expanding which occurs when temperature and humidity of the room changes.
Engineered wood tend to have a lifespan of 10 – 15 years which also based on the thickness of the wood. A plank with thickness range of 12 to 15 mm tend to have lifespan of 10 years, while for thickness range of 16 to 21 mm the lifespan increase to 15 years
Price Range: Rs 350 to Rs 500 per square feet
Different varieties and qualities available for the engineered wood flooring.
Engineered wood floors are available in following options:
1) Single Strip – A Single strip is visible on the surface of wooden plank.
2) 3 Strip - 3 smaller strips are visible on the surface of a single wooden plank
The Engineered wood floor is available in different species of timber. The most favourite species are Oak and Walnut.
Engineered wood are available in size of 1187*142*13 mm.. Number of planks available per box is 6 planks.
The rough price of various few varieties of oak wood and other species are given below:
Engineered wood flooring prices:
Sliver Grey Ash lively = Rs 450 per sq/ft
Oak Brushed = Rs 430 per sq/ft
American Cherry = Rs 570 per sq/ft
Smoked Oak = Rs 510 per sq/ft
Smoked Oak Light = Rs 490 per sq/ft
American Walnut. = Rs 610 per sq/ft
[Tip: A discount of 20% to 30% can be achieved through volumes and good negotiations]
Ideal places for engineered wood flooring installation
Just like other wooden flooring these type of wooden flooring can be laid in bedrooms, living room, and Dining room. These flooring is not recommended in bathrooms and Indian kitchen. However engineered wood has higher moisture resistant quality compared to solid hardwood and can be used for flooring at basement level.
3) Laminate Wooden Flooring is also termed as Laminate Flooring. Sometimes for marketing purpose marketing people calls the Laminate Flooring as Wooden Flooring also.
Laminated Wooden flooring is not the actual wood but medium density fiber (MDF) which is made from compressing saw dust with chemical with a top melamine layer over printed paper.
Different qualities of Laminate Wooden Flooring:
Durability, Quality and Warranty of a Laminate Wooden Flooring can be identified from the Abrasion Class (AC) to which the Laminate belongs to.
Laminate Wooden plank with AC3 gives 10 years warranty, AC4 gives 20 years warranty while AC5 and AC6 (commercial uses) gives a minimum of 50 years. AC5 and AC6 have a uniform layer of form under the plank itself. This layer of form helps to reduce the noise produced while walking over the laminate wooden flooring.
Most appropriate place to Install
Most appropriate for rooms will less traffic for example bedrooms. But you can go for living room, drawing room but always make sure you are using a good quality one.
Please do not use low quality material just to save money.
Installation Method
The installation won’t take much time. It’s very easy to lie down and needs very less time.
Each brand has its own technique for laying the plank. Some brand follows the “click and lock” method.
It can be laid on existing flooring without any damage. So you don’t need to break or remove the existing tiles/stone flooring incase you are redoing your flooring. This saves you from the noise produced while breaking the tiles and also from the resulting dust.
Also saves lots of headaches like the labor cost, machine cost for long number of days.
Laminate wood flooring prices:
It depends on the brand. Most famous brand in Laminate flooring is Pergo. There are also other brands which provide laminate flooring. The price range of laminate flooring is given below:
The prices range vary between Rs.99/sqft including installation for the AC3 quality, while Rs.248/sqft including installation for the AC5 quality and Rs.300/sqft including installation for the AC6 quality of Laminate flooring.
Maintenance of Wooden Flooring
Cleaning and Maintaining Hardwood Flooring
For proper cleaning and maintenance of Hardwood Flooring, you must follow the directions of the manufacturer or the retailer. Sometimes, they recommend a specific brand or type of cleaner for that sparkling bright floor. Do you want to clean your hardwood floor without compromising with its beauty and elegance? Refrain from using water, undiluted vinegar, ammonia, silicon, or products containing oil soaps, tung oil, lemon, or citrus. When cleaning and maintaining your hardwood floor, you should first analyze its finish. For this, all you need to do is to use your finger to rub on the surface If, this action leaves behind a smudge, know that it has been treated first using lacquer, penetrating seal, and varnish, shellac, or oil finish. Otherwise, your floor is surface sealed.
· Surface-sealed floors: New floors generally come with polyacrylic, polyurethane, or urethane seals. This makes them immune to water or stains. Just sweep or mop them to keep clean and looking like new. It’s that simple!
· Untreated, lacquered, varnish, or shellac floors: Compared to other sealant types these are not very resistant to wear and tear, spills, or moisture penetration. So, you will need to protect them using paste or liquid wax.
· Oil-treated and penetrating-seal-treated floors: Common seal or oil finishes soaks in the wood grain to harden. Such floors need extra protection through paste or liquid wax.
Cleaning and Maintaining Engineered Hardwood Flooring
The maintenance of Engineered Hardwood Flooring begins as soon as it installed. Initial maintenance involves removing adhesive with a suitable remover. You should use only those cleaners that have been recommended by the manufacturer. Also keep away dirt, grit, or sand from the floor’s surface by keeping a walk off mat for people to step on before entering the room. This will help you to prolong the life and appearance of your beautiful, engineered hardwood flooring for times to come.
There is nothing like routine maintenance of your floor to keep it looking like new. Sweep, vacuum, dust mop, or use a cloth for this purpose. Upright vacuuming with a beater bar is not good for your floor. So, use dry/wet tank vacuum instead. Alternatively, you may also use a backpack vacuum with felt/brush head and wand. For eliminating fine particles, a microfiber cloth dusting system is perfect. Also,
· Use a damp cloth to clean spills immediately
· Apply a dry towel for quick drying
· Mud is extremely damaging so remove it fast
If the floor comes with a urethane coating, ensure that you never use paste wax or opt for wax treatments. You may also need to opt for periodic or restorative maintenance using professional services for getting best results from your Hardwood Engineered Floor.
Cleaning and Maintaining Laminate Flooring
Do you know cleaning and maintenance of laminate floors, is the easiest of them all? No wonder people love this kind of flooring! These have especially been designed to undergo wear and tear, without sustaining much damage. All you need is vacuum cleaner, and a damp towel for removing difficult spills, that’s it! Just take care of the following;
· Never use wax products or floor polish, it attracts dirt & footprints
· Soap based cleaners, steel wool, citrus oil, & scouring powder damage the finish
· Ensure that standing fluid is never present on the surface causing damage
· Damp mop with warm water to facilitate quick evaporation
For proper cleaning, first remove the surface dirt through sweeping; now use the damp mop for cleaning, followed by buffing with cloth towel. For removing spots and stains a neutral cleaner is a good option in most cases, otherwise simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions or the suggested products.
Source:
1) Hardwood Flooring Image - www.wood2u.co.uk
2) Parquet Flooring Image - www.archiexpo.com
3) Panel Flooring Image - www.jjpflooringcompany.com
4) Engineered Wood Image - www.city-data.com
5) Engineered Wood Image - www.archiexpo.com
6) Laminated Wood Image - www.wwits.net
7) Wooden Floor Cleaning - www.azlifewave.com
8) Article Reference - www.goodhomeadvisor.com
9) Article Reference - www.myipub.com
