Hardwood flooring advantages

Natural hardwood flooring has a timeless feeling of warmth, beauty and sophistication that is difficult to reproduce with other floor covering options.

Hardwood flooring just feels better

The biggest deciding factor for most people that have selected real hardwood flooring is the feeling of warmth and comfort it can give a room and really make it

feel like a home. Solid hardwood flooring has a natural warmth and beauty that just can’t be beat with modern manufactured alternatives.

Hardwood flooring is a higher quality look

Solid hardwood flooring can give a room an expensive and high quality finish that is normally associated with high-end establishments and designer homes. Real hardwood floors exhibit a lasting quality impression of permanence.

Hardwood floors are a good investment

Installing hardwood flooring in your house is a long-term investment in your property that will hold its value, or even increase your homes resale value, exceeding the initial installation cost of the floors. Real estate agents and real estate investors have often use this strategy to increase their return on investment with houses they purchase, fix up, and resell for a profit.

Better acoustics

Properly installed hardwood floors have better acoustic properties that laminate flooring and when walked upon give of a sound of lasting permanence.

In contrast, laminate flooring creates a loud “hollow” sound with foot traffic. Even with the use of heavy sound barrier foam layers, most laminate flooring installations will still give off a muffled hollow sound with use. In many apartment buildings and condominiums laminate flooring cannot be installed due to the sound pollution problems it creates for neighboring units. If you live in a condominium it is wise to review your building rules and bylaws before purchasing any flooring products.

Healthy indoor air quality

Hardwood flooring is a healthy flooring choice for interior living environments. There is much lower levels of chemical emissions from natural wood products. In addition, hardwood floors do not accumulate and trap dust, particulates and allergens that commonly occur with carpets. Hardwood floors are also a good flooring solution for individuals that have allergies or asthma conditions – and allergists will often recommend to their patients that they remove any carpeting in the home to help lower irritant exposures.

Easy to clean

Hardwood floors are simple to clean and cannot accumulate a large buildup of dirt and debris that some other flooring solutions can often hide. Weekly vacuuming of particulates and wiping with a damp mop are all that is needed to keep most hardwood floors shining. If you have small children, pets or lots of visitors, you don’t need to worry about spills on your floors anymore – simply wipe it up with a cloth. No need for cleaning chemicals, carpet shampooing, or replacement carpets.

Hardwood is more economical over the long term

If you consider your flooring costs over a 30 yr period (perhaps the life of an average hardwood floor), you may actually save up to 40% or more when compared to alternate flooring choices. Of course you’ll need a few refinishing sanding and finish coats over the years, but when you consider the fact that carpets and vinyl will need to be replaced at least 3 or 4 times, the long run costs of hardwood flooring start to look very economical. When you consider the fact that hardwood floors cost about the same as a high quality carpet installation, it often becomes an easy decision to make for long term homeowners.

Endless design possibilities

The variety of species and colors available in natural hardwood flooring is vast and can suit almost any interior design palette and has an uncanny ability to tie together different rooms in a house. Hardwoods seem to have a timeless quality about them and will never go out of style. These floors have been used in castles, churches and private estates for hundreds of years in Europe and still continue to perform well in all types of interior design styles, including contemporary and modern designs.

Structural support and insulation qualities

Solid hardwood flooring adds structural strength to a homes construction and can also provide high insulation properties compared to a lot of other flooring options.