Before You Install Hardwood Floors

When installing solid hardwood floors you should be careful to avoid installing them directly onto concrete slabs or below ground level because of moisture problems that may result. The problem with moisture is that it leaves unsightly gaps in the hardwood once it dries, typically during the winter months when heating tends to draw the moisture out of homes. During summer months when humidity and moisture are high you should notice that the wood once again expands, sometimes so much so that the wood planks may buckle or cup. Because of these issues you should also take great care to leave plenty of room for seasonal expansion.

If this is unavoidable, you should install hardwood floors that are fixed in place with nails. Consistently following steps to ensure you get the longest life out of the floors and sanding them back and re-polishing them will also be essential, whether the floors are maple, bamboo, ash, white or red oak.

Hardwood floors are usually divided into one of three categories being plank flooring, strip flooring and parquet flooring. Parquet style hardwood floors are also known as parquetry, and this is when the smaller pieces of timber are arranged in a geometrical fashion. The timber used can be all the same or different to create a more colorful effect. Hardwood floors that are laid in the strip flooring style are between 5/16 and ¾ of an inch thick and 1 ½ to 2 ¼ inches wide. Strip flooring is common in the bamboo hardwood floors that are popular today. The third style of flooring is the plank, and each board is anywhere from three to eight inches in width. This is a more traditional, heritage style flooring, but is also still a popular choice today.

Another popular yet pricey option when shopping around for hardwood floors is the hand scraped style. They can create a very trendy touch to your home or have a more classic feel if you have a shabby chic, rustic style décor. They are an art form unto themselves, and for this reason, do not come cheap. However, if you can afford the extra cost, you will be rewarded with originality and class.

Each brand of hardwood flooring should come with its own care and washing suggestions. It is important to follow these for your specific hardwood flooring, regardless of what other people do. It is a great idea to vacuum the floor regularly to prevent a buildup of grime in the spaces between the boards, and try to use mats and rugs wherever possible.

It's also a good idea to have welcome mats at doors and throw rugs in high traffic areas in order to maximize the life of your hardwood floors. Another great way to protect your hardwood floors is by using furniture coasters on all legs of your furniture. Spills should also be taken care of immediately in order to protect your hardwood floors and keep them looking beautiful for years to come.

5 Basic Tips When Choosing Hardwood Flooring

Timeless beauty, clean lines, strength and durability as well as the ease of cleaning and the classic look make hardwood flooring the perfect choice for your home.

No matter what your personal style is, there is a flooring choice for you because of the unlimited selection available. But before you rush out shopping for your hardwood flooring, keep these tips in mind.

Set a budget for yourself. Having a wide variety of flooring to choose from is great, but the downside is that it is easy to get overwhelmed quickly, and this makes you very susceptible to overspending. Remember to balance style with quality with your budget when you make your final choice.

Tip #1
You will be wise to match the room with your choice of flooring, whether hardwood or otherwise. For example, do not try to put hardwood flooring in a bathroom, due to the high levels of moisture a bathroom receives.

Tip #2
Different areas of the house demand different types of wood. For example, wood floors that have very light or very dark finishes typically do not fare well in the kitchen.

Tip #3
Choose a hardwood flooring that has an appropriate finish to match your lifestyle. A sitting room that is seldom used will let you get away with a lighter finish. However a hallway or living room will get continual traffic and requires a choice that offers a tougher finish that can stand up to a lot of wear and tear.

Tip #4
Consider installation - doing it yourself or having a professional installer do it for you? Many people successfully install their own flooring, but only after they have done their homework. It is often easer to hire a professional, but do you due diligence when selecting a hardwood flooring installer. You will want to be absolutely sure that it will be installed correctly.

Tip #5
Choosing the color and style of the floor can be the fun part. Choose a hardwood that fits your personal taste and your lifestyle. The comparatively high cost of the flooring and installation demands choosing a wood that will not go out of style quickly.

Bruce Hardwood Flooring Is An Industry Leader

Nothing can make a room look more attractive, elegant and stately than a beautiful hardwood floor.

With an ability to be dressed up or down to fit the theme of a room, hardwood is at home in any design. Plus, its durability, function and natural beauty make it a winner for those who want more than ordinary carpeting can offer.

When it comes to the best in oak hardwood floors, Bruce Hardwood is a leader in the industry.

Founded in 1884, Bruce is considered an industry leader in American solid-oak flooring because of its attention to detail and quality.

The company was one of the first to offer pre-finished flooring to its customers and now offers an array of styles and colors to choose from. The wood's natural beauty is the key to Bruce's success, especially when it's married with oak's ability to retain its look and appeal for years.

When it comes to hardwood floors, they come with a number of advantages over carpeting. They include:

* Durability. Hardwood floors when treated correctly can last a lifetime. Whereas carpeting can be destroyed over time no matter how hard a homeowner works to keep it clean and in good condition. With hardwood, there's no need to replace the flooring every few years.

* Variety. Hardwood floors can come in a number of different styles, colors and patterns. If the fear of only finding one-look-fits-all in hardwood is keeping a homeowner away from looking, this is simply not so.

* Environmentally sound. Hardwood floors at the natural alternative to synthetic carpets.

* Property value. Hardwood tends to add real value to a home.

* Easy maintenance. It doesn't take a lot to keep hardwood looking great.

On the maintenance end, hardwood is actually one of the easiest flooring types to maintain. Unlike tile that can chip and break, hardwood can be touched up to fix minor scratches and cleaning is a breeze.

The advantages over carpet are many, but the top includes the stain resistance, ease of cleaning, durability and more.

To keep a hardwood floor looking great, all a homeowner needs to do is this:

* Vacuum, dust mop or sweep the floor as needed. This is typically recommended about once a week and is fast and easy to perform.

* Spot clean spills and tracked in dirt as they happens. All this takes generally is a dust mop, but sometimes special cleaners are needed.

* Every so often a deep cleaning will help maintain the floor's surface appearance. This does require specialized cleaner, but a basic mop is the only tool necessary.

* Keep the floor protected in areas with moisture and dirt, such as entries, in kitchens and so on.

A hardwood floor can make an ordinary home look simply spectacular. With an ability to be dressed up or down as much as a homeowner would like, few types of flooring are more versatile either. When it comes to the best in hardwood floors, Bruce is the leader.

Hardwood Floors - Hot Tips To Save You Money

There are many types of hardwood floorings available in the marketplace today. So how do you know which kind of hardwood flooring will be the right one for you? And hardwood floors offer an incredible array of aesthetic options, too.

Although plush carpeting is an easy alternative to floor decorations, many home decorators are now setting a new trend with beautiful hardwood flooring. There are many reasons to go with hardwood floors, such as the permanent value they add to your home, the easy care and easy cleaning, great style and durability and they're natural and safe for the environment too.

The cost can vary depending on whether or not you can find discounts or can buy it wholesale. If you know a building contractor or hardwood floor contractor, they may be able to help you get a nice discount where they buy their materials even if you do it yourself. Installing hardwood flooring in your home should be considered a long-term investment that will hold its value, or even increase the resale value of your home, well surpassing the installation cost of the hardwood floors.

After all wood is wood, and what can be more ecologically clean than natural wood planks after very little chemical processing? For the healthy minded, there are much lower levels of chemical emissions from natural wood products. The cost of hardwood flooring depends on what type you choose.

Many of the hardwood flooring retailers and manufacturers offer good discounts if you have a lot of square footage. If you're thinking about a do-it-yourself project and you're handy with tools, you can learn how to install hardwood flooring with a few of the proper tools like sanders, nailers, or nail guns, etc. which you can easily rent or borrow. Some of the most popular hardwood floor manufacturers include Bruce, Shaw, Mohawk, Mannington and Armstrong.

When shopping for new wood flooring you want to check for special discounts or coupons from the many retailers and manufacturers both online and offline. Many people are now installing hardwood floors in their kitchen too and they can also be installed over concrete. Your new flooring may need a few refinishing, sanding and finish coats over the years. When you consider that carpets and vinyl floors will need to be replaced at least three or four times in that same time period, the long run costs of hardwood flooring seem very economical.

Besides the floor coverings that have been traditionally used in the past, there are now many new styles and materials of flooring to choose from that can definitely add to the style of any room. Hardwoods can give a room an expensive and high quality finish that's usually only connected to higher-end apartments and designer homes. But first of all you need to find a reputable hardwood floor company to help design and create the type of flooring that you want, unless you're experienced enough to forge ahead..

Most hardwood floors almost never need replacement and can add thousands of dollars to the value of any home. And hardwood flooring is the healthiest choice for interior living, especially if you have children in the home.

And with today's advanced wood flooring stains and finishes, cleaning your wood floors has never been easier. If you're looking for a great way to improve the look, the durability and the value of your home, hardwood floors are definitely the way to go. And wood is a wonderful natural resource that is both renewable and recyclable.

Staining Hardwood Floors

Between hardwood floors and furniture pieces, the latter tend to be changed much more often. If you've had hardwood floors for a while, you know firsthand the design or aesthetic problems that come up whenever you change your furniture pieces. At one time, your furniture and hardwood floor matched visually. However, when you put in new furniture without really thinking about the color of your hardwood floor, that's when compatibility issues arise.

There is really no need to take out the entire hardwood floor just so it would match new furniture. Doing so is time-consuming and can get rather expensive, particularly if you tend to change or add new furniture pieces often. Staining is the better option. It's less costly to staining hardwood floors than to install completely new hardwood flooring.

Staining is actually one aspect of the hardwood refinishing process. To effectively stain hardwood floors, it should be done between buffing the floor and applying the finish. Staining is usually done not with the intention of changing the color of floors, but with the intention of enforcing their color. In this regard, staining hardwood floors is useful for bringing back a floor's color, which tends to gradually faded over time.

How stains penetrate depends on the type of woods. For instance, staining is much more effective on floors made from open-grained woods like ash, oak, pecan or walnut because stain colors for hardwood flooring of these types tend to penetrate deeper. Hardwood floors made from closed-grain woods like birch or maple tend to not stain as well. Thus, before you start a hardwood floor staining project, make sure you know the wood type of your floor so you can choose the right stain to use.

The right stain is based on the type of wood your floor is made of as well as what you want the floor to look like after the hardwood floor staining process. Do you just want to improve your floor's current color? If so, choose from among the many pigmented penetration sealer stains. These stains won't obscure your floor's natural wood grain. Are you looking to change the color of your hardwood floor? Then go with any of the oil-based pigmented stains available. These stains are known to accentuate the floor's grain patter. However, be aware that oil-based pigmented stains, if applied in excess, tend to shorten the life of wood.

Make sure that the floor is clean and clear before applying stain. It's a good idea to spend more time thoroughly cleaning the floor if you have just sanded and buffed it. Otherwise, you'll end up with different stain colors for hardwood flooring boards in one floor area. Instead of the boards absorbing the stain, the debris in and on the floor will absorb the stain.

When you're ready to stain your hardwood floors, you'll need the following materials: wood stain, clean rags and knee pads. Once you have all the materials you need, follow this 5-step process of staining hardwood floors:

1. Thoroughly clean the hardwood floor.

2. Ensure that the room you'll be working in is well-ventilated. Open up windows or turn on your vents. Stains emit harmful fumes.

3. Wear your knee pads when you stain your hardwood floor. It would be better to wear work clothes during staining. Wear long sleeve, pants and gloves to prevent the stain from coming in contact with your skin.

4. Apply stain on your hardwood floor section by section. After staining each section, wipe off excess stain with a clean rag. This speeds up the drying process.

5. When you have stained the entire floor area, let the stain dry overnight. The drying process may take longer if you applied too much stain, if the room has poor ventilation or if the temperature is too low.

Instructions On How To Install Floating Hardwood Floor Panels

Have you ever wondered how to install hardwood floor panels to make your home beautiful inside? There are many methods of installing hardwood flooring currently in use. One of the best do it yourself hardwood floors is the floating hardwood floor. The term floating doesn't refer to a floor that is sitting in liquid. Floating means that, while the floor is fastened to itself, it is not fastened down to the subsurface.

A floating hardwood floor has some disadvantages you should be aware of before proceeding with your installation. These floors will sometimes feel like you're walking on a bubble. And, each bubble you step on will have a creaky sound.

On the other hand, those bubbles give the floor a much softer feel than a well-fastened hardwood floor. And, the floating floor is much easier to maintain. Best of all, it is one of the cheapest types of hardwood floors to install.

Before continuing with the installation of a floating hardwood floor, we highly recommend that you consider using oak as your hardwood floor material. Oak looks beautiful and provides lasting durability.

-Tools Needed to Install a Floating Hardwood Floor

Broom and Dust Pan - It is important to keep everything clean as you go. It is particularly important to keep the saw dust out from under and between your panels where it can really throw things off kilter. If it gets in there, there is no way to get it out without the very difficult process of hardware floor disassembly.

Carpenter's Crayon - You'll have to cut up your panels to make them fit in the corners and make them go around objects that cannot be removed from the room having the hardwood floor installed. You may also want to use your carpenter's crayon to mark a layout pattern of where to place your flooring panels.

Circular Saw - Your saw is what you will use as you cut along the lines you drew with your carpenters crayon.

Claw hammer - In most places, you will use a rubber mallet to help push the boards together, but in those places near the wall where you don't have enough room to swing the mallet, you can use the claw hammer to fit them together.

Cushioning Surface - You can make your floating hardwood floor feel even softer to the feet with the use of a cushioning surface under the floor. You would be shocked by the difference between a floor with the surface and a floor without the surface if you could try the two side by side.

Cutter Knife - The cutter knife comes in handy in more places than you would expect as you work on your floor. But the main reason we recommend this tool is so that you can make minor cuts on the panel ends when you just can't quite make them fit together.

Glue - Floating hardwood floors aren't supposed to be glued together. However, you might find you get better results if you just put a bit of glue at the end of each panel as you connect them. Of course, this will mean you'll need to be very careful not to get any glue on your floor surface.

Nails - You will need to nail the floating floor to the wall strips. It may help to use a drill to do pilot holes to prevent the wood from splitting, but if you're a gambler, you can just hammer these nails in without pilot holes. Most people do that anyways.

Rubber Mallet - The rubber mallet is what you use to fit the panels together at the joints. However, you need to be very careful not to hit the panels too hard and damage the panel surfaces.

-Preparing to Install Floating Hardwood Floor Panels

Before you install your floating hardwood floor panels, you need to get your cushioning sheet installed. You can use your cutter knife to make it fit. Some people find that making it into many small pieces is much more manageable than trying to fit a large piece in the room. These pieces should be laid in the same direction as your panel rows.

One of the nice parts of using a cushioning sheet is that debris on the sheet or lumps in the surface below it have a less dramatic effect on the floor. However, you should still try to get all of these straightened out to the extent you can see them.

For debris, just use your broom and dust pan to remove them. It's not such a big of a one-time task when you consider the implications are pretty close to permanent if you fail to remove them.

-Installing a Floating Hardwood Floor

1.Place your first panel in the corner with the ends with a cavity in them towards the walls.

2.Put a little bit of glue in the cavity of the next panel.

3.Attach the next panel to the first panel quickly after step two.

4.You may need to work with the rubber mallet gently to ensure that the two panels come together snuggly. If the wall gets in the way of the rubber mallet, you can use your claw hammer to nudge it in place.

5.Continue this until you get to the end of the row where you will need to mark off the excess length of your last panel with the carpenter's crayon. Then cut the panel to fit using the circular saw.

6.Use the remaining piece of the panel to start the next row of hardwood.

7.If you are using the glue, as in step two, you'll need to be careful to get the entire adhesive off of each row as you complete it or it may do permanent damage to the hardwood surface.

8.Make sure you fit your entire pieces well, especially the last corner piece. If you have fit everything together just right, your floor will be much more stable. And, it will look better after the next step.

9.Now you go around all of the room walls and place the wall strips. You should nail these strips to the wall and to the floor. This will stabilize your floor. This will also make the edges of your new floor look better.

-How to Install Floating Hardwood Floor - Clean Up

As with any big woodworking project, you can expect to have a mess as you go. There are such debris as saw dust, cut splinters, glue spots, and more. While you were trying to clean as you went, you should really do a final inspection and cleaning at the completion of the project. You don't want any saw dust or wood chips scraping across your new floor before you even get to admire its smooth shine.

After your floor has had a day to settle you can clean it with a mildly wet mop to get everything else up that you might have missed. You need to dry the floor up right away after mopping, of course. Otherwise, your wood will swell and lumps will form.

-Hindsight Tips for Installing Your Floating Hardwood Floor

You do not need to be terribly careful with the cushioning sheets. Don't spend all day trying to get exact measurements. As long as there are no major overlaps or separations between them, your floor should be just fine.

When you are working with your hardwood panels, it is important not to rush. You should not be moving on and placing another panel until the current panel is completely and firmly connected to the other panels. But be very careful when using the rubber mallet and other tools on the panels not to cause surface damage.

The surfaces are quite fragile when they are not yet anchored in place. It is very hard to go back and fix later if you missed a panel early in the installation process.

Be careful when measuring your panels for cutting at the end of the row that you are marking off the right part of your panel for cutting. One of the most common mistakes is to have the panel backwards while measuring it and then end up with the wrong pieces being the lengths you need. Save yourself some time and be careful.

-Feeling Good after You Install Your Floating Hardwood Floor

You have saved a lot of money by installing a floating hardwood floor yourself. And, if you don't like it, you've chosen one of the easiest hardwood floors to replace. But, of course you like it.

Hardwood floors look great. And, your new floating hardwood floor feels great too with its cushioning surface. Your neighbor's glued down floor may not creak much, but your neighbor's feet don't feel like they're floating when he walks on his floor.

How To Install Hardwood Floor Panels With The Nail Down Method

There are a variety of methods for installing hardwood flooring. The nail down technique of laying hardwood floors has become very popular. For those learning how to install hardwood floor, there's no simpler or straightforward technique than the nail down technique.

Unlike other methods which basically require you to be an amateur carpenter or even a professional carpenter, the nail down method on how to install hardwood flooring can be accomplished by anyone who can swing a hammer. Well, that's not all it takes.

You also have to be persistent, patient, and willing to try new things if you want to learn how to install hardwood floor. Also, you need to be willing to read the safety instructions that come with the tools you'll be using.

-Tools You'll Need as Your Learn How to Install Hardwood Floor Panels

Broom and Dust Pan - You need to clean up constantly as you learn how to install hardwood floor to make sure no dirt, sawdust, or other debris get caught in between the grooves or under the boards.

Carpenter's Crayon - Use this to create guidelines on your sub floor. You'll also need it to draw lines where you'll cut your hardwood panels.

Claw Hammer - Any areas near obstacles or walls where you can't get enough space to swing a rubber mallet will have to be reached with your claw hammer.

Cutter Knife - Use this often for unforeseen activities involved as you learn how to install hardwood floor. But the main purpose of this device will be to cut out any excess wood when adjustments of only a millimeter or two need to be made.

Electric Drill and 3/32" Drill Bit - Use this to drill your pilot holes, which should be slightly smaller in length and circumference than your nails. This will prevent your flooring panels from cracking when you put the nails in them.

Hardwood Flooring Nails (2") - These nails are important because they will be what hold your floor in place.

Nailer - This can either be a hammer or pneumatic nail gun. The pneumatic nail gun is obviously faster and easier, but you have to get it calibrated just right so that the nails don't go too far down into the wood and destroy your hardwood panels.

Rubber Mallet - This is your chance to pound your frustrations out as you learn how to install hardwood floor. Actually, you should pound them out gently to bring the surfaces of the two panels together perfectly. You don't want to get them too far apart or your floor will have crevices. But if you pound them too hard together, you can damage them or push them so far together as to bow them.

Circular Saw - At the end of each row of boards as you go into the corner, you will need to cut your floor panels to fit. Any fixtures in the room will also have to be cut around.

-Preparing to Install Hardwood Floor Panels

Although the nail down method of installing hardwood floor panels is pretty simple, it should still be done carefully as the hardwood floor has to endure for many years in whatever form you complete it.

All of the furniture and obstacles that can be removed from the room should be removed while you install your hardwood floor panels. This is true even if it requires manual dismantling and reassembly. For those fixtures build into the floor of the room, you'll just have to panel around them.

It's not the easiest way to go, but you have to do what you have to do to get your hardwood floor installed. If you have door sills, an old hardwood floor, baseboards, or carpet, remove them before you begin as well.

If the surface beneath where you will be flooring is cement or any other lumpy material, use a felt floor liner to cover this surface. Then install a plywood sub-floor over it. Once laid, you should be ready to begin installing the hardwood floor.

-Steps on How to Install Hardwood Floor Panels

1. Put your first floor panel in the corner of the room in which you have decided to start your flooring. The grooves should be toward the wall and the tongues should be toward the room.

2. Start adding panels to make a row. The last panel shouldn't quite fit right, so you'll have to use that carpenter's crayon to mark where to cut it. Use your circular saw to cut it. Be very careful not to cut it too small. The fitting needs to be just about perfect.

3. Use your drill to make your little pilot holes. Put the nails in to fasten your floor down. Though it will take longer, you'll be thankful when you're done if you used pilot holes when you're learning how to install hardwood floor.

4. Grab the other half of the panel you cut off the row you just completed and use it as the starting point for the next row. This will seem strange at first, but when the floor is completed, the offset of the boards will look really nice. Additionally, if all of your boards matched up, the floor won't have interlocked strength.

5. Continue on doing this as you go through the remaining rows. Use the rubber mallet as necessary to make the boards and rows nice and snug. When the rubber mallet won't fit, use the claw hammer to pull the boards tight. The last things you need are some giant crevices between your boards when you've finished your new hardwood floor.

6. The last panel is the hardest one to get put in place, but your floor will look really awful if you hurry at this step. You need to patiently measure, cut, and make your last panel fit.

7. Clean the floor you just laid.

-Cleaning Up After You Install Hardwood Floor Panels

In the process of how to install hardwood floors, cleaning up is important and overlooked enough to warrant its own follow-up section. But unlike other nail down method guides on how to install hardwood floor panels, we want to make sure you understand this step.

Cleaning up is important because there are little wood chips and saw dust everywhere after the typical hardwood floor installation. Use your broom and dust pan to pick up any debris on the floor. These particles, if walked on and rubbed on by furniture, can make your brand new floor look like a scratched up old floor pretty quickly.

Unless you went beyond the instructions on how to install hardwood floors and used glue on your hardwood panels, there's no need to get your floor wet before it has had a chance to settle. This is because you don't want it to swell before you've moved the furniture back in and given it a couple days to get itself in its final arrangement.

-Special Tips Add-On on How to Install Hardwood Floor Panels

Don't get too aggressive when putting your hardwood flooring in place. It's very easy to ruin the surface of floor panels when they're floating freely and you're placing them and pounding on them. Be especially careful when fixing a row that looks a little bit off.

If your rubber mallet is sturdy enough, it'll be the best thing to put nails in because it won't do as much damage to the surface of your floor panels.

Your nailed down floor probably isn't going to be quite as nice as the one installed by a professional. On the other hand, it's going to look pretty nice on its own. It will probably be about the nicest looking job an inexperienced hardwood floor installer can do. And if you change your mind about the floor, it's one of the easiest hardwood floor installation methods to undo.

But besides being easy to install and uninstall, nailed down hardwood floor has some usage advantages over other types. The main advantage to keep in mind is that a glued down floor is rigid; once a floor panel is dried in place, it's there for good whether it's snug to the next panel over or not. The loose floor isn't attached to anything and can be creaky, bubbly, and move around. So enjoy your new well-fixed hardwood floor.

Bamboo Wood Flooring is an Economical Option to Hardwood

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.

Restoring Water Damaged Hardwood Floors in Orlando Florida

The result of a home being flooded by a plumbing problem may not be as serious as the devastation caused by a flood from a hurricane that landfalls in Miami or Orlando, but it can still cause a lot of water damage. Flooding can still ruin hardwood floors and other articles in the home. Getting the water cleaned up as quickly as possible is the most important thing you need to do. The less time your items spend completely saturated with water, the better.

If you find you have a flooding problem happening, the first thing you need to address is the water and electricity. It is important to call your homeowner's insurance company right away to tell them you are flooded because of plumbing disasters are usually covered by your homeowner's insurance. They will tell you what to do next to get someone to help with the cleaning of the house or and whatever repairs that might be necessary.

While your wait for help to arrive, you should do whatever you can to remove things that are being damaged by the water. First, remove furniture and anything else that can be ruined by water contact. If possible, put these items either outside or upstairs. If the water is not too high, begin sweeping as much of it as you can out of the house. If it is not too deep, a wet/dry vacuum might also be helpful. Remember it is imperative that the water is removed as quickly as possible.

Be sure you check the credentials of the cleanup crew that you hire to take care of the water damage. This is hard to remember when you are in the midst of an emergency, but it is crucial that the crew is qualified with a license and insurance in Orlando. After you have seen that they are qualified to do the work let them take over the cleanup. Things should move along quickly after this.

Hardwood floors can be expensive to replace so it is good to know that if the water was not on the floors for a long enough time to cause any warping or other damage, they may be saved. If the floors can be salvaged this is the best to go with. The less money it costs your insurance company, the less your future premiums might be. This could also ensure that the insurance company will not cancel you altogether. Another reason to restore your hardwood floors rather than replacing them, besides the cost, is that you will not suffer by having your floors ripped out. It could take weeks of demolition and repair time before the floors can be useable again and not having usable floors is an extreme inconvenience whether you live in Orlando, Florida or elsewhere.

Improve The Look And Feel Of Your Office With Hardwood Chair Mats

Creating a professional office setting that can improve office productivity and public perception is a goal that is shared by companies both large and small. Some companies obviously make this look easy with a "look and feel" that seems natural. Others seem to be hopelessly lost and are obviously unsure as to how they should proceed. A great way to get started is with the addition of hardwood chair mats to the office space.

One of the biggest questions commonly asked concerning hardwood chair mats is exactly how they can improve the appearance of any setting, especially an office. For starters, hardwood floor chair mats look elegant and professional in nature. Purchasing high-quality office furniture accessories is the first step in starting a successful office transformation. In terms of appearance and professionalism created, hardwood chair mats do something that plastic mats are unable to accomplish.

As with all other office furniture accessories, hardwood chair mats are sold in a number of different formats. Most popular seem to be the "T" shaped mats which can partially extend under a table or desk to accommodate chairs and obstructions, but rectangular shapes and even round and oblong shapes are available from various sources to best match the office space in question. In terms of improving office appearance and professionalism, most see success when creating an office theme or keeping up with a current theme. This is easy to accomplish as almost all wood chair mats are available in a number of different finishes, including natural woods such as oak, cherry, and walnut, and some in other solid color finishes as well. Simply match available chair mats to the finish of an office desk or other surrounding furnishings and the transformation can begin.

Most reputable retailers who sell hardwood chair mats sell a style that prevents floor damage. These damage-free floor mats are ideal for improving the appearance of any office setting. Cheaper alternatives, such as plastic chair mats, usually have spikes that hold the mats into place; however, these spikes can damage carpet, as well as hardwood floors. If an office is rearranged and the desk and office chair are moved, unflattering marks may be left on the floor.

As highlighted above, there are a number of ways that hardwood floor mats can improve the appearance of any setting. Purchase of quality chair mats that present and maintain this desired appearance should be easier by keeping these in mind. As a recap of the most important factors, consider those chair mats that match current office furniture, including office desks and nearby shelves, files and other furnishings, choose those that are sold without damaging spikes, and do business with a supplier who stands behind their products with warranties.

SuccessImage is an office desk accessory supplier that specializes in supplying strong and durable laminate based hardwood finished chair mats which are made in the United States. In fact, all chair mats sold are backed by a full ten year warranty. With a number of office chair mat buying options, in terms of size and shape, you can take comfort in knowing that your purchase will improve the appearance of your office, as well as improve productivity for years to come.

The Glue Down Method Of Installing Hardwood Flooring

The glue down method of laying hardwood floors is one of the original methods of installing hardwood flooring. If you want to learn the basics of how to install hardwood flooring using the glue down method, you've come to the right place.

Among do it yourself hardwood floors, those done with the glue down method can be the most stable and enduring. When you are installing hardwood flooring using the glue down method, you can rest assured that you are using a technique that has been time-tested.

- Tools Needed When Installing Hardwood Flooring

Square Notched Trowel - This trowel should have one quarter inch sides for the application of the glue.

Broom and Dust Pan - You'll want to constantly be cleaning up any saw dust that could get stuck under your floor panels or get stuck in your connecting joints. The last thing you need is a lumpy hardwood floor when you're done installing hardwood flooring.

Carpenter's Crayon - This is what you use to mark where you'll make your cuts on your panels. You'll also use this to mark up the surface where you'll be laying your panels. You'll want to keep this handy at all times because it is particularly important with the glue down method that everything be done very precisely.

Circular Saw - You'll use your circular saw to cut up panels as necessary. Additionally, you'll use your circular saw to score your substrate sheets every eight inches. This is important for the prevention of curling panels.

Glue - Many hardwood panel kits come with their own glue. If you need to buy glue for your hardwood panels, I highly recommend Bostik's Best Adhesive.

Lace Nails - You'll use these nails when connecting the panels to walls and wall strips.

Plywood Substrate Sheets - These are placed on top of the concrete and go underneath your hardwood floor.

Soft Cloths - You'll need these to clean up excess glue throughout the process of installing hardwood flooring. If the glue is allowed to set, it'll take extra measure to remove it. In some cases, it requires special chemicals and glue to remove glue once it has set. You'll also need your soft cloths to clean up after you've installed your hardwood floors.

Rubber Gloves - It's much better to glue the fingers of your gloves together than your own fingers together! Besides, many people don't like having dried glue on their hands for weeks after they finish installing hardwood flooring.

- Final Preparation for Installing Hardwood Flooring

When using the glue down method for installing hardwood flooring, it is absolutely essential that the surface where you will be placing your flooring panels is properly prepared.

You'll be attaching your flooring panels to this surface, so the floor must be smooth, dry, and as clean as possible to give your hardwood floor a solid support base. Be particularly careful to clean up anything that looks like it may be grease or oil, as your glue may not properly bond.

It's also very important that your sub floor be completely level and flat. If you notice any unevenness, get some patching cement from the hardware store to even the sub floor.

You also need to choose between one of the two methods of laying hardwood panels down with the glue down method. Your choices for installing hardwood flooring are the Walk On method or the Wet Lay method.

If you choose the Wet Lay method for installing hardwood flooring, you'll be putting glue across the substrate followed by placing the hardwood panel on top of the glue. After the glue starts to become tacky, you proceed to the next panel.

However, sometimes it is recommended for first time installers using the glue down method to place the next panels before the glue becomes tacky so that you can adjust your panels a few minutes later if they are not lined up properly.

The Walk On method of installing hardwood flooring requires precise panel laying. This process of installing hardwood flooring waits until the glue is very tacky and then lays the panel in the glue. This keeps you from getting glue smudges all over your panels as you go.

Experienced hardwood installers typically use the Walk On method because of the better finished results it can provide. Since you are reading instructions about how to install hardwood floors, we'll assume you're using the Wet Lay method.

- Instructions for Installing Hardwood Flooring

1. Place your substrate sheets, stretched across the foundation. Make sure that the surface is level, clean, and free of debris.

2. Get your glue warm. It should be slightly above room temperature or it will be very difficult to work with. If it's below room temperature, you'll find it impossible to work with your glue.

3. Use your square notched trowel to put glue in the starting corner of the room. Put enough to securely fasten the board, but ration your glue so that it'll be able to complete the entire hardwood flooring process.

If you had any doubt about whether you have enough glue, it would have been a good idea to buy more before you started gluing. You'll typically find that it takes an extra day to do the flooring when you run out of glue before you've finished.

4. Try to place your first wood panel straight down on the glue, secured into the corner. Since you are working with wet glue, place the panel as best you can at first so that you'll not be smearing the glue around as you adjust the panel's placement. If you had used the Walk On method, you wouldn't be able to move the panel at all only a few seconds after placement.

5. You can continue on as in the above steps with adding more panels until you reach the last panel, which shouldn't completely fit. Use your crayon to mark where to cut the board and your saw to make the cut.

6. Get your first row wedged in really tight so that it will provide a solid basis for your entire floor.

7. Before any of the glue dries, use a soft cloth to clean up any glue that may be sitting on the surface of your first row. The longer you wait to clean up the glue, the more difficult it will get to clean up the glue.

8. Hopefully you didn't mutilate the excess piece of panel you cut off to end the first row. That's going to be the panel you use to start the next row. This helps make sure your hardwood floor looks nice by having all of the panels offset.

9. If you're seeing any bubbles, hills, or slopes on the panels you've been laying, put a heavy, flat object on top of these sections to hold them down until the glue attaches them to the substrate.

10. Clean up again. Get all of that sawdust and glue out of there. A soft cloth with mineral spirits on it can be used to get glue you've missed that may be hardening. Clean the mineral spirits off quickly to avoid having them damage the floor. You should have a nice, new hardwood floor.

Hindsight Tips for Installing Hardwood Flooring:

- For best results, use plywood sheets to form your substrate.

- The thicker your substrate sheets are, the easier it is to compensate for leveling differences at the surface. But you should still try to get the surface as level as possible before laying your substrate sheets.

- If you have enough flat, heavy objects, place them on each new panel as you place the panel on the floor to help it get the best possible attachment to the substrate. Don't use anything that can damage the surface of your panels. If you have nothing else, you can always lay on the panels. Be careful not to get glue on top of them though.

Rest Assured That You Made a Good Choice Installing Hardwood Flooring

When you have your hardwood floor glued down, you are ready to experience a great sense of accomplishment. If you did a really good job of installing your hardwood flooring using the glue down method, you will not experience nearly as much creaky floor syndrome as you would with other methods of installation.

And for your sake, I really hope you followed the instructions carefully and picking out high quality flooring. This is because replacing a glued down hardwood floor is no task for amateurs. That is unless you've got destructive pleasure tendencies. You'll need some serious sledgehammer, crow bar, and circular saw work if you ever want to replace that glued down hardwood floor.

Choosing Wood Flooring - Enduring Elegance

Wood has been a popular flooring choice for hundreds of years for good reason. Wood is durable and is available in such a wide range of materials and finishes that it blends well with any style of room. However, you will want to consider more than the way the wood flooring looks before you make your final decision.

First, you may want to consider how much wear and tear your floor will be subjected to. While hard woods, such as oak or hickory, are able to take quite a bit of traffic before they are damaged, soft woods, such as pine, will suffer from constant nicks and gouges. If you are using a country decorating style, you may actually prefer the look of distressed pine. If you decide you prefer pine wood flooring but do not care for the distressed look, you will need to look for flooring with a protective finish. You can also use heavy throw rugs or floor cloths to protect your floor.

Then, you will want to choose between Parquet and tongue and groove flooring. Parquet wood flooring is beautiful and elegant, but looks best in formal areas. It is harder to install than tongue and groove flooring, because you will have to be sure to lay out the Parquet tiles to be sure they form the proper pattern before fastening them down. Tongue and groove flooring does not have a pattern and looks wonderful in formal or informal areas.

Some people feel that using wood flooring is wrong because woodland areas are deforested faster than new trees are being planted. If you have strong feelings about not using wooden flooring because of this, you may want to consider wooden floors made with bamboo. These floors are just as beautiful and durable as other wood flooring products, but you can use them guilt free, since bamboo regenerates rapidly and the bamboo for these floors is grown specifically to be harvested.

Once you choose your wood flooring, you will need to install it. If you are installing a tongue and grove floor and rent or buy the proper tools, you can complete this project yourself. In fact, you should be able to completely install a wood floor in a single room in one weekend. Just be sure to ask your floor manufacturer for specific installation instructions before you begin. You will need a pneumatic floor nail gun, an air compressor, a rubber mallet, flooring nails, a saw, and flooring paper.

Wood Floor Wonder Tips

Wood flooring has become more popular than ever especially with new easy to install options. However, wood flooring isn’t maintenance free. Learn how to keep your investment looking great with these quick wood floor wonder tips created especially with Houston wood flooring in mind.
Common Wood Floor Problems
The Problem: Peeling Finish or Excessive Early Wear and Tear. If your hard wood floors seem to show signs of wear and tear, traffic patterns or blisters it may be due to improper maintenance, use of strong detergents and cleaning agents or excessive grit.
Tip: Have your Houston wood floor cleaning done by a professional to make sure it is thoroughly cleaned and then re-coat. Afterwards continue to use a soft mop, minimal water and non abrasive detergents designed with wood floors in mind.
The Problem: Pet Stains or Odor. Hard wood floors tend to be absorbent so pet accidents can result in discoloration, stains and unpleasant odors if not properly treated.
Tip: Clean pet stains as soon as possible to avoid or prevent stains from setting. If stains or odor have already taken place then a deep cleaning is required to neutralize odors. Color correction may be required to fix the discolored areas.
The Problem: Cloudy or white spotting caused by water damage.
Tip: Depending upon duration and how deeply the water damage permeated the wood, it may be possible to clean and buff away the problem. However, most water damage requires the services of a qualified wood flooring professional capable of restoring the luster and shine of the floors.

Wood Flooring Looks Great

If you want a classic floor then how about a wooden floor? Hard wood flooring is an always popular choice for many different styles of home. Whether you want the height of elegance or a rustic country look, hard wood flooring can give you want you want. Since there are so many different options in terms of colors and styles, there are so many options for each and every home.

There are many different selections in style that will give your home a unique look.

-Try plank style flooring because it will give you great energy savings and the planks will save you money. This look is several wide pieces that are next to each other in a single plank.

-Try smaller strips that are only 3 inches wide at the max. This will help your home appear bigger with this smaller floor pattern.

-If you want solid flooring than you can get this from a single piece of large wood. Many times these can be refinished and last over the years. You can choose the thickness if you go for a custom made wood floor.

-If you want small squares to give your home more of a pattern throughout then try a parquet floor. These squares are similar in look to a ceramic tiles and can come in a wide variety of shapes. You can choose the look that best suites your style and taste with parquet floors.

Now you simply must choose between a finished and unfinished look on your floors. If you can them pre finished they come from the factory with finish on them already. These are very easy to install especially if you want to do it yourself. They can also be pricey. You will make for the extra convenience, but at the same time can be cheaper than hiring someone to do the staining and sanding for you.

If you choose to go with an unfinished floor than you will have to finish it after it is laid down in your home. You will need to stain the wood, coat the wood, and this process can take days. This is because you must let it dry sufficiently between coats. If you don't have time to leave your home or hire people to do this for you, then consider a pre finished floor. This can save you a lot of time. You must also sand the floor down after each step of finishing. Renting a sander an help to make this job easier. You can find a sander at many local home improvement stores.

No matter what type or style of hardwood floor you choose to go with, know that you will be making a choice that can last and last in your home. It will add both beauty and value.