Whats Your Floor

Today our lives are fast paced and hectic. Our lives are becoming more and more filled with hi-tech gadgets and modern man made materials in our homes and at work. Well maybe you would like to pull back, and give your home a bit more character.

Rustic doesn’t mean you have to live in an old country cottage. Anything from a large family home to a small modern apartment could be transformed with oak flooring.

To create an authentic rustic look in your home a rustic grade of solid oak flooring is the ideal option. As opposed to prime grade flooring, rustic comes with more pronounced features, such as grain and knots.

Rustic oak flooring is available in many different finishes to allow for a finished look of your choice. Here are some of the finishes available.

Option 1

Unfinished oak flooring. This is an unfinished board. Some floor sanding will be required after laying, but this will allow you the freedom to lacquer or oil the wood to a finished look of your choosing. Some time will have to be given for the chosen finish to cure. This will determine when you are able to walk on the floor.

Option 2

Oiled oak flooring. The oil gives the wood a more natural look and feel to it. Often makes the colour richer. Can be walked on immediately if boards were oiled at the factory.

Option 3

Lacquered oak flooring. Usually to give a smoother finish, and an extra level of wear protection. A factory lacquer finish allows walking on as soon as fitted.

A wire brushed finish is also available with the above options. Having your oak wood flooring brushed will give it another level of authenticity to the rustic effect. As well as a more worn look it will help give some grip to the floor.

Complete The Look

Boards are available in various widths, with narrow planks 65mm and over, and wide plank oak flooring going as wide as 200mm. Width will all be down to personal choice, but to really take advantage of the rustic look it will be the length of the boards that give the final look. This is achieved by laying oak flooring boards of various lengths rather than just one standard length. Most oak flooring suppliers should have boards of rustic grade in various lengths for this purpose.

There is also a choice of edge to the real oak flooring. Bevelled edges that will create some definition at the joins or plain straight edges.

Bearing in mind that at times it is not suitable to use solid wood oak flooring because of factors such as under floor heating, then it may still be possible to get the effect you desire with engineered oak wood flooring.

Between the many environmental and ergonomic benefits that cork flooring has, it makes sense for anyone thinking about new flooring around their home, to give it some serious consideration. With the many finishes available it is suitable for almost any room in the house.

For The Planet

Probably about as eco friendly a product that you will find when it comes to making home alterations. The process of harvesting the cork oak trees for the cork allows them to fixate up to three or more times the carbon dioxide than normal. Cork flooring tiles are actually a recycled product, as the cork taken from the trees is first taken for the manufacture of wine bottle stoppers. It is the subsequent waste from this process that goes into a cork floor tile. None of the really nasty stuff is used in their manufacture, such as VOC’s.

For You

They don’t just look nice, they also feel great. They give a naturally warm and soft feeling underfoot. Great fitted in the kitchen where you would spend a lot of time standing, which a solid tile floor for instance, would cause a lot of stress in your feet and lower legs.

Help reduce noise. Especially if you have children running around but you have to worry about upsetting neighbours below.

They are naturally insulating. This should benefit the utility bills, whether for heating or air conditioning.

We all need good health. Laying cork flooring maybe beneficial to your health. It is resistant to bacteria and fungus, and does not cause allergies and poses no risk to asthma.

Bonus

Ease of fitting and maintenance. For anyone who is keen at DIY it should be possible to install cork flooring themselves. If in doubt though, get a professional to do it.

Cleaning should be a simple vacuum or sweep with a brush. Cork does not adsorb dust. If needed a wipe with a damp mop should keep the floor clean. As with any organic product always keep as dry as possible to a void any problems. Liquid spills should be mopped up as soon as possible.

So whether its stepping out of bed on a cold winters morning, or standing in the kitchen cooking, I’m sure a cork floor won’t disappoint you.

As it’s name suggests, engineered wood flooring is going to be different from ordinary wood flooring. Typical solid wood flooring is just that, pieces of solid wood milled into planks for laying as a floor. Available in many different species of timber such as oak and maple, real wood flooring, if done properly, can transform any home.

But as with anything in life there are usually some drawbacks. Well for starters, there is price. Almost everything made from solid timber is expensive. Secondly it’s not always suitable for every floor area in your home. And thirdly it can be quite hard to work with, so would be better fitted by a professional tradesman.

So this is where laying engineered wood flooring has it’s advantages. First off I don’t want engineered wood floor to be confused with laminate floor. Laminate flooring is a different product altogether that is manufactured with no real wood at all.

Engineered wood floor is comprised of several layers of different ply-woods then a top layer of solid wood, whether it be walnut, birch or oak etc. Usually about three to five layers all bonded together in cross ply configuration. This cross ply method is used as it increases the strength of the plank. You now have a very strong and stable piece of flooring which often exceeds the strength of an equivalent piece of non engineered timber.

The cost of these products will be determined by the overall thickness of planks you want, as in three layers or five. The thickness of the top layer of wood, which is available from about 1mm – 6mm. And of course the type of wood such as engineered oak wood flooring.

Where in your home you want to floor is a key factor. Wood being an organic material means that it will be affected by its surroundings. Problems can arise from changes in temperature and moisture.
Any rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms, or rooms with underfloor heating would best be avoided if you are just fitting a real wood floor. In these situations installing engineered wood flooring is usually possible.

Due to it’s layered construction of different ply woods it is a far more stable floor and is more resilient to the many different problems that could warp ordinary solid timber planks. Even with this said it is still an organic material and before making a purchase it would be advised to consult with the vendor about where you are fitting the floor.

The other advantage is that it is much easier to lay. This has made it very popular with with people wanting to fit themselves. It can be installed usually as a floating floor, and depending on the make you buy it often clicks together just the same as cheap laminate flooring.

When your engineered wood flooring installation is finished you will have floor that just looks and feels great. But yes it can happen, scratch damage to the surface. Not all is lost, depending on the thickness of the top wear layer it is possible to have it sanded. If thick enough it may be possible for  floor sanding to be done more than once. Again I would stress the importance of this being carried out by a professional. As the top layer is only of a set thickness a mistake could have the lower ply wood layer showing through.

If you are looking to give your home a luxurious look and and natural beauty then walnut hardwood flooring should certainly give you all of this and more. And it’s quality and durability should give you a floor that should last a lifetime if properly cared for.

Where’s It From?

Walnut is logged in various places around the world, such as Europe, with North American probably being the most popular for it’s rich chocolate colour. Brazilian walnut flooring is also getting more and more popular.

The logging of these trees is strictly controlled to maintain sustainability to ensure future generations can enjoy the beauty of walnut flooring.

What To Buy,

Walnut wood flooring is available in many different shades and finishes. Whether you are looking for a rustic natural look, or lacquered finish you won’t be disappointed. Planks of various widths and cuts are available such as tongue and groove, plain or bevelled. The higher the grade will give you less of a colour variation and there will be less knotting.

Need To Know,

Because your walnut floor is a natural substance it will be affected by climactic conditions in your home such has temperature and humidity. Slight movement through expansion and contraction is unavoidable and a natural process, so installation would be best done by a qualified tradesman who should take into account these factors.

Walnut engineered flooring will be required if you are installing over underfloor heating. Due to higher moisture variations and expansion problems solid walnut wood floor planks would not be suitable. Made from layers of softwood plies glued together with a walnut wear layer on top, this can be laid over your heating system.

Caring For Your Floor,

Over time surface wear of you floor is inevitable. If possible in high traffic areas such as entrance ways try covering with mats or rugs. Use felt pads under any parts of furniture contacting the floor to avoid scratches. High heeled shoes would be advised to be removed before walking on the floor. Also keep the claws of pets such as dogs well groomed.

When cleaning avoid using any machinery that may scratch the floor surface. Do not use excess amounts of water to clean, a damp cloth or mop should be sufficient. Clean up any liquids spilled as soon as possible.

When the surface has become worn or damaged it should be possible to sand down and refinish to a new surface finish.

The fact that cork floor products come from trees may be the cause of some concern to many people. It is generally perceived that anything that is produced from trees can’t be environmentally friendly, and considering the massive deforestation around the world, this is usually true. But cork is very different.

Cork is harvested from the cork oak tree, native to several countries on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The highest producers being Portugal, Algeria, Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco and France. Cork trees are NOT cut down to make cork products. The ability of allowing their outer bark to be removed and not be harmed is where these trees are unique.

Once a tree reaches a certain level of maturity the farmers are able to harvest the outer bark. Then a harvested tree is left for a period of about ten years to regenerate a new layer of bark. Each tree can give several hundred kilo’s of cork per harvest. They can live as long as two hundred years or more, even after repeated harvests. The process of removing the bark also increases the amount of carbon dioxide the tree consumes from the air by as much as three to five times.

The cork tree farmers harvest the cork to produce wine bottle stoppers. It is the waste bark from the process of cutting out the bottle stoppers that cork flooring manufacturers then use to make their products such as cork tile flooring. So a recycling chain has begun from the start.

Even during the manufacture of natural cork flooring, the adhesives and finishing substances are environmentally friendly. They do not contain any Formaldehyde, and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) are not detectable.

Once you are finished with your cork products and dispose of them, the cork is adsorbed back into the soil.

So over all cork floors are a very ecologically sound. From the sustainability of the forests, which helps the environment and keeping highly skilled people in work.

Pretty much all garage floors, with maybe a few exceptions will be in the form of poured concrete or large prefabricated concrete slabs anchored to the ground to form a solid, stable base and a floor for the garage. Designed to bear the weight of a car or even a small truck the concrete should at least be several inches deep and have been constructed to conform to local building regulations.

This may have been done as part of the home’s construction or as a later addition to existing property. Just like anything in this life, unless it was just installed, its best days are probably gone. Although solid as a rock and hard wearing, years of different climatic effects such as dampness, frost or just wear and tear from use can all take its toll.

Cracking and crumbling are very common problems leaving an uneven and often hazardous walking surface. Even without this it probably gives off a high level of dust that seems to never end no matter how often it is swept. Add to this some engine oil leaks and spills and we have ourselves stained and ruined floor that is very unsightly and possibly a risk to our health.

You may not even be using your garage to park a car. A lot of us end up using the space for storage or maybe even throw in a workbench and some tools. Setting up home gym is very popular. Or maybe even running a small business.

I wonder how many of us as an example, thought hey I’m going to get fit. Next step your down at the store, buy maybe a couple of workout machines, get them set up in the garage and away you go. But sadly it doesn’t last. Yeah you guessed it, that horrible cold, damp, stained floor just puts you off. And before you know it you stop using it and all your new shiny equipment is gathering dust.

Well whatever your use for your garage there is plenty of garage flooring products out there. This does not mean you have to get the concrete floor dug out. Far from it, most are inexpensive solutions that are fitted over the existing floor.

The key consideration will be what am I using the garage floor space for.

If cars will be parked on the floor, there are specialised garage floor tiles. Made from PVC, they are long lasting and durable. Designed to support the heaviest of cars. They utilise a simple interlocking system that can be easily fitted without any adhesives in a short space of time. They will provide you with a safe non slip surface that is very low maintenance. Resistant to oil, petrol and many other chemicals.

Without the need for a heavy duty surface to support a car, there is cheaper garage floor mats available made from foam and rubber. These are also easily fitted giving you a nice safe cushioned support underfoot.

There are other more expensive alternatives available on the market today, but I think you will find that any of the ways outlined above should give you a garage floor covering that is more than adequate to suit any purpose. A far cleaner, safer and aesthetically pleasing environment can be had in your garage with the minimum of effort.