Whats Your Floor

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.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Hardwood Flooring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.