Whether you decide on solid or engineered floor.
Frequent readers of the site are already knowledgeable about the gap between engineered and solid hardwood flooring, however, in brief, for people who aren't.... Engineered hardwood flooring is a solidly assembled"sandwich" of various timber products which are secured together to make a secure sub board. This sub plank is then topped off with a good wood lamella or high layer, and that's exactly what makes engineered timber flooring look like wood.
If it comes to cost, it is only reasonable to state that strong wood is somewhat more costly than engineered wood floors. Nevertheless, solid hardwood floors is sure stand up to more sandings in its life than engineered timber. Broadly , the likes of an 18/5 engineered timber flooring will allow around 6 or 5 sandings, whereas a 14/3 board is only going to stand up to approximately 4 sandings. Certainly, the amount of times you can sand and refinish your floor is among the aspects that will allow you to keep it looking good for longer. A good wood flooring, if it is professionally trimmed, will stand around approximately 8 or 7 sandings (and perhaps more).
When it has to do with the price that you pay for your hardwood flooring, you have to consider the length of time the flooring will last in addition to the first investment.
The species and grade of wood you select.
Various species of forests are priced differently and prices can differ more dramatically than you would imagine. The general rule of thumb in regards to pricing wood is that the more infrequent and the more exotic the species that the higher the price you can expect cover. In particular, naturally quite dark forests, which are currently highly in demand, are pricey because they are rare. The likes of pine and oak, although they still require a relatively long time to develop are affordable because they are in greater supply.
If it comes to wood grades, every grade demonstrates different attributes and, generally speaking, the higher the quality, the higher the price. Things such as knots size, uniformity and sap are the features which make up the different ranges. Wood is divided into four grades: Prime or AB grade; Select or ABC tier; Natural or ABCD grade and Rustic or CD grade. AB grade is cut out of the middle of the log and contains a highly uniform appearance. Because of this, it's priced higher than the lower grades.
It's important to state that the timber species and grade of wood you prefer is a highly personal thing, so, there is nothing to say that a more affordable wood will not tick all of your boxes!
