Floors
Hardwood floors are made of planks milled from a single piece of timber and were originally used for structural purposes, being installed perpendicular to the wooden support beams of a building. Solid wood floors are common and popular because they have a thicker wear surface and can be sanded and finished more times than an engineered wood floor. It is not uncommon for homes in New England, Eastern Canada, and Europe which are several hundred years old to have the original solid wood floor still in use today.
If you are looking to remodel you and your familys home, new hardwood floors offer a good return on your investment. Hardwood floors not only increase your homes value, they can also aid in a quicker sale if you are trying to move on from your current property. Unlike most other flooring, hardwoods age wonderfully with proper care and maintenance and can add true character to a residence so that even an empty house feels more like a home.
Engineered wood flooring is another option and is composed of two or more layers of wood in the form of a plank. The top layer (lamella) is the wood that is visible when the flooring is installed and is adhered to the core. The increased stability of engineered wood is achieved by running each layer at a 90 angle to the layer above. This stability makes it a universal product that can be installed over all types of subfloors above, below or on grade. Engineered wood is the most common type of wood flooring used globally.
Hardwood flooring can be installed in nearly all areas of your home and that type of use is becoming more and more common. They work in bedrooms, family rooms, dining rooms, entryways and hallways, and even find use in wet rooms such as your kitchen. Extra care and maintenance, as well as good rug protection around water sources can enable you to place hardwood flooring practically anywhere, though other flooring is often preferred in areas such as the bedroom where a cozy feeling is generally more desired.
PTI Hardwoods can give you access to a large selection of hardwood flooring options that fit your needs and budget. PTI Hardwoods has a showroom where you can view all of the options in person at your leisure.
Carpet
PTI’s showroom features several lines of quality name brand carpets to address your flooring needs.
Brands include: SHAW,MOHAWK and CARASTAN.
Tile Flooring
PTI’s showroom also features an extensive line of ceramic and porcelain tiles for all your remodeling plans of any room. Come view the large supply of samples to help you decide on color, marbling, size, texture and style.
Engineered Hardwood
PTI’s showroom also features an excellent line of factory-made engineered hardwoods from American manufacturers such as Anderson, Mannington, and Canadian Mirage Hardwood Flooring. Call us today to fill your home with the best hardwood Dallas has ever seen!
wood floors, domestic or exotic?
Whether you are building your dream home or simply replacing your old flooring, you must decide on the hardwood that you want to use. However, before you make any final decisions, you should know a few things about choosing between exotic or domestic wood.
The Difference between Domestic and Exotic Wood
Domestic hardwood floors are made from species of trees that are native to North America. On the other hand, exotic hardwood floors are made from species that are found in other parts of the world, such as Africa, Asia and Australia.
Trees used to create domestic hardwood floors include:
- Ash
- Beech
- Birch
- Cherry
- Douglas Fir
- Heart Pine
- Hickory Pecan
- Maple
- Mesquite
- Red Oak
- Walnut
- White Oak
- Yellow Pine
Trees used to create exotic hardwood floors include:
- Bamboo
- Brazilian Cherry
- Brazilian Maple
- Brazilian Teak
- Brazilian Walnut
- Bubinga
- Cork
- Curmaru
- Cypress
- Iroko
- Jarrah
- Mahogany
- Merbau
- Padauk
- Purpleheart
- Saple
- Spotted Gum
- Sydney Blue Gum
- Tasmanian Oak
- Thai-Burmese teak
- Wenge
It is vital that you know the type of wood you use, including the species of tree and the part of the world from which it came. Even though one plank of wood may appear to be just like the next, when manufactured into a hardwood floor, the results are quite different. Hardwood floors have colors, patterns and visual textures that differ depending on the type of wood you use.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Wood
Each species of hardwood has different color variations, dimensional stability, grain patterns and hardness levels. Therefore, you have a wide range of choices when it comes to selecting the hardwood species that suits you perfectly. These days, may people are choosing exotic wood for their floors. However, domestic hardwood floors are just as great. The reason exotic wood is becoming so popular as of late is an increase in the desire to have a hardwood floor that is unique. The species of domestic hardwood floors is easy to identify, but no so much when it comes to exotic woods. Because of the increase in technological advances in wood harvesting, manufacturing, shipping and communications, there is little difference between the basic properties of domestic and exotic hardwood floors. All species of tree used in the manufacturing of hardwood floors these days are practically equal when it comes to beauty and durability. The majority of the time, you will find that exotic hardwood flooring comes with a somewhat higher price tag than domestic hardwood flooring does. The reason being that exotic hardwood floors are more difficult to obtain. In addition, many people are choosing to purchase domestic hardwood floors because they are better for the economy. Trees for domestic hardwood floors and the products made from them are local, which means the purchase of these products help to support American jobs. Another reason more people are choosing domestic wood is that environmentalists claim that products made from North American trees are better for the environment because most come from managed, renewable forests. This means that the trees cut down to make domestic hardwood floors are replaced with new trees in most cases. Make it a point to talk to your hardwood floor dealer and view samples of all of the woods that they have available in stock. Take your time to examine fully the appearance and properties of the various types of wood. When you are aware of all of the options that you have available, you stand a better chance to choose the hardwood flooring that suits you, your home and your family perfectly. Regardless of the type of wood you choose for your hardwood floor, it is important to keep in clean and well maintained so it will remain beautiful for many more years to come.
Date
November 12, 2017
Category
Floors
