In this first article on flooring types, the team at Style Plus Renovations North Shore Auckland explore four flooring options for your renovation or new custom build.
Table of Contents
Modern Wood Floors
Modern-looking wood floors are available in a wide variety of flooring types and have been growing in popularity over the years.
Many people love the aesthetics of natural wood with the characteristic beauty of the variable wood grain and warm colours.
Timber is hypo-allergenic, which makes timber flooring the ideal choice for allergy or asthma sufferers (not trapping dirt, pollen and other allergens). And timber flooring adds value to your home.
Traditional tongue & groove hardwood timber flooring is most commonly available in a 19mm & 21mm finished thickness.
This is typically supplied in a secret nail profile to provide secure fixing without top nailing. It can also be end matched to facilitate end jointing between joists.
Tongue and groove hardwood flooring is available in a range of timber widths and vary by species ranging from 65mm to 220mm.
Bamboo Flooring Options
Aesthetically pleasing, bamboo flooring types have become a hot trend over the last ten years, being installed in residential and commercial environments.
It is touted as being tougher than most common flooring timbers such as oak, yet comes from a fast-growing grass-type plant that regenerates in five years.
Because bamboo plants take only about five years to mature, unlike many trees, which can take 50 years or more, bamboo is seen as environmentally sustainable.
Bamboo flooring types typically are constructed in one of three different forms: horizontal, vertical or strand-woven.
Horizontal and vertical bamboo floors are considered to be engineered products, providing the look of bamboo but significantly strengthening floors by laminating the bamboo to a stronger wood species as a sub-layer.
Strand Woven Bamboo flooring is made from kiln-dried shredded bamboo fibres and resin as a binder, compressed into solid planks using heat and enormous pressure which makes it denser.
It is harder than almost any other hardwood being 35% harder than Jarrah or Kwila.
It has a dent resistance rating which far outperforms other hardwoods, giving exceptional durability.
The cost is around the $90 per meter square mark, plus installation and underlay costs.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate wood flooring types are made from composite wood pressed together at high temperatures.
The photograph or image of hardwood is then covered over the composite wood to form the laminate. Edges are milled so they clip together.
With today’s technologies, laminate wood floors are manufactured to look like exactly like real wood. They offer the same stain, the same graining and even the same texture.
Laminate flooring is easy to install because it requires no glue or nails to the subfloor.
Instead, it uses a lock-and-click installation method and “floats” above the subfloor, allowing it to expand and contract with the natural temperature and humidity changes in your home.
Prefinished | Engineered Wood Flooring Types
Prefinished engineered floors are often referred to as prefinished wood floors, engineered wood flooring or veneer floors.
They generally have a 2-6mm veneer of desirable flooring wood glued to thicker backing layers of 150-200mm wide planks, with a neat interlocking join.
The tops of the planks are pre-coated with multiple layers of polyurethane for durability.
Prefinished floors can be glued down or are often installed as a floated floor over a 2mm foam underlay or 4mm acoustic underlay. They can also be installed over underfloor heating (glued or floated).
As prefinished wood flooring is pre-coated, the installation process is much shorter. For example, a basic 30-meter square floor can be fully installed in a day in most circumstances.
If you’re looking for attractive flooring with a natural wood finish that’s easy to clean and quick to install, then a prefinished engineered floor may be the answer.
Overall, it’s smart, hard-wearing, surprisingly cost-effective and comes in a range of options.
The cost is from $65–$140, plus the installation cost.
At Style Plus Renovations, during your renovation or custom new build, our team will install your new flooring with the utmost care and professionalism.
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If you would like to know more about our renovation process, check it out here.
