Planning A Hardwood Flooring Purchase

What do I look for in hardwood flooring?

Homeowners and designers look for décor characteristics like color; natural characteristics such as grain, knots and unusual markings; followed by surface treatments (smooth or textured); gloss level (matte to shiny); and construction, solid versus engineered. Finally, designers will focus on width and format. Width is how wide or narrow you want the individual strips or planks (or mix of various sizes) to be and their overall impact on how the floor ultimately looks. Format is the desired end-look of the installation, whether it be straight or linear, diagonal, herringbone, parquet, bordered or inset or some other design. All of these elements contribute to the overall final look.

What’s the difference between solid and engineered wood flooring?

Solid hardwood flooring is, as the name implies, one solid piece of wood flooring, milled to exact specifications for tight-fitting strips or planks from 2¼ to 7 inches wide. Olson recommends that you buy the best quality you can, because wood’s longevity and ability to increase the value of your home is well-proven. Olson invites you to peruse our selected range of pre-finished woods.

Engineered wood flooring is made of multiple plys of wood with the top layer consisting of the feature or décor wood, like oak, pine or merbau. The inner layers, or plys, provide tremendous strength and dimensional stability, which is why engineered wood can be used in most places in the home, including moisture-prone spaces like basements, below-grade rooms and powder rooms.

Can I install hardwood flooring anywhere in my home or office?

Just about! With new super-tough surface treatments and efficient installation options from nail- or glue-down to a snap-together floating floor, you can select from a variety of species, widths, gloss levels and special effects resulting in a wood floor that will last for generations.

Can I refinish my hardwood floor?

These days, any time. A decade or more ago the best time to install a new wood floor was during construction. However, with pre-finished materials featuring multiple protective topcoats baked on under controlled conditions at the factory and professional installation techniques, you can have wood installed in existing homes with far less disruption and mess and in just about any room in your home

When should hardwood floors be installed?

These days, any time. A decade or more ago the best time to install a new wood floor was during construction. However, with pre-finished materials featuring multiple protective topcoats baked on under controlled conditions at the factory and professional installation techniques, you can have wood installed in existing homes with far less disruption and mess and in just about any room in your home.

With so many companies selling hardwood flooring, where do I start?

At Olson Rug we recommend that you first look for quality wood flooring that meets your lifestyle, expectations and matches your pocketbook. We’ve been doing this for generations, so we can help take the guesswork and worry out of buying hardwood flooring and steer you in the right direction the first time. Next, ask about installation. Are your installers qualified, trained and certified? Finally, how long has your flooring store been in business? Will they be gone before my floor is a year old? Does the store have the financial backing and buying power to make sure your purchase is fulfilled and installed correctly?