Frequently Asked Questions

What is hardwood flooring?

Hardwood flooring is any flooring product made of real wood and manufactured to be used as floors. A number of types of wood are used to create flooring including walnut, red and white oak, maple, and more. There are two types of hardwood flooring: solid hardwood flooring, and engineered hardwood flooring. While solid flooring is one single solid piece of wood, engineered hardwood is made of multiple layers of wood put together. Engineered hardwood flooring has become more and more popular over the years, and many of these products can be re-finished over the years. Engineered hardwood flooring is more stable and is not as susceptible to temperature changes and humidity. It also comes in a wide variety of sizes, textures, and styles. Solid wood is not recommended for below grade installations, can develop cupping if exposed to high humidity. While engineered hardwood is a little more expensive, it is less likely to cup and gap. 

Pre-finished or un-finished flooring?

There are pros and cons to both of these styles of flooring. Let’s begin with pre-finished flooring. Pre-finished flooring is stained and finished in the factory, meaning what you see is what you get. The product you see on the samples is the product you get installed. It is quicker and less messy (Not as much dust, etc). There isn’t as much room to customize, however, as usually pre-finished flooring comes in the set width, length, colour, and style. With un-finished flooring, you get to completely customize your flooring, of course prices may vary depending on these choices. You get to choose the width size, lengths, and colours. You get to choose the cut (Flat cut, rift and quarter, etc), type of wood (Red oak, walnut etc.), and more. While un-finished/site finished flooring may take longer as there are stages to the installation, it is extremely durable and customizable. With -re-finished flooring you usually have a bevel between the planks, whereas with site-finished there is little to no bevel. (If flooring is only buffed instead of sanded, you get to keep some of the bevel if that look is preferred). 

What are the different types of hardwood flooring?

Some of the most popular types of woods include red oak, white oak, maple, hickory, and walnut. 

Oak: Oak is one of the most popular types of woods used in homes. Oak is well suited for most flooring needs. White oak is slightly harder than red oak, and is a good choice for high traffic areas. It has gray undertones while red oak has warm, red undertones. It’s grain and colour vary only slightly. 

Walnut: Walnut offers deep, rich, brown tones. It’s unique grain patterns make walnut a top choice when it comes to flooring. Walnut is suitable for medium to light traffic. Colour variations are slight. 

Hickory: Hickory is very durable, and ideal for high traffic areas. Hickory has a very unique and distinctive look. If you are looking to have lots of variation hickory is a good way to go. Hickory comes with variation and knots between boards, offering a rustic look to your home. 

Maple: Maple is also very durable and suitable for high traffic areas. It is a light coloured wood with a fine grain pattern. Below are photos of examples of each type of wood described above. 

What grade flooring should I get?

Clear grade - This grade offers very few colour variations, and a very clean look to your floors. There are little to no visible knots or pinholes in clear grade flooring

Select and better - This grade is slightly lower than clear grade, but still offers a uniform colour and little to no knots. 

Character grade - ABCD Grade, This grade presents with more colour variation between boards, and lots of knots throughout the planks. A great choice for a rustic look. 

What are surface texture types?

There are a number of textures you can choose from. Smooth offers traditional, smooth look. Hand scraped refers to boards that were distressed by hand. Distressed: distress marks on the boards (by machine). Wire brushed: wire brush is run over the wood flooring creating a rough, hard surface. Makes the floor more durable and easy to maintain. This surface hides scratches and makes surfaces look more distinctive.