Renovating with Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring is making a comeback. A lot of homeowners actually prefer hardwood flooring as it is classy and timeless. For those of you who may not be aware, there are a few hardwood flooring selections. Among these are solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring. Solid hardwood flooring is made of solid wood planks. The width of these plans vary and you can buy them either unfinished or prefinished. The problem with solid wood plans is the possibility of warping. To avoid it getting warped, install it above grade in locations that do not have extreme levels of humidity.   Engineered hardwood on the other hand is just strips of hardwood that are attached onto backer boards. They are more tolerant to high humidity and temperature changes and do not easily warp. They are perfect in all sorts of climate and they can also be installed below grade. Remember that hardwood flooring does not come cheap so always consider the pros and cons when choosing the colour style and type of flooring you want. Before anything else, you should take a look at your home, your renovation plan and carefully consider if hardwood flooring is exactly what you need for your space. Hardwood flooring comes in a wide variety of colours. Dark hardwood is ideal for larger and more formal spaces while medium brown offers a more traditional look to a home. If this is a home renovation then medium brown would be a better choice. If you have existing hardwood floors and simply want to refinish them for your home renovation, here are a few steps how to do so:

1. Seal off all vents, doorways and outlets. Also remove shoe moulding.
2. Use an orbital sander (hardware stores usually sell or rent these out).
3. Apply a thin coat of stain and finish with a couple coats of polyurethane.