Easy Guide to Hardwood Floors

When you shop for do-it-yourself or pre-finished hardwood flooring, you want to know what type of hardwood flooring products to buy. There are many good reasons to go with hardwood floors, such as the value they add to your home, the easy care and easy cleaning, great style and durability plus they're natural and safe for the environment. Although carpeting is an easy alternative to floor decorations, many home decorators are now setting a great new trend using hardwood flooring.

Whether you're thinking of buying an older home and fixing it up for yourself, or thinking about making changes to a newer home, there is absolutely no questioning the beauty of hardwood flooring. Most homeowners choose hardwood flooring for the feeling of warmth and comfort it can give a room.

When installed your new flooring may need a few refinishing, sanding and finish coats over the years but when you consider that carpets and vinyl floors will need to be replaced at least three or four times in that same time period then the long run costs of hardwood flooring are very economical. And hardwood flooring is a great solution for individuals who have allergies or asthma and allergy health professionals will recommend to their patients that they remove any carpeting in their home, if possible, to help lower their exposure to irritants. These same irritants are affecting many families without their knowledge of it.

Real estate agents and real estate investors often use hardwood flooring in their fixer-uppers as part of their overall strategy to pump up the value of the houses they buy, fix up, and resell for a tidy profit. Today's hardwood floors have made tremendous advances in style, durability, maintenance and care, making them more widely usable throughout the home, however the bathroom is not recommended due to possible moisture problems.

If you're considering hardwood flooring but need to think about the cost, you can do-it-yourself and save money but if you don't have the where-with-all to do it, you can easily hire an affordable hardwood floor contractor. It's not common knowledge but contractors will give hefty discounts but you have to ask. Ask for a discount no matter what your circumstances or background. You can ask for a business discount, a professional discount, a health professional discount or senior discount but ask for a discount. It's, of course, always possible that you'll not be able to get one but make sure to ask. You can ask for lower cost hardwood flooring materials to cut the cost. Cost can vary a lot depending on whether or not you can find discounts or buy wholesale.

Keep in mind that the flooring you choose must not only be right for your special tastes, but also for your lifestyle and finances. It can give a room an expensive and high quality finish that's usually only connected to the higher-end apartments and designer homes. If you're thinking about a do-it-yourself project, you can easily learn how to install hard flooring with a few of the right tools like sanders, nailers or nail guns, etc. which you can easily rent from your local tool rental store or borrow.

When you're deciding on what type of flooring is best for you and your home, the first step to making sure is to ask yourself questions and answer with total honesty.

Hardwood flooring is easy to clean and can't accumulate a large amount of dirt and debris that other flooring solutions can hide - they do not accumulate dust, particulates and allergens that occur with carpets. They do require ongoing maintenance, however, and eventually refinishing any hardwood floors is part of that maintenance schedule. Types of hardwood flooring include: red oak, white oak, American cherry, Brazilian cherry, maple, red birch, ash, hickory, walnut and even bamboo. For the healthy minded, there are much lower levels of chemical emissions from natural wood products than other types of flooring.

Make sure you learn the best way to protect and clean the hardwood floors you invest in. Besides being beautiful and hardwearing, hardwood floors are environmentally friendly as well.

Wood is a truly amazing natural resource that is both renewable and recyclable. If you're looking for a great way to improve the look, durability and value of your home, hardwood floors are definitely the way you want to go. No matter what your lifestyle, wood floors add value and comfort to any room at a reasonable or low cost, and there are so many choices available today.