Indeed we cannot be expert in all aspects of life, especially when it comes to home improvement and flooring. However, consumers have plenty of ways to gain knowledge, and prepare themselves for upcoming home projects, after all, home improvement projects require some preparation, specially when it comes to hardwood floors. Before installing your new hardwood floors there are few things to keep in mind that will needed to be done before even starting to put the first nail in the first board.
That is it; we are ready now to install brand new hardwood flooring! Good luck!
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Homeowners in Toronto lately had been shifting their preference from solid hardwood floors, to engineered hardwood flooring. Why? There are many reasons for this shift. One of the main ones is humidity and climate. As we all know, with weather changes and humidity fluctuations, solid hardwood floors tend to shrink or expand, causing gaps in between the planks. Engineered hardwood flooring is more resistible to that fact, having a wider range of possible humidity in the house/apartment, as opposed to the narrow range for solid hardwood floors. Also, as opposed to solid wood floors, engineered hardwood floors have different ways of installation. Solid wood floors require to be nailed to a wooden sub floor. Engineered hardwood floors can be glued down, nailed down, floated, and some of them even come with a click float system. Also, engineered hardwood floors can be installed over concrete, and in apartments and basements without having a subfloor installed before. The introduction of engineered hardwood floor solved a lot of issues that homeowners faced with hardwood floors such as the humidity issue, high installation costs when trying to install solid floor over concrete or in apartment, and more importantly, it adds more flexibility to your budget, making sure you can afford and enjoy new wooden floors at your place! One of the most common problems we encounter with hardwood floors in Toronto is damages and scratches. There are many causes that can damage your hardwood floors over time. Certain areas of the home are high traffic areas; these ones usually get the biggest damages (such as entry and kitchen). Also, shiny take in mind shiny floors show more damages and scratches that exists on your floor (opposed to satin finish or wire brushed finish). If your hardwood floor is scratched and damaged, maybe its time for a good sanding and refinishing. One of the main benefits of having a hardwood floor is that it’s always possible to refinish the floor instead of replacing it when damages happen, or once its warn off. This process helps avoiding the costly process of removing existing floor and replacing it with a new one (unless you have 100 years old floors, then there is no point on refinishing). The best part of this process? You can choose almost any color you want for your new stain. So not only you getting new looking floor, but also you can also change the color, as well as the finish (from shiny to less shiny for example) Overall, refinishing hardwood floors is beneficial for both, people who damaged their floors over time, and people who tired of the color of the existing floor they have. The good news, we saved you time and money to turn around things! Nothing increases value of a house in Toronto area as newly installed floors. By installing solid hardwood flooring you are actually investing money and will obtain benefits and advantages of your investment in the future. Hardwood flooring perhaps is most popular choice. Hardwood flooring is highly reliable, durable and long lasting flooring material. Hardwood flooring is also poses aesthetic benefits: rich and sophisticated look. Regardless of your residence type (condo, apartment or a house) you cannot go wrong with the solid hardwood flooring installation. Whether you own a business venue or private residence, hardwood flooring installation will immediately increase an overall value of the entire property. In addition, there is eco-friendly hardwood flooring materials available. It is a healthy choice for both pet owners and parents. If you are looking for a long term investment into your property, hardwood floors probably would be a best option. It increases the value of your residence instantly and costs are paid off quickly. Last Month we were discussing and showing some ideas for the more popular and modern colours that are being used by home owners for their hardwood floors in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
This month, we will share some more classical ideas for your flooring. The more natural-orange colour is still a favourite choice by home owners who like to light up their place. It is still great looking floor, and surprisingly still popular among home owners in the Greater Toronto Area. In the last two years, we have noticed a new trend in Toronto in regards of the flooring colour. Grey!
Almost every client is considering to put a grey coloured floor. It became one of the most popular colours, and not only with floors, but walls and stair cases as well. Some prefer more darker tone, others would prefer the lighter one, as long as there is grey. Below attached few grey toned flooring pictures for some ideas for your next flooring project! Purchasing hardwood floors in Toronto, and choosing its colours, is one fun process! Replacing your flooring could be very time consuming and budget draining process. Luckily, laminate flooring was made to solve these problems. Laminate flooring in Toronto became a popular trend due to its cheap cost of material, and installation cost. Also, it is very quick to install, and time is very important in the City of Toronto. Laminate flooring has the look of hardwood, but it is made of plastic and compressed paper, which helps reduce consumption of wood products. Also, laminate floors are really durable, and great for concrete floors like in condos, or even basements! Today, there are many kinds of laminate, and sadly, also bad ones that have bad chemicals mixed in their finish. Be aware when purchasing your laminate, and do your research! One of the most common dilemmas many people have when looking for re do their floors is the question of hardwood flooring or laminate flooring? Which one is better? Laminate flooring in Toronto is very popular, specially among condo owners. There are few benefits people get choosing laminate flooring. Laminate flooring, in most cases, will be the cheaper option to go, in terms of installation cost and material cost. Laminate flooring materials are naturally lower than hardwood prices, and as for installation, laminate flooring today is being installed using the click system – An easy method which any person can easily and quickly install their own floor, without needing to be a professional laminate flooring installer (we still highly recommend hiring one) But do not let the price to confuse you. You still get high quality floor, which looks beautiful, and has the look and grains of regular wood floor. Laminate floors are also very durable, and very good against scratches. Overall, if you area a condo owner/house owner who is looking to save some money and want to refresh your floors, laminate flooring is a great option for you. For more information, we highly encourage to visit our page about laminate floors. http://www.hardwood-parqueteam.ca/laminate-flooring.html Condos are growing phenomenon in Toronto. As sales and new condo builds keep rising (just look at the amount of cranes we have), so does the demand for hardwood flooring in these condos. Along the years different types of engineered hardwood flooring in Toronto were introduced, and so did different methods of hardwood (engineered) flooring installation came along, that suit condo conditions and rules. Below are main systems used by professional hardwood flooring installers: *Glue tongue and groove system: Simple installation, as the installer puts glue in the groove and puts together the hardwood flooring planks (tongue to groove). Along the process, every few lines, the installer should tape (using tape that friendly for varnish and stain) the planks together so they stay tight until the glue completely dries (usually 24 hours to be sure) *Click-lock flooring installation system: In this case, two planks are simply clicked together like a puzzle, similar to laminate flooring installation. The installation is faster and simpler, and therefore cost for this type of installation is usually lower than the rest. *Glue-down method: widely used within the flooring installation industry, especially for parquet type of wood flooring. Today you can glue any type of engineered hardwood flooring using the glue down method (or double). This method usually being used over concrete subfloor, but also can be used in a house where sub floor is wooden. This method will be more costly than the rest of the above installation methods, but also the best in terms of durability and quality. There are many factors that could aspect the system or method being used for flooring installation. Additional research and knowledge about different installation systems will enable you to make an informative choice. You may visit our page for more details on flooring installation methods, or browse around our blogs as information constantly posted. Recently, a lot of our clients have been asking us about environmentally friendly hardwood floors, and how to make a purchase of hardwood flooring with the least damage caused to the environment. We say it is a great question. And our answer is simple: Use engineered hardwood floors. One of the main concerns people have had with engineered hardwood floors is the claim that they are not real. Let’s get this claim straight: It is simply not true. The top layer of the engineered hardwood floors is made of real wood, (in some cases bottom too, for more expensive types), and the bottom (or middle) made of different layers of plywood. This particular structure eliminates the full solid wood structure, which tends to waste more wood. Also, that same-engineered hardwood floors has enough thick wood thread on top to be able to refinish it in the future. So, next time you go to shop for hardwood floors, and worries about the environment, then do not hesitate to go for the engineered hardwood floors. It is durable, in some cases cheaper, looks exactly the same like solid hardwood, but better for the environment. |
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