Hardwood Flooring to Suit Your Lifestyle
By Stephanie Miller, Marketing Coordinator
When homeowners come in to make their interior selections, most of our customers already know they want hardwood flooring in their home. However, many people don’t realize that there are a wide variety of products that can be used to achieve the look of hardwood. So for this week’s blog we thought we would take a look at what makes these products different!
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring is made from solid wood that’s approximately ¾” thick. An advantage to solid hardwood is that the flooring can be refinished three to four times, giving the flooring longevity in your home. The drawback to solid hardwood; however, is that it can shrink and expand depending on the humidity in your home. During the winter, homes are generally drier which can cause solid hardwood flooring to shrink, where as the humidity in the summer can cause it to expand, which makes this product not ideal for our Calgary climate. Solid hardwood is also soft and can therefore dent and scratch easily. It’s for these reasons that homeowners are starting to stay away from solid hardwood flooring. An example of solid hardwood flooring can be found at both showhomes in our New Brighton parade.
Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Engineered hardwood is comprised of layers of wood that are bonded together with adhesives under intense pressure. This type of flooring is much more environmentally friendly as four pieces of engineered hardwood flooring can be produced with only one solid hardwood board. The hardness, color and grain of this flooring looks identical to solid hardwood and can also be refinished about two to three times. Engineered hardwood is comprised of a top layer of 3mm of wood that is attached to an engineered core. This engineered core is what helps make this flooring more durable, 10 times more stable than solid hardwood and generally a smarter choice for Alberta's dry climate. As the flooring isn’t solid wood, it’s offered in a wide variety of styles such as wider planks and different textures. This is currently our most popular selection and an example of engineered hardwood flooring can be found in our Auburn Bay showhome parade at 187 Auburn Springs Blvd SE.
Laminate Flooring
Available in a wide range of sizes, colors and textures, laminate flooring has definitely come a long way in the last few years. Unlike solid hardwood and engineered hardwood flooring, laminate flooring isn’t produced with wood but is made with melamine and fibreboard. The flooring is made up of a multi-layer synthetic flooring product that is then fused together through a lamination process. Laminate flooring is able to achieve the look of hardwood thanks to a photographic appliqué that is protected by a clear layer on the board. This type of flooring is also more dent and stain-resistant than both solid and engineered hardwood flooring. As this product is extremely durable it makes for an excellent choice for active households with young children or pets. We’ve seeing a rise in demand for laminate flooring due to its improvement in quality and long term durability. An example of laminate flooring can be found in our Cranston showhome parade at 214 Cranston Gate SE.
The flooring in your home goes through a lot of wear and tear, so be sure to choose wisely when deciding on which product would work best with your lifestyle.
Enjoy your weekend,
Cedarglen Marketing