Avoid any bumps in the road to your home design project. Use our installation guide for great tips on the transition of your old floors to the new.
Installation Matters
Today’s hardwood flooring is extremely versatile. There are more ways than ever to install your hardwood flooring: nailing, stapling, gluing, floating or the new “click” (glue-less) fit, where the plank edges snap together like the pieces of a puzzle.
At Flooring America, we have a “Points of Difference Guarantee”, meaning we stand behind our products and services. Our guarantees protect you and your investment to ensure you a confident, worry-free and enjoyable shopping experience. We believe that how your floor is installed will impact its performance and life. We provide a warranted installation by a trained, professional craftsperson who will finish the job to perfection-GUARANTEED!
Things to Do Before Installation
We want you to have a clear understanding of the services we provide as well as to be aware of items you will need to handle prior to the installer arriving at your home. After your purchase, items crucial to the smooth installation of your new flooring will be detailed by your sales professional in a pre-installation check list and may include some of the following:
- Verification of the installation date.
- Ensuring the removal of all “breakables” from the room.
- Determining who will remove furniture, appliances and the sub-floor, if needed.
- Arranging for the disconnection of gas appliances and icemakers.
- Determining if any change to the height of the floor require adjustments to doors in order for them to close properly.
- Ensuring the removal of items in storage areas and closets where the floor is to be resurfaced.
- Make certain drapes, wall hangings and pictures are removed from walls.
- Verify that your in-home temperature is appropriate for the installation.
Installation
Your local Flooring America store offers expert installation for all of the flooring products that we carry. You can trust our installers to create a great-looking floor for your home. Whether it’s a solid-color carpet or a detailed, custom tile design, our licensed and insured professionals will get the job done accurately and beautifully.
We are so confident that you will be more than satisfied with our professional installation that we will be happy to correct any installation-related problems for free during the intended life of your floor.
Get started today and bring your colors, swatches, photos and ideas into one of our stores…Fairfax, Woodbridge or White Plains.
There are two different types of Hardwood Floors, Solid and Engineered. Today we are going to discuss Solid Hardwood Floors.
Solid Hardwood is exactly what it says…100% solid wood. There are three different types of Solid Hardwood and all three can either come unfinished or pre-finished. Below are the three types of hardwood:
Although strip hardwood is always going to be the same width (1 ½ inches, 2 inches and 2 ¼ inches), the thickness of the wood can vary. It starts at 5/16 of an inch.
There are two thicknesses for plank flooring (1/2 inch or 3/4 inch), but the widths vary from 3 inches to 8 inches.
Parquet floors do not look like your typical hardwood flooring. They are patterns in individual wood slats.
Solid hardwood is more susceptible to shrinking and expanding from excessive moisture and extreme temperature changes. Please be aware that in the winter months, moisture may cause gaps between the planks…once the summer months come around, and the humidity is higher, the planks then expand back to fill in those gaps. We recommend that you keep your homes relative humidity between 40-55%. Because it is sensitive to moisture, we do not recommend that you install solid hardwood below ground level.
Solid hardwood should not be installed directly over concrete and should be nailed or stapled to the subfloor. We suggest that you have the wood acclimated prior to installation.
The most popular types of Solid hardwood species are Red Oak, White Oak and Maple, but these are just the most popular…there are several different species of solid hardwood.
Do you want Prefinished or Unfinished hardwood flooring?
Prefinished hardwood is quicker to install because it does not have to be sanded or refinished. It does not need to dry, so your house can get back to normal as soon as it is installed.
Unfinished hardwood takes a little longer to install and has to dry.
Today we will discuss the various types of carpets. Knowing carpet textures will help you determine where a carpet should be installed for maintenance and style purposes. The most popular type of carpet is the cut pile. The cut pile is a type of carpet whose loops have been cut out. Durability is maintained by choosing a durable fiber, increasing the amount of twist in the fiber and having a high density in the tufts. There are three types of cut pile carpets: Frieze, Saxony, and Plush.
The fibers in the Frieze are twisted and have a very curly surface texture. This texture minimizes footprints and vacuuming marks, so it works great in high traffic areas. It is best used in playrooms or lounging areas because it has a casual look.
Saxony fibers still have a twist, but with a more level look, which is somewhere between casual and formal. It has a smooth surface that minimizes footprints as well, so it is perfect for less traffic areas that have a less formal look. It works well in your home office or finished basement.
Plush is also referred to as a velvet cut pile and has a smooth, level texture. It is luxurious looking and creates a very sophisticated look, which looks elegant in a formal living room.
Level loop pile has loops that are all the same height, which the Berber style of carpet. It is very durable and works great in high traffic areas. It is most in offices or basements because it has a casual and relaxed look.
Multi-level loop pile has a few different loop heights, which create an interesting casual pattern and is very durable.
Visit our blog again when we discuss carpet shapes and sizes!
