Timeless beauty

The measure of a hardwood species’ natural hardness is called its grade. Woods of different grades have some broad common features that we’ve grouped into two categories: hardwoods and softwoods. We’ve listed some of the key features of each grade below:

HARDWOOD

• Better able to withstand heavy foot traffic 
• Longer overall lifespan 
• Typically come prefinished, featuring darker natural tones 
• Average cost is higher 
• Examples: oak, maple, walnut 

Softwoods 

• Softer and more flexible 
• More likely to get dinged and scratched over time 
• Typically come in lighter natural tones 

• Average cost is lower 
• Examples: spruce, pine 

While shopping for hardwood, you’ll likely come across two other categories – solid and engineered wood. The main difference between these two is in their construction. Solid hardwood planks are each made using one single, solid piece of wood, while engineered planks are constructed from layers of high-quality wood materials. The latter is less durable, but more versatile – you can install engineered planks on any grade of your home, including in the basement. 

An advantage of solid hardwood is in the average thickness of each plank. Standard hardwood planks come in ¾-inch size, which is far more durable than the ½-inch or 3/8-inch sizes that are common for engineered planks. You can also refinish solid hardwood many more times than engineered, which can only be sanded down once or twice during the lifetime of the floor. 

An especially unique look for your hardwood floors is a distressed style, the result of putting planks through certain manufacturing processes that give them the look of antique or reclaimed wood. This much sought-after style is always easy to obtain naturally, so out-of-box distressed wood makes the look more accessible and affordable. 

Some examples include hand-scraped and wire-brushed looks, both of which are right at home in rustic, country-inspired room designs. Talk to one of our experts here at Carpet Advantage to learn more about your style options for hardwood floors. 

Once your floors are installed, having underlayment installed is often overlooked but is a crucial part towards maintaining the health and performance of your hardwood floors. At Carpet Advantage, we highly recommend a hardwood underlayment to do the following:

• Even out any imperfections in the subfloor before installation
• Add cushion and reduce noise when walking on the floors
• Keep hardwood floors insulated from external temperatures
• Add resistance to moisture by sealing the planks from below

If you still have any questions about hardwood flooring after reading our guide, please feel free to reach out to us online or in-store! We’re proud to be your leading flooring experts in Urbana, IL and the surrounding Champaign, metropolitan area.