Is Solid Wood Flooring worth it?

Why choose solid wood flooring?

Solid wood flooring is the ultimate version of wood flooring. Solid wood flooring is the only type of wood flooring that is natural wood and nothing else. It’s the real thing and that alone is a massive factor that makes it so popular. The fact that solid wood flooring is made from high quality wood from real trees offers a natural luxury that no other floor type can match. Stone flooring is another natural luxury floor type, but it can’t match the natural warmth of real wood.

The other factor that has helped solid wood flooring remain consistently popular is when properly looked after it can last for more than 100 years! Considering that flooring gets the most use in any building that is genuinely impressive. This is possible because solid wood flooring can be sanded down many times to reveal fresh layers of wood.

Product variants of solid wood flooring UK wide are in fantastic supply and shopping online provides thousands of options in seconds.

What are the disadvantages of solid wood flooring?

Whilst solid wood flooring remains popular there are drawbacks, some of which include;

Price – As more natural material is needed to create solid wood products these floors don’t come cheap. Many shoppers simply can’t afford the extra cost of real wood. Solid wood flooring is a luxury product and it has a luxury price tag.

Not Resistant to Moisture – Real wood flooring reacts significantly to moisture changes and will expand and contract as the ambient moisture increases or decreases. This means it is not suitable for areas where moisture is present.

Not Resistant to Temperature – Natural wood flooring also reacts to hot and cold temperatures. It expands and contracts the same way it does with moisture. If the material expands and contracts to much it can crack or buckle after expanding beyond the size of the area it has been installed in.

Cleaning – The fact that real wood reacts to moisture means it is more difficult to clean than a waterproof floor because not only is it easier to clean something when it is wet, but stains are more easily absorbed which also makes them harder to remove.

Installation – As solid wood flooring has to be fully adhered to the subfloor and the planks also have to be adhered together, the installation is more difficult to perform and an experienced installer is ideally required. This adds time and cost to the new flooring.

Our Stoic Oak Plank Solid Wood Flooring is a luxury 100% real wood floor in a rich dark natural oak

Does solid wood flooring warp?

Yes, solid wood flooring can warp when exposed to excess moisture or changes in temperature. It can also warp if it has been stored incorrectly prior to installation. Which can be an expensive mistake as it can be very difficult and even sometimes impossible to correct.

Imagine the solid wood flooring has been installed to fit an area when the wood is dry, then the moisture in the room increases due to something like a leak. The wood will absorb the moisture and swell up. When the wood swells and expands it becomes larger than the area that it was installed into. The planks are now pushing against themselves and the walls until something has to give, either your walls or your wood flooring. This will either cause damage to your walls or the flooring will buckle or warp upwards due to the pressure.

This can happen even if the installer has left the appropriate expansion gap and is one of the disadvantages of hardwood flooring in general.

Does hardwood last longer than laminate?

Providing the hardwood flooring has been installed and maintained correctly it should last longer than laminate flooring. Laminate floors can’t be sanded back like engineered wood flooring and solid wood flooring, so once the surface is scratched or dented the only real option is to replace the flooring.

The difference between engineered wood vs solid wood is that engineered wood flooring is only natural wood on the very top layer with the layers underneath being man made, and solid wood is a single layer of solid wood. Both types can be sanded back and renewed, but solid wood flooring can be sanded back more times because there is only solid wood present so there is no risk of sanding the flooring back too much and revealing the man made material which can happen with engineered wood floors. This is why solid wood flooring lasts longer than engineered wood flooring, it can be renewed more times.

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