Cork Flooring

Cork flooring is quite unique. First of all, it is a completely renewable resource, harvested from the bark of living cork trees. Collecting the cork does not destroy the tree. In about nine years, the bark grows back and is ready for another harvest.

Cork is a porous material, with a honeycomb type of structure. Unlike other real wood floors, cork flooring is relatively soft, but still durable. It retains warmth, absorbs sound and vibrations, and resists insects and mold. In addition, it helps to maintain temperatures and provides a degree of thermal insulation.

Cork flooring is not produced in long planks like most real wood flooring. Instead it is available in a wide range of square and rectangle tiles. These tiles are available either as a floating floor, in which the cork is already glued to interlocking tiles of wood, or as individual pieces of cork that can be glued directly to an existing subfloor.

Selecting Cork Flooring

Cork flooring is available in a wide range of colors and styles. Since it typically comes in tiles, you can really get creative with patterns and colors, giving your room a very unique look. Cork is great for living rooms and family rooms since it absorbs sounds and is reasonably soft under foot.

If you plan an installation in a potentially wet area, such as a kitchen or bathroom, you will want to go with a glue-down tiles rather than floating floor tiles. The interlocking tiles of a floating floor are not waterproof, and any water that gets between the tiles and under the floor can do damage. Once cork flooring the tiles are glued down, however, a protective finish is applied over top that seals the floor from water.

Quick Look at Cork Flooring

• Renewable and sustainable real wood flooring, since it does not require killing the tree when harvesting
• Absorbs sound and vibrations
• Is relatively soft under foot
• Provides a measure of thermal insulation
• Available in a wide variety of colored tiles that allow you to get very creative with your cork flooring design

Solid Oak Flooring (White Oak)

Solid oak flooring is a popular choice among homeowners. It is durable and works well in a variety of stains and finishes. It typically has tight, straight grain lines with undulating waves, almost like concentric mountains, though this can change depending on the cut of the wood.

White Oak is probably the most popular solid oak flooring in America. It has a relatively neutral color. Red Oak, which is another popular species, has a slightly reddish tint to it.

The Janka scale that is used to measure the hardness of a wood indicates that most oak species are reasonably resistant to wear. Keep in mind that the finish place on the wood will also affect its durability. Norther Red Oak, which is the species typically used to compare to all other wood species has a Janka rating of 1,290. Tasmanian Oak  and White Oak, two other popular oak species, have a Janka rating of 1,350 and 1,360 respectively.

Selecting Solid Oak Flooring

For high traffic areas, or areas that will contain heavy furniture, you'll want to go with the White Oak flooring since it has a higher Janka rating than Northern Red Oak.  If you like the reddish hue of the Red Oak species, simply select a stain that has a reddish hue and apply it to a White Oak Flooring.

Quick Look at Solid Oak Flooring

• Very popular choice among homeowners
• Available in White Oak, Tasmanian Oak and Northern Red Oak species
• Red Oak flooring has a slightly redder tint to it than White Oak
• Norther Red Oak is used as the comparison for all other species on the Janka scale
• Janka rating from 1,290 to 1,360 depending on species

There are three basic types of real wood flooring. Unlike veneers or laminates that consist of a thin layer of wood and synthetic materials the rest of the way through, real wood floors contain wood all the way through. However, there are different manufacturing procedures involved in creating wood flooring. These procedures will affect the overall durability of the wood. Not all flooring types are appropriate for all installation locations.

Solid. Any real wood flooring that is solid from top to bottom is considered a solid wood floor. One main concern with solid wood flooring is that humidity and temperature changes can cause the wood to expand and contract.

Engineered. An engineered flooring material is similar to plywood, where multiple layers of wood are glued together with the grains running in opposite directions. This creates a floor surface that is more stable in humid environments such as kitchens and bathrooms.

Acrylic Impregnated. This type of wood flooring is typically used in commercial applications. It is created by injecting an acrylic compound into the wood. This creates a very hard and durable surface.

Careful consideration of the appropriate real wood flooring type for your installation will ensure that your flooring will look great for generations.

Real wood flooring comes in three basic styles. The first two, strip and plank are linear, meaning that the wood will all run in the same direction. In other words, the grain of the wood will be parallel throughout the entire room. Linear flooring can often give a room the appearance of being larger than it really is. The other style of flooring, parquet, is non-linear. With a parquet floor, the grain of the wood will go in different direction, allowing for a range of patterns to be created.

Strip. This type of flooring comes in linear strips that are anywhere from 1-1/2” to 3-1/4” wide.

Plank. Similar to strip flooring, plank flooring is wider, commonly ranging from 3” to 6” wide.

Parquet. Unlike the linear strip and plank style, this type of flooring consists of different shapes of wood that are used to create various floor patterns.

Select the style of real wood flooring that will fit your installation. Keep in mind that styles can be combined to create a decorative look.  You might, for example, create a parquet border around a linear installation, or you might use parquet shaped to create a medallion in the center of the room.

Also, linear does not necessarily mean the wood flooring has to run parallel to one wall or the other. Installing a linear floor on an angle will create a very unique and interesting look.  Be aware that this type of installation is considerably more difficult and typically results in more waste material.

Real wood flooring comes in a variety of grades that are determined based on the overall appearance of the wood. It is important to note that grading has nothing to do with the quality of the wood, so select the grade based on your budget and the look you want to achieve.

Clear. Although clear wood flooring might have minor defects, it will have no major blemishes, knots or color variations.

Select. Similar to clear, but has a few natural characteristics, such as knots and color variations.

Common. This is selected most often by consumers for its natural appearance. It will have more knots and variations that select grade woods.  Common is further divided into No. 1 and No. 2. No. 1 has a more variegated appearance and may contain knots, flags and wormholes. No. 2 is more rustic in appearance and contains all the characteristics of the selected wood species.

First, Second, Third. These grades go from the most natural with minimal blemishes (First) to the most rustic looking with all of the color variations and blemishes allowed by the given species (Third).

If budget is a concern, but you still prefer the look of a clear grade wood, consider combining different grades together. For example, you could intersperse common No. 1 within a mostly clear installation. Or, you could use a lower grade in area of lower visibility, such as those that will be underneath furniture or an area rug, such as beneath a dining room table or in a hallway with a runner.

How the wood is cut during the manufacturing process will affect the stability and appearance of the wood.  For most installations, plain sawn will be adequate. In damp or humid environments, consider quarter sawn as a better option.

Plain Sawn. This is the most common method of cutting real wood flooring. Each cut of the lumber is made parallel with the last cut. This is the most economical method since it produces the least waste. This also produces wood that has more variations than the other cutting method.

Quarter Sawn. For this method, lumber is first cut into quarters before being cut into strips. This creates wood flooring with a vertical grain that will expand and contract vertically instead of horizontally during humidity changes. Flooring cut this way have a very tight-grained appearance.

Quarter sawn, in addition to being a better option for damp environments also has a more unique look to it. Because there is more waste when wood is cut in this manner, real wood flooring produced this way will be more costly that plain sawn flooring.