The days when a hardwood floor had to be a simple series of planks aligned in parallel strips are gone forever thanks to specialised design elements that can make floors made of wood every bit as varied and interesting as those formed from tile or even linoleum with printed patterns. This means that a customised wood floor is quite simple to achieve these days; consumers can make one-of-a-kind statements by using a variety of decorative motifs in their hardwood floors.

Borders And Medallions

Borders are strips of wood around the edges of a room. Serving as a sort of “frame” for the rest of the flooring area, they are typically in a high-contrast colour that stands out in comparison with the main wood used. Achieving a contrast colour can be done through means of different stains, or for a more dramatic look, consumers can choose an exotic hardwood that will have a distinct grain and smoothness as well.

Medallions are large circular contrast areas. Designed to draw the eye, they frequently are installed in entryways or under tables in order to visually offset that area of the room. Pre-made medallions are available from wood specialty suppliers, or a professional can craft an individualised medallion just for your home.

No matter what decorative elements you choose, you will want to keep your floor looking well-maintained throughout its long lifespan. This means that you will occasionally need to contact a professional floor sanding company to take care of your wood floor restoration needs.

Homeowners who spend their time watching “home improvement” programmes on television have been warned about having unrealistic expectations due to those shows.  A professional designer has warned that many consumers can expect their own interiors to be able to be renovated as quickly and simply as it appears to be on television, but that redecorating in real life is often very different from how it appears on such programmes.

While many of these TV programmes show a home being completely transformed within the time period of just one week, the truth is such a timescale would not be within the realms of possibility for the great majority of homeowners, and that it would still be an unrealistic timetable even if they were able to employ a whole team of experts to help with the renovation.  Indeed it has started to become a common problem for homeowners to decide to install their own wood flooring and then rush the job just because it seems so simple on television.  This can have disastrous consequences, and end up requiring very expensive wood floor restoration.  Similar disasters can also occur with rushed work involving carpeting.

Often checks on subflooring are not even considered in such rush jobs, and if a Damp Proof Membrane is not used in order to help to protect the flooring from moisture, then serious problems are virtually guaranteed as a result.

While some flooring is simpler to install than others, such as some laminate floors, manufacturer guidelines should be carefully read and all necessary preparations and checks carried out before work begins.

While some flooring is simpler to install than others, such as some laminate floors, manufacturer guidelines should be carefully read and all necessary preparations and checks carried out before work begins.

Wood is a perhaps an unexpectedly soft form of flooring and, as such, is especially susceptible to becoming marked.
One way to avoid such unwanted markings on your wooden floors, and perhaps end up requiring wood floor restoration, is by banning people from walking around in high heeled shoes in your home and by keeping the claws of your pets neatly trimmed. The feet of furniture should also ideally be covered with felt pads or at the very least have protective caps around them on the occasions when they may need to be moved around. Another tip, particularly for highly trafficked areas of your home, is to put down rugs as a way of cutting down the wear and tear on your wooden floors.

Wood flooring should be vacuumed with a soft brush attachment. This is much better than simply sweeping the wood floors, as it is also able to pick up any dirt that has got into the space between individual boards.

To clean the wooden floor, it is always best to use an actual specialist cleaning product that has been specifically designed for the purpose of cleaning wood flooring. It is also a good idea to use this specialist cleaning product along with a damp micro-fibre mop.

On no account should wood floors ever be flooded with water. The specialist cleaning product should be sprayed on to the mop and not the floor itself in order to ensure that it ends up being spread evenly. The floor should then be left to air dry.

When the issue of engineered hardwood floors arises, it is not uncommon for most people to profess that they prefer the “authenticity” of real solid wood floors. However, the fact is that there are many advantages to engineered wood flooring and sometimes the benefits they carry can make them a much superior alternative to a completely new wood floor or a wood floor restoration of an old solid wood floor.

For one thing, in an age where being “green” and environmentally friendly are everyday watchwords by which to live, engineered flooring can be a more sustainable choice than traditional solid wood floors because engineered planks actually use four times less wood than the same amount of solid wood, meaning that engineered flooring certainly has the upper hand when it comes to conservation.

Another advantage that engineered flooring has is that it is much more flexible than solid wood flooring in terms of where exactly it can be placed and the kind of environments in which it is able to be installed. After all, any place where moisture can be an issue is a real problem for solid wood floors, yet engineered hardwood flooring can be laid in places with high moisture levels and humidity with no issues. On a similar theme, engineered flooring is also, in truth, a lot more stable than solid wood floors precisely because it has been engineered, allowing it to handle expansion and contraction that is caused by fluctuations in humidity and temperature far better than solid wood floors.

SOURCE: http://www.fastfloors.com/content_250/five-benefits-of-engineered-wood-floors.htm

With autumn here and winter not far behind, weather in the United Kingdom will bring with it the usual cold temperatures. While the great majority of people will have some kind of heating system already installed in their homes, many have a system that does not manage to heat the entire house. Floors in particular are usually unaffected by any heating system and left feeling very chilly indeed.

UK company Rayotech Ltd have received a lot of attention of late for their solution to this problem, a heating system that can be installed underneath almost any kind of flooring, including wooden floors, in order to keep the entire family feeling nice and warm regardless of the state of the British weather. The company has a range of under-floor heating kits that are suitable for fitting underneath carpets, tiles, amtico floor coverings, vinyl and even wooden floors. The under-floor heating systems are ideal for those who are currently undergoing some sort of household renovation, such as wood floor restoration.

“The friendly team at Rayotec will advise you throughout your project, answering any technical queries and tell you exactly which under-floor heating system is right for you” claims Reza Sabba, the spokesperson for the company. Sabba also notes that the firm’s heating systems are extremely competitively priced and that orders placed before 1pm on a weekday will be received by customers on the very next working day, and that adding such a system can often cut down on heating bills by as much as 25% to 30%.

SOURCE: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/company-helps-homes-and-floors-stay-comfy-and-cozy-all-year-long-107296.htm