So you want to choose the type of flooring to choose? Maybe we can assist you to with a little primer on some personality differences of reclaimed wood flooring from the perspective of a manufacturer like ourselves who specializes in making wood flooring from reclaimed lumber.
Did you visit a picture that you like and now you possess the bug you want that special ground? The good news is that it could probably be designed for you, but prior to going a long ways down the road of choosing which flooring you need and requesting a screen room full of samples, ask about some prices. There is a common misconception that since reclaimed wood is normally supposedly salvaged it should be cheaper than virgin solid wood floors. In case you are buying a quality kiln dried and precision milled product, generally that is not the case. The only cost benefits would be in the event that you found some scraps or did some salvage work yourself, you might save some costs. For example you might find a gym floor or planks out of a barn hay loft that you would like to nail down on your own floor. The material may have been next to free, but how much time are you going to have in making it usable and pulling fingernails? Are the results what you want?
In this article we will be discussing several different categories of wood flooring. Wood flooring is one board with no glued up laminations; it really is basically wood plank that has been sized and profiled to a certain dimension. Engineered flooring has a on the top whatever species and texture you want, which is definitely glued to a plywood backer on the bottom. Engineered continues to be all real wood but is manufactured with multiple layers that are laminated for better stability and dimensional accuracy. Floors that people will not cover here are laminates or any composite items which are generally not wood entirely through the plank or may be produced with a photo printed surface. We also will not cover vinyl, floor covering, stone, or tile.
Hardwood flooring is usually a generic term that could connect with any type of real wood flooring. Hardwood trees (oak, maple, cherry, walnut, elm, chestnut) are usually trees that got leaves which fall off in the wintertime. Softwood trees (pine, fir) have got needles that may stay on all year and usually they produce cones. Hardwoods are usually more dense and more durable than softwoods. Of training course, there are exceptions to these generalities. In our products the hardwoods cost more than the softwoods.
As a reoccurring theme in this post you will find that you often get what you pay out for. Admittedly, the higher end price point items ($11+/sf) from even more rare woods are not necessarily better quality but we find that up compared to that stage quality improves with price. Our wood floors range in price from $4-9 per square feet and our manufactured ranges from $7-15 per square foot. We will discuss applications below, but our point is you need to have an authentic budget when shopping. Occasionally a nice alternative when you have your heart set on a pricey floor is to use less of it and put it just in key areas. Don't perform the whole house. Maybe simply do the primary high visitors areas and make use of a cheaper alternative in bedrooms..
If your price-point isn't actually in the same zip code, maybe it is in a different state, start shopping other options. For example in case you are in the $1-2/sf range look at the deep discounters or laminate choices. The FSC certified 12mm outside birch plywood that we use to manufacturer the engineered flooring costs us that very much alone, not counting the rest of the labor and materials.
Also when prices a floor make sure to factor in the complete installed price and the lifetime cost. Here are types of some variables that could alter the total costs:
With reclaimed materials waste factor is a huge variable. How much effort does the manufacturer take to give you a 100% usable item? Poorly milled with very little defecting and culling performed on a good wood floor that costs $6/sf and includes a 15% waste factor actually costs more than a similar product that's milled better costing $7/sf with a 2% waste factor. That extra wastes costs even more in shipping and delivery and labor to defect. That is among the hardest points to demonstrate to a consumer that the facial skin value costs doesn't necessarily represent the actual natural material cost unless one is actually comparing identical quality and specified products.
For the next variable this is a controversial opinion: we do not end match our flooring this means there is absolutely no tongue and groove on the ends of the planks. Since we recommend our flooring be glued down we say this is an unnecessary expense for the client. End matching decreases the yield in creation and raises labor costs. Most end match profiles are milled so loosely that they really don't hold the floor set up anyway. The biggest benefit to the installer is normally that the plank could be cut in half in any place and reused anywhere without have to mate up to a complementary tongue or groove since the end is just square cut. This implies all end trim items or any waste can be reused. As a result on our built flooring product the waste element is virtually nothing unless there are angles or radiuses to function around. We also help with waste factor by usually supplying a random width product therefore when one gets near to the end of an area they can plan the width mixture patterns out to not have to rip much off the last row.
The third variable is installation costs. Our engineered item has labor savings over our solid wood product because it is certainly pre-sanded and milled to tighter tolerances. It is also prefilled in the holes and offers following to zero waste. On the other hand you may possess a little more in expense of gluing it down in addition to nails, but that is just a step in direction of better quality and reassurance during the install.
Fourth, factor in the price of refinishing the floor later on or doing touchups. This is a whole another content. Some finishes could be spot touched up like a few of the natural oils while others need a full sand over the complete floor. Some finishes require a professional installer and could have extreme odor through the cure. In the event that you live with the ground for very long, factor these decisions in for the type of finish to choose for lifetime sturdiness and the cost & effort to refinish.
Fifth, compare general thickness and the height from the top of the tongue or nail groove to the very best of the encounter on to the floor. On an engineered flooring this is generally the thickness of a use layer. Most solid wood floors are 3/4" general before sanding (but some are less) with 1/4" above the nail groove. Our engineered ground is manufactured to equivalent measurements but most manufactured flooring have a thinner put on layer. This boils down to just how many times the ground can be sanded. What kind of finish and consistency you want on to the floor factors into how deep you will re-sand the floor during refinishing. A number of our reclaimed wood floors are sold with an original texture that presents the older saw marks and character in the ground, so most likely you won't desire to sand this out. As a rule of thumb, the thicker the use layer then the longer the floor will last.
Sixth, compare the price of a character grade virgin flooring to reclaimed. The reclaimed might cost more up front, however the additional variability, texture and character in it may conceal or mask the abuse better. It might therefore last longer because of the forgiving character in the inherent look of the reclaimed material. What's resale value to presenting a distinctive product installed? You may alienate some purchasers by firmly taking a risk or impress others with the customization.
7th, are you a do-it-yourselfer? Consider every stage of the procedure to be sure that you can do it yourself. Generally the install can be carried out with relatively moderate abilities and simple tools such as a chop noticed and rented flooring nailer. The finishing procedure is a complete different matter. The sanders and buffers take some special skills to use. A normal cost range for labor and components to set up a wood floor is certainly $4-5 per square foot. You'll be able to build your personal sweat equity right into a flooring install. Maybe this is where you choose to make use of our engineered item for example because it is usually presanded to even more accurate tolerances when compared to a solid wood item. It could be touched up with a handheld orbital sander instead of industrial floor sanders. Then if you are doing the finish yourself, you will need to consider utilizing a finish that might not require as very much buffing between coats.
This is a word about prefinished product if indeed they element into your decision. If you come flooring company Augusta GA up brief on your order, the next lot that you buy may not match your previous batch. That is especially a issue on the lower end price flooring and import floors. All the best trying to blend it in together with your previous floor. So if you go this route, end up being extra accurate on your measurements. At this time the rage is life time warranties on flooring. We stop to think is that really even possible? Initial will that importer or manufacturer really be around an eternity? A whole lot of products are made oversees; the warranty is only good if there is someone still around for the life of the warranty. Will you have the ability to enforce the guarantee? Also, you don't think that a surface finish can last a lifetime? For example have a nail and try scraping it across the surface. Sure it really is a durable, well applied finish, but it is impossible to produce a product that won't obtain abused at some time in its life time. Do you think that the only significant trial your ground will ever see is certainly a stinky sock? Browse the fine print on the warranty and whatever it says consider the real replacement cost on to the floor. It probably only covers the cost of material of the specific damaged product under normal deterioration. Your product may not be made precisely the same later (trends and products change) to displace the section that is warrantied, so you may have to replace the whole floor years later. You will have labor price along with displacement of trim, cabinets, and appliances. Also the majority of these life time finishes cannot be repaired or sanded due to a micro bevel put on the advantage of prefinished ground. Our advice is rather to get a quality product that can be refinished and repaired because something will fail in the lifetime of the floor; do not get a false sense of security.
We personally usually do not care for prefinished flooring because of installation problems connected with it, so our product requires site applied surface finish. This implies that your floor end if site used will be easier to sand and refinish than a prefinished floor. You also do not have to deal with that micro bevel groove between each board that tends to fill with dirt and crumbs. Most prefinished hardwood floors really can't be refinished conveniently. To sand it off implies that the wear coating has to be thicker than the elevation of the fingernails and have room to sand off the micro bevel between boards; that amounts to a lot of sanding. You also will never be able to spot sand or touch up parts of the floor.
In a reclaimed product the engineered flooring really shines. Since the nature of reclaimed material is usually rustic with splits, various height, warps and so forth by doing an engineered product we can eliminate those problems. We match the texture and color you want in the floor but you don't possess to endure the inherent problems that include installing and living with a reclaimed real wood floor. Numerous solid wood reclaimed floors possess warped and twisted boards, gaps between rows, elevation difference between rows, holes, and various other "nostalgia and romance" that may become unwelcome after coping with the floor for some time. Because of our precise sanding during the lamination process for the engineered item and after, parts are more consistent in height, more uniform in texture, fit collectively tighter, no waste materials, holes and cracks already filled, no sanding required after install unless you wish to accomplish a light display or buff.