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Proper Performance of Wood Flooring

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:12:19 +0000

Proper Performance of Wood flooring;

Moisture comes from a variety of sources-from the earth itself, from surface water (i.e., rain water runoff), as well as from the interior atmosphere. Let’s consider the various ways that moisture problems originate, and how they can be controlled and prevented.With the introduction of engineered flooring, hardwood floors can be used in virtually every room in the house, even in basements.Water on or near the building site cannot be ignored or neglected.

A room that is exposed to excessive moisture would be prone to trouble if solid wood flooring were installed in it.Most complaints concerning hardwood flooring are related to changes in the moisture content of flooring and surrounding wood products.The effects of moisture on flooring. When moisture changes are severe, the result can be gaps between strips, cupping, buckling, movement, and/or cracks/splits in the flooring.

Potential sources of moisture;

NEW CONSTRUCTION:

During the building of a new home, moisture can enter the house in a number of ways. When the frame is going up, the 2-by-4s and subfloor materials often get rained on. Because builders usually work on tight, demanding schedules, homes are sometimes built trapping moisture that needs time to evaporate. The amount of moisture introduced by framing lumber and the wet trades can be significant.

GROUND WATER: Sometimes the level of the water in the ground is raised above the bottom surface of the foundation due to:

Heavy or prolonged rains;

a spring that appears only during wet seasons and is not discovered when the house was built; water flowing along an impervious layer within the soil.Any of these may cause water to penetrate the foundation walls or rise through the ground surface into the foundation or crawl space.

SURFACE WATER: Rain water falling on the ground or from the roof can pass through or under the foundation walls. In some areas, heavy soils may retain surface drainage and cause water pressure against the foundation walls or slab. Surface drainage problems may also occur because the crawl space is below the finish grade outside the house.

Wood is a hygroscopic material. This means when wood is exposed to air; it will dry or pick up moisture until it is in equilibrium with the humidity and temperature of the air. Moisture absorption causes wood to swell. Shrinkage of wood begins at 25-30% moisture content, the fiber saturation point, and continues until wood reaches 0% moisture content, an oven dry state. Conversely, swelling occurs as wood increases in moisture content from 0% to 25-30% moisture content, the fiber saturation point. Above 25% – 30% wood is dimensionally stable.

RELATIVE HUMIDITY: When humidity increases, the effect on the wood floor can be damaging. This occurs most frequently in homes in which occupants are there for a short period of time, such as a weekend home or vacation cabin, or in rooms that are closed off (not heated) to save energy.

If air conditioning or heating is not used or is shut off, ventilation is a must even when the home is not occupied. Otherwise, the floor will expand in the high humidity, and cupping and buckling will occur. This “greenhouse effect” will be exaggerated even more when a plank floor has been installed, because wider boards react to moisture with more movement.

Moisture problems associated with basements and below-grade features.Concrete appears to the untrained eye to be a solid, impermeable foundation,yet it’s actually a source in itself for moisture.Concrete expands when it absorbs moisture in humid weather or by exposure to rain, and it contracts again when the moisture evaporates.

Minimum acclimation for solid wood flooring is one week.The acclimation period is required.True acclimation on real hard woods,not laminated will take many weeks.In the south east climate our humidity climate it could take two to for weeks.A solid wood floor is almost always installed with a moisture barrier between the subfloor and flooring to help control moisture.Wood flooringon the first floor will need longer to acclimate than flooring on a second floor level.

Is Stained Concrete Flooring a Good Option?

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:28:57 +0000

When you are considering the flooring for your new home there are many things to keep in mind. Most of us are working on a budget so we want something that looks good, will last a long time, and not require a lot of maintenance. One of the newer trends in flooring is using stained concrete. Here are a few tips on how to decide if using stained concrete is a realistic option for your home.

Not Just Shades of Grey Anymore

When most of us think of concrete we think of a dull grey surface that you use to see on basement floors. This is now longer the case. You can now get stained concrete floors in several colors. Here is how the coloring process actually works.

Acid Stained Concrete Floors

Coloring concrete this way is through a process called acid staining. The entire process of what is done is a little technical but here is how it works. You take your base concrete floor, it can be a new slab, an old floor, and it can already be painted or just plain. Then you apply a mixture of chemical stains, they refer to it as an acid stain, but the acid is not what actually colors the concrete. Stay with me, here is where it gets a little technical.

What actually stains the concrete to create the color is the reaction between a substance in the hardened concrete called hydrated lime and the water based acidic mixture that contains metallic salts. The very top layer of concrete becomes porous when the acidic mixture is applied. This opening lets the hydrated lime and the metallic salt to react. The water in the solution acts like a catalyst for the reaction and it can last up to one month.

There are a lot of different factors that will affect the actual coloring. Most companies that do this process offer shades of black, brown and a blue green coloring. The way your floors will actually take the color depends on the level of lime in the concrete. The more lime, the more rich your color will be.

The Pros of Stained Concrete Floors

Having stained concrete floors has many benefits. If you are building a new home and begin the process as the slab is being poured it will cost you approximately the half the amount as putting in hardwood flooring. But it is important to make the decision to do it before the slab is poured.

The maintenance need for keeping the floors clean is very simple. You only need to sweep them occasional and wash them regularly with just plain water. You will need to periodically wax them so they maintain their look. It is a great feature and helps with the rest of house’s cleanliness especially if you live where it snows a lot or if you live where the conditions are very sandy.

This is a very environmentally friendly flooring option. You are saving trees by not using any hardwood flooring, and you are cutting out the manufacturing pollution that is generated while making carpet. It will also help with your energy bills. Concrete maintains its temperature very well and does not heat up to quickly and it does not cool down to fast.

If you are an allergy sufferer then having stained concrete floors is an ideal situation. It keeps allergens to a minimum. There is no way for the allergens like dust and pollen to get trapped like with carpeting.

The Cons of Stained Concrete Floors

There are not that many cons to having concrete floors. One of the only cons is that if you decide to do this after the slab is poured it becomes very expensive because the concrete now has an entirely different process to go through to get ready to accept the acid stain.

This is also a project that will be quite hard for the average person to do it themselves. It is not like painting a wall where if you don’t like the effect you just go buy some more paint and redo it. If you take this on yourself and make a mistake it will be costly. So make sure that you first seek a professional for advice on how to do it correctly.

Even though you can have several types of designed scored in the floor and different types of finishes stained concrete floors are limited in their color choices. They can use the colors to mix and give you different effects, but they will only be within 3 color tones.

Getting Them Done

If you decided that you want to have stained concrete floors in your home seek the help of a profession concrete contractor. This project is labor intensive so if you are going to try it yourself make sure that you take all the necessary precautions and do your homework.

This article is sponsored by My Dream Home Registry, the gift registry for everything home. Visit them on the web at www.mydreamhomeregistry.com

Spiff Up for Spring: Transition your Home’s Decor From Winter Style to Spring Appeal

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:00:58 +0000

The weather is getting warmer and the flowers are blooming, but your home may still look and feel as though it is stuck in the winter holiday season. Most homeowners dread spring cleaning and the expensive home improvement projects that may accompany it, but freshening up your home this season should only account for a fraction of your time and budget.

These home improvement tips will help you create a comfortable living environment that will not only improve your home’s value, but welcome the quickly approaching spring and summer seasons.

Hardwood Flooring

After the ambush of holiday visitors, your carpet probably looks like it has seen better days. Instead of trying to save your dingy carpets, opt to install hardwood flooring.

Hardwood flooring has maintained its popularity for many years due to the high resale value it adds to a home, its durability, its ease of repair and its luxurious look. Hardwood flooring’s flexibility allows homeowners to refinish and stain their floors in a variety of dramatic colors. In order to create a fresh spring look, stick to the lighter hardwood flooring stains. A lighter shade of flooring will bounce light throughout the house, while a darker floor tends to absorb light.

Rugs

Rugs are great for camouflaging stained or worn flooring, yet they often times act as an overbearing touch to a cluttered room. Stash your dark and ornate oriental rugs and instead choose bright floor coverings. A few strategically placed area rugs in light, colorful shades will help hide stains, while incorporating a clean, spring look for your home.

Removing area rugs completely is another option that will create a streamline look throughout your home. This small, subtle change will not only help save the wear and tear of your rugs, but will also help create a simple, fresh look.

Lighting

During spring, days are longer and the sun seems brighter, creating the opportunity to use natural light. Take advantage of this opportunity and install window treatments that will allow the maximum amount of light into your home. One way to utilize natural light is to install plantation shutters, which are a popular window treatment trend this season. Plantation shutters’ versatility makes them appropriate for both traditional and contemporary home styles. This window treatment style provides a sophisticated beach feel to your home while adding to your home’s value, insulation and light regulation.

Visit www.westcoastflooring.com to learn more about plantation shutters and other spring window treatments for your home.

Whether you decide to spiff up your entire home this spring, or just remodel a few select rooms, it is important to improve features that enhance not only the look, but the value of your home.

This article is provided by West Coast Flooring Center, one of the largest flooring stores in Southern California, offering flooring services with a wide variety of quality flooring options and other home improvement services.

West Coast Flooring is currently offering weekly, limited-time specials to represent a different home improvement product or service that would work best in the kitchen, family room, bathroom and foyer. Find the latest West Coast Flooring offers for your spring home improvement projects today.

Granite tiles are better for your home flooring

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:14:13 +0000

You want to invite your office friends and want to make reputation also. Why not everyone wants praise to friend’s mouth but it may vain in all if your home is not shinning furnished. Yes home flooring is very important. Let’s look down at our floors. What do you see? Do you have granite flooring tile? Are they beautiful or not? Please sit down on sofa and think about home flooring that how to make shinning it? What can be done to the floors to make them pop? There are a lot of things that can be done. You can change home flooring.

Just we are talking about Indian granite tiles. That is natural and shinning better than all. That is pretty obviously. Indian granite tile is popular all over the world because millions clients used it. Indian granite flooring is itself naturally attractive and natural color also. There are not needs to polish to home flooring.

If you do not have the time to change the old flooring, then you will think of other options. Granite floorings are a great way to change the floor. Its take little time that are depend on flooring size and there are some that are small and can accent the room. Granite placing under the coffee table or in front of the TV and under it’s or design to a room according room design. You will be amazing how much just adding one can change the look of the room in short period. These granite tiles can be find different colors with a great design to enhance the home or it can be one that is shinning and adds character to the room.

Granite flooring is no need to change time to time, its long life. You can purchase granite tiles for just this purpose. You can find all color granite flooring tiles i.e. dark, yellow, green, white, and black for the floor. These flooring tiles are suitable for dinning room, sitting room, kitchen and more. If you wood painted your floor then you are able to replace. Take your time and renew the floor but home floor will great looks to all relations and friends.

Madera Floors. Fairfax, Va. Hardwood Floor Specialists. Installation, Sanding And Refinishing

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:02:36 +0000

Madera Floors provides professional quality wood flooring services including installation, sanding, refinishing, repairs, maintenance, and custom design. At Madera, we only use the highest quality materials/finishes and are always up to date on technological advancements in the wood floor industry. We target contractors, designers, corporate clients, and homeowners in the Northern VA, MD and D.C. areas. Madera’s goal is to meet our client’s budget and timeline while exceeding expectations, thus resulting in repeat business.

Madera Floors specializes in custom finishing, installations and material sourcing for all of your hardwood flooring needs. As flooring contractors, we are always abreast of new techniques and materials in the industry, which allows us to grow while remaining environmentally friendly. As a certified CMP installer we can also perform self-leveling concrete installations. Every project represents our organization; hence our great strides to achieve perfection on each individual project.

Hardwood floors are an investment that will last for a long time with the proper installation and care. There are different modes of installation for engineered wood strips, solid wood strips, and parquet. With all modes of installation moisture testing is imperative to ensure proper installation. Installation can be a painstaking process but we take pride in leaving your home or business looking as beautiful as we found it. Our expert technicians have seen every situation and are proficient in the three different types of installation for hardwood flooring.

Nail Down/Staple Installation In this method we nail down or staple solid or engineered wood strips to the sub-flooring (usually either plywood or plank wood). The floor is done with random length strips. A few strips are placed down and arranged prior to fastening to ensure proper placement and tautness.Glue Down Installation In this method we glue down engineered wood strips or parquet directly to the sub-floor. In these cases the subfloor is usually concrete, so we pay extra attention to moisture.

With glue down installations, it is important to consider any kind of allergies and sensitivities to smell. We use an acrylic based glue which is more mild than some of the other options. Glue down installations can be walked on the next day and furniture can also be moved in.

Floating Installation In this method we glue together the tongue and groove of every plank and the floor floats over a foam cushioned padding. If the flooring has a locking system we can lock the pieces together without glue. This can be used with either laminate or engineered wood floor, but either way the flooring is pre-finished. Not all engineered surfaces can be floated. Floating installation can also be placed over sub-flooring of questionable quality unlike the other two modes. Also, floating floors are a great option if you have multiple layers of flooring and do not want to remove them all. With floating installation the wear layer is important to consider as the thicker the layer the more times it can be refinished. Generally, laminate flooring gives a hollow feeling underfoot with this mode of installation. Remember that floating floors expand and contract as a unit because the pieces are fused together. Allow for as much expansion area as possible.

Refinishing and sanding your hardwood floors is necessary to preserve their quality and beauty. Any refinishing is done solely to enhance the woods natural color and protect it from the elements. The best time to sand and refinish your hardwood floors is when you move into a new house or apartment as all of the furniture, rugs, etc. need to be removed from the area during the process. Proper refinishing should last about 10 years. However, high traffic rooms will need to be done more often.

Pre-finished Hardwood Floors These are the new main stream products in hardwood flooring. They can be acrylic impregnated, engineered, or solid. They have a tough factory finish, which is the main reason for its popularity. They are also extremely easy to install and eliminate the need for messy sanding. Most pre-finished floors done within the last ten years are urethane finished. Test this by placing a couple drops of water on an obscure area. If the area turns white after 15 minutes, you have a waxed finish. Older floors are likely to have shellac or varnish finishes. Unfortunately these do not work well with the newer urethane finishes and must be completely removed if you want a urethane finish. There is also likely to be some amount of aluminum oxide in the newer prefinished floors.

Unfinished Hardwood This type of flooring comes in solid and engineered, and both must be job site finished. They come in varying lengths and widths. Sanding and finishing can take anywhere from a few days to a week depending on size, stain, and number of top finish coats. Generally the finishes are oil or water based. Our first priority is to protect the beauty of your home so whether you have finished or unfinished floors, we section off other areas and furniture to prevent sanding dust from spreading throughout your home. Our expert technicians also use dust containment systems to limit the amount of dust in the air. And with refinishing, it is important to have as little air flow as possible in the area as airborne particles can become embedded into the newly applied finish. Something as simple as foot traffic or turning on the air conditioner/heating system can kick up dust. So it is better to allow more time to dry to avoid problem areas in your floors.

Many things can happen to a floor over the years. Termites, cable holes, leaky roofs, sink overflows, cats, dogs and reconfigured spaces can leave holes or very odd-looking stains in your hardwood. All is not lost!

Boards can be replaced in such a way that no one will be able to tell that new wood has been added to the floors. When replacing boards, we take care to lace the new boards in with the old ones, so there is not a square or rectangle shape where the boards have been replaced.Other precautions are taken to match up the wood as best as possible. As wood ages, it darkens. This is why we purchase reclaimed wood in various sizes and species. If aged wood is not available for your floor, we take care to stain the boards that we are replacing to match the color of your existing floor as close as possible.

Custom Wood Floors are a medium of specialty floor coverings that includes, but not limited to these Types of Custom Wood Floors: Accents, Borders, Domestic Species, Exotic Species, Feature Strip, Inlays, Marquetry, Mixed Media, Medallions & Crest, Painted or stenciled, Parquet, Parquetry, Plank, Reclaimed & Recovered,Distressed, Specialty Products, Stained-Tinted or Colors Developed during the middle ages in Europe, elaborate designs, borders, inlays & medallions were crafted for significant buildings such as castles, & monasteries. Today these wood flooring styles are reflected in the modern day manufacturing and can be enhanced with something as simple as a strip border around the perimeter of the room or as ornate as a coat of arms in a foyer or a great room. Using exotic woods from around the world, these custom designs & patterns can add to and become the center focal point of any room. Giving each room a Custom-one-of-a-kind wood floor. Custom designs can give a homeowner a “one-of-a-kind” floor and is a wonderful way to put your personality and individual character in a home. The choices of pattern, design, exotic woods sources and an artistic flare can provide a limitless number of possibilities.

Floors with oil and urethane-type finishes are extremely durable. With just minimal care your floor will look beautiful for years to come. The key to preserving your floor is protecting its finish. Hardwood floors require minimal care, but it is important that you provide regular care.

Visit us online at: www.maderafloors.com

Visit our blog at: www.maderafloors.blogspot.com

Thanks

Madera Floors. Fairfax, VA.