The Benefits of Wood Flooring for your Health and Your Wealth

As we become more informed, we can prosper. We learn from our mistakes and we strive to not make the same mistakes again.

Wood Flooring - Why?

Obviously I could be talking about hundreds of topics, but today I’m speaking about wood flooring! We have learned about the beauty and durability of wood flooring hundreds of years ago. Then we got tired of the labor of waxing and we were covering up all our wood in the late 60′s and early 70′s with wall to wall carpet. Not long after we replaced or carpets for the ump-teenth time, we started to hear about the ease of maintenance of the new poly urethanes on the market. We KNEW the value because anyone that appraised a home or considered buying a home ALWAYS wanted to know if there was hardwood under the carpet! So back to wood we all went…but wait, there is cheap ceramic tile, how about that?

Ceramic tile, while durable and available in many shapes, sizes and colors, was plagued by hard to clean grout and demands for very expensive installation. Any movement in the sub-floor also led to heartaches as the grout broke out or the tiles came loose. Then came the back aches from standing on it, the coldness and the fact that anything dropped, BROKE! So, back to wood…hey, how about this new pre-finished wood?

Pre finished wood floors are probably here to stay, weekend warriors can do a small project fast and easy in a small amount of time without sanding or applying a finish…sounds great, except…limited choices, lower value (up to 40% less value then a site finished floor) and the sanitary concerns of food, bacteria, hair and dust mites between the boards…hey, what about the laminate floors, they look like wood and don’t have the gaps between each piece…what about this?

Laminate floors are available in wood grain looks as well as tile, cork, wicker and other looks as well. But it is just that, a look. These are pictures on hardboard backer that lay on a foam and click or fit together. They started out as a popular way for retailers to sell “wood”…problem is that many found out the hard way why a product that sold early on for about $4 square foot can now be found for 79 cents a square foot. The laminates add no value to the home, sound hallow as you walk on them, they look and feel (and are) very fake. They often come apart and seldom are in a home more then just a couple years. People that actually know wood are often offended by these floors. Okay, we get that…hey how about a real, solid hardwood floor…installed, lightly sanded smooth and tight and then a layer of poly urethanes applied to seal the whole floor…wouldn’t that be perfect?

Well…yes, we think so! HUGE return on investment, easy to install, fast and simple to sand and coat and a lifetime longer then that of the house.

So, maybe its true…we CAN learn from history and what goes around can come around. The fit and finish of today’s unfinished hardwood floors are worlds better then they once were, choices are greater and costs are down. Environmentally we KNOW that solid unfinished wood floors are the ultimate in ‘green’ floors and new health awareness also speaks volumes of there place in our homes. We will try to touch more on the ‘green’ issues in more blogs to come.