Hardwood Floors add Value and bring beauty to your home

For added value, beauty and health benefits, many consumers are turning to a solid solution: wood flooring. Easy maintenance, new longer-lasting finishes,exotic species, style versatility and competitive prices are some of the reasons for the evergrowing popularity of the category in this country. Wood floors come in a variety of styles to meet the demands of today’s busy lifestyles, from factory finished, unfinished and solid to engineered, strip, plank, parquet, and acrylic impregnated. Choosing the style which works best for customers is based on a variety of issues, including their lifestyle, decorating style, and area in which they live. Wood floors come in a rainbow of colors to fit any décor.

Unique, one-of-a-kind looks can be achieved with custom stains and finishes. According to the National Wood Flooring Association, wood floors come in more than 50 species, both domestic and exotic, spanning the spectrum of color options, hardness, and price ranges. Health and environmental concerns are other selling points of wood floors. With an estimated 60 million Americans suffering  from allergies, many people are converting to “healthy homes” or asking that  non-allergenic products be specified in their new digs.

Doctors often recommend hardwood floors because they trap less animal dander, dust, pollen, mites and mold—all of which can trigger respiratory problems. Natural hardwood floors reportedly make it easier to reduce home allergens. The resale value escalates in homes decorated with hardwood. Realtors’ surveys find that homes with wood floors sell faster than dwellings with other types of flooring. Wood floors have a projected life of 50 to 80 years, resulting in long-lasting value. Hardwood floors can be installed in virtually any room of the house.

A variety of  installation options and types of products are available, depending on whether the floor will be installed on, above or below grade. For example, engineered products, which are inherently dimensionally stable, are a better choice for a basement than solid hardwood.