Lines Finishing

subfloor as well as nailed. Screw holes can be covered with wooden plugs.

* Parquet flooring comes in standard patterns of 6"x 6" blocks. Specialty patterns may range up to 36" square units. Parquet often achieves dramatic geometric effects of special design patterns. Parquet can be glued to a variety of subfloor materials.

Solid wood floors can be installed on a concrete slab as long as the floor is on or above ground level. They can be sanded and refinished over several generations of use.

Solid wood flooring expands and contracts with changes in a home's relative humidity. Normally, installers compensate for this movement by leaving an expansion gap between the floor and the wall. Base moulding is the traditional "cover-up" for this gap.

Engineered Wood

Engineered wood flooring is made of several layers of different woods or different grades of the same wood cross-stacked and glued together under heat and pressure. Its greater dimensional stability allows it to be installed in areas where solid wood is not compatible due to moisture. above, on or below ground level.

Engineered strip, plank and parquet are glue down applications over various subfloor materials. Some Yllater-Based r Mild Odor r Slight Amber Color

. Dry Time Varies with Product r Combustible

. Wax Luster r Water Spots engineered strip and plank can be nailed down, which requires a wood subfloor. Some with thicker top layers can be sanded up to three times. Others can't be sanded at all.

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Wood Laminates

Wood laminate flooring features a plywood base topped with a layer of veneer. Plies and thicknesses varv. but most common is three-ply. 3/8"

Aside from its core, plastic laminate flooring isn't wood.

flooring, half as thick as the typical solid hardwood floor. The veneer topping of wood laminate floors (commonly l/8" thick) can be sanded and refinished (at most, up to three times). Most manufacturer warTanties cover the finish for five years.

Synthetic/Plastic Laminates

Aside from its core, plastic laminate flooring isn't wood. Usually l/2" thick, plastic laminate flooring consists of a fiberboard center wrapped in top and bottom layers of high-pressure laminate-a tougher version of the same material used in many kitchen countertops. These floors cannot be sanded or refinished and must be removed when they wear out. They usually come with 10- or I 5-year manulacturer warranties against fading, stains and wear.

Laminate flooring often comes as "floating wood floors," which are glued to each other, with no direct attachment to the subfloor. They literally "float" above the subfloor, allowing the flooring to be installed in every level of the home and over most types of subfloors, as long as the subfloor is level and structurally sound.

Floating floors are manufactured in large panels with square or interlocking edges and ends, making installation faster and easier.

Hardwood Flooring vs. Laminates

Laminate flooring has allowed people to achieve the look of hardwood floors for a fraction of the cost. But, cautions the Hardwood Manufacturers Association, you get what you pay for.

HMA suggests that if customers look closely at an entire laminate floor, they'll notice that the faux "woodgrain" pattern repeats itself. That's because synthetic laminate flooring is actually a photograph of real wood stuck to a wood composite.

Laminates, HMA claims, don't sound like real wood either. Walk across one, especially in high heels. and you'll probably hear a more hollow sound than you would on real wood.

The printed wood image on laminate floors is extremely thin and when chipped, exposes the fiberboard core of the panel. And, unlike real wood, laminate floors can't be sanded and refinished. When the laminate floor wears out, it must be ripped up and thrown away.

The durability of real wood floors, on the other hand, is determined by its finish (see charts along bottom). Wellmaintained hardwood floors with a polyuretnane llnlsn are water-resistant, making them suitable for kitchens and bathrooms. Wood floors are environmentally friendly, and they add to the value of a home. A recent survey of real-estate agents estimates solid hardwood floors can add as much as $7,000 to $10.000 to a home's resale value.

Oil-Moditied Urethane (Solvent evaporates to cure)

Durability Very Good

Moderate Odor

. Amber in Color

I Slow Drying

Combustible

Satin to Gloss Finish

Moisture-Cured Urethane (Absorbs moisture to cure)

Durability Excellent

I Strong Odor

. Clear lo Dark Amber Color Dries Quickly in High Humidity r Combustible

I Satin to Gloss Finish

Conversion Varnish

Durability Excellent r Very Strong Odor r Clear to Slight Amber in Color r Slow to Fast Drying o Satin to Gloss Finish