Our Guide To Timber
There is nothing more luxurious than a natural wood floor. Wood, more commonly referred to as Timber when we're talking about flooring, is the most sought-after flooring options, with timeless looks and enduring properties. Here are some characteristics of timber flooring to help you decide if it is the right choice for you.
The Basics
There are three different types of timber flooring – Solid Timber flooring, Engineered Timber flooring and Hardened Timber flooring.
Solid timber floors are made from a single, solid piece of hardwood. Each board is precision-milled with tongue-and-groove edges and can be sanded and refinished many times over its lifespan, making it a truly long-term option. While solid timber offers natural beauty and warmth, it can be more prone to movement from changes in humidity, so installation and acclimatisation are important. Available pre-finished or unfinished for on-site finishing.
Engineered timber floors feature a real hardwood top layer bonded over multiple layers of timber, each running in different directions for strength and stability. This construction greatly reduces movement from humidity, making them ideal for New Zealand conditions. Most are supplied pre-finished for fast, clean installation with no sanding or coating required. Depending on the thickness of the top layer, engineered floors can often be sanded and refinished the same amount of times as solid timber, offering a balance of durability and versatility.
Hardened timber floors are much like engineered timber floors but with one key difference: an ultra high-density core beneath the real wood top layer. This advanced construction gives the surface exceptional resistance to dents, scratches, and moisture-related movement. A protective lacquer adds even more durability, while the top veneer showcases real timber. Because the veneer is thin, sanding and refinishing is limited to once, or not at all, though the tough surface means it’s rarely necessary.
At Flooring Xtra we mostly offer Engineered Timber and Hardened Timber.
Installation
The type of subfloor that you have in your home plays a role in determining what floor covering is most suitable. Solid hardwood floors are normally nailed and glued down, and react more to moisture by expanding and shrinking. If you have a basement, an area of your home where moisture and temperature isn’t well regulated, or a concrete slab, solid hardwood floors aren’t recommended. Opt for an engineered timber floor for these areas instead. Unlike solid hardwood floors, engineered timber can be floated over an underlay, or nailed and glued directly to the subfloor of the home. A floating installation can be an especially good option in multi-storey dwellings to minimise noise, or where there are moisture problems with the sub-floor. Floating an engineered timber floor gives you the ability to use an underlay beneath the floor to assist with footfall noise reduction, warmth and insulation.
Maintenance
One of the best features of some timber floors is the ability to sand it down and refinish it. This feature allows you to remove scuffs, indentations and scratches, bringing them up to new again. A keen DIY’er can do this or a flooring expert can be hired for the job. Depending on the thickness of the timber floor, you may be able to achieve several sands throughout the floors lifetime. The floor cannot be sanded past the tongue and groove of the plank. Be sure you’re taking this into account when comparing timber pricing.
There are a handful of features that can add value to a home come resale time, timber flooring being one of these. New owners are unlikely to need to carry out expensive flooring replacements before moving in. A re-sanding and refinishing can ensure that it look as good as the day it was laid. Although timber is considered a type of ‘hard flooring’ it tends to still be softer than its counterparts such as ceramic tiles or polished concrete. This means that it is a little softer underfoot, not so hard on joints when standing or on crockery when accidentally dropped.
Sustainability
Wood is one of the most environmentally friendly flooring options available as it comes from trees, which are renewable. The forests that provide our flooring products are growing faster than they are being harvested. Timber flooring is also biodegradable, recyclable and requires less energy to produce than other flooring options. Timber floors with environmental certification are always available.
Style
Timber flooring is made from a wide range of trees, which we refer to as 'species'. Choosing the right wood species for your flooring is a matter of personal preference and budget. Of course not all wood species are the same price, therefore there may be price differences across the various timber flooring choices.
Each species has its own colouring spanning a wide spectrum of warm and cool neutrals. Keep in mind that timber flooring is a natural product so knots, colour and grain variation between planks is only natural. Bear in mind that timber samples naturally only provide a limited indication of the look of your finished floor.
Timber floors are one of the few flooring options that become more beautiful with age. Like all natural things that experience change over time, timber floors will experience subtle colour changes as they age. This will be apparent when furniture or rugs are moved. This is a natural process that will add to the character of the floor. Different species of wood flooring will experience colour changes at different rates. As such, a new floor will always differ from an existing sample.
It is always a good idea to order slightly more wood flooring than you need and to store this away somewhere safe. When you come to making any alterations to your home and need to ‘patch’ your floor or you seriously damage a plank, you can remove this and replace it.
