Timber & Textiles » Flooring

Engineered Oak Flooring

Ryan Hawkins — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:45:47 +0000

At long last, you know what you want your new floors to look like. The idea of wood flooring has stolen your heart, and oak is an excellent choice. Both white oak and red oak are classic, inexpensive, and will look beautiful with your furniture, curtains, everything. But you still have one more decision to make. At first glance there are two options: solid wood, or laminate. Before you finalize a decision, you must consider this third option: engineered oak flooring.

Here is a selection of some of the bestselling engineered oak floor board styles on Amazon.com (article continues below):

5 inch Greenland Multilayer Distressed Hand-Scraped Hardwood Oak English Leather Flooring (6 inch Sample)	5 inch Greenland Multilayer Distressed Hand-Scraped Hardwood Oak Honey Flooring (6 inch Sample)	Vogue 5″ Engineered Amendoim in Natural
American Smooth 3 1/2″ Engineered Oak in Lincoln	5 x 5/8 3-Layer (All Solid) Engineered Hardwood Oak Merlot Flooring (6 inch Sample)	American Classics Jamestown Plank 3″ Oak in Pecan
American Classics Hardwoods 3″ Oak in Natural	3/4″ Handscraped Asian Walnut Acacia Solid Prefinished Hardwood Wood Floor Flooring	Silverwing 3″ Random Length Engineered Oak in Gunstock
Glueless Click 4″ Engineered Oak in Vintage Oak	Engineered Smooth Oak Gunstock Hardwood Floors	Engineered Smooth Oak Natural Hardwood Floors
Harmony 5″ Engineered Red Oak in Natural	Bellwether 3 1/4″ Engineered Rustic Red Oak in Early Bird	Silverwing 3″ Random Length Engineered Oak in Natural

>>> Click Here to View More Engineered Oak Flooring Options <<<

Solid oak flooring is obviously the most desirable for the heightened value it will give your home, and the simple namesake of solid wood. Yet real oak floors require tremendous attention, care, concern, and above all financial investment. Laminate wood is fairly cheap and looks decent, but ultimately does not have the beauty or value of wood. It also cannot be sanded to correct scratches or beatings. That’s why you need to consider engineered oak floor boards.

Engineered oak wood flooring is actually 100% real wood. It is a sandwich of anywhere from 1/6 inch to 1/8 inch of finish wood on top and non finish plywood underneath. That, again, is entirely real wood. In fact, having plywood beneath your oak floors is actually preferred. The middle layer, laid cross ways, provides extra strength and lasting durability to the flooring job. You can find engineered boards in a variety of styles, from modern to antique oak flooring.

You can find a great selection of hardwood oak floor stain colors, engineered white oak flooring and red oak flooring being two long-standing favorites. Oak has always had the reputation for beautiful durability. It looks classic in any room you lay it. From the kitchen to the bedroom to the dining room, oak will suit you wonderfully. The engineered versions no less. Two more great points about these floating oak floor boards: they are always pre finished, so that you can walk on them as soon as they are laid (as opposed to unfinished oak flooring), and engineered floors can be sanded. The sanding should be done professionally so as to avoid revealing the plywood underneath, and should be done a limited number of times for the same reason. But still, your scratches and dings are correctible. That in itself is worth thousands.

Ultimately, your decision will have to depend on what your priorities are. If oak laminate flooring’s low prices are what have caught you, engineered floors are not as cheap. Laminate might hold up to moisture better, as well. But if you truly want real wood, and a solid oak floor is simply beyond the budget (as it is for many people), then don’t pass up this opportunity for discount oak flooring. Beautify your home, give it value, and enjoy the lasting results of these oak hardwood floors. Go for the engineered.

Going With A Personalized Door Mat

Linda Harris — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:33:00 +0000

Ever thought of buying a personalized door mat? It is a rarely thought of touch in home decoration, but goes far to add warmth, character, and positive attitudes around your house–even before anyone comes inside! Personalized door mats can bring smiles to strangers’ faces, even bigger smiles to already friendly visitors’ faces, or even to that tired family’s face after a long day at work. Mats personalized with a logo or company name relay a royal class. A door mat with a humorous message can change a mood. With a little bit of consideration towards a personalized outdoor mat, you will alter the entire aura of your home or business from the moment anyone steps to your door.

Let your imagination explore all the possibilities. You can get colorful mats with fun prints and cute phrases, or something classy like a French bronze mat personalized with family initials. For a business or institution, a personalized mat adds an impressive touch to that already impressive building. Even mats in front of individual office doors or conference rooms should enter your mind. Hand woven natural fabrics, carpeting, felt, straw mats, aluminum, pewter… from anything and made into anything. Mats can be cut to your favorite shapes, as well. The classic shape is rectangular, of course. But there are dome shaped mats, square mats, flower shaped mats; you’re not limited.

Doormats don’t have to be expensive. They’re made from inexpensive materials, are small, generally washable and easily replaceable. You can find personalized mats ranging anywhere from the dirt cheap twenty dollars to the highest ends on the market, French bronze, pewter, or the Duracoir mat. Duracoir, you ask? A personalized mat from this no shed, no fade synthetic material costs around $100. The difference of cost will often depend on how much personalization you’d like. The more decorative, the more expensive. Many companies charge per letter, so shorter names or messages will be less expensive.

Perhaps the most important thing to consider when buying a front door mat is the durability it guarantees and care it requires. A simple carpet or fabric mat may be machine washable, but may fade and stain with time. A rubber mat washes with a strong hose down, usually won’t fade, but can tear or suffer other damage over time. Metal is very durable and polishes beautifully… but require polishing. Duracoir is the durable mat that won’t fade, shed, or stain. You’ll pay for the quality.

The Zest Of A Zebra Rug

Maya Tan — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:10:09 +0000

Your bedroom has been feeling a little drab. Your patio feels empty and lifeless. The cat has ruined your living room area rug. For all these problems, I can offer you one tremendous and exciting solution: a zebra rug.

Zebra rugs have personality, funk, character, life, and beauty. No matter where you put them, guests will comment on the flair. Day in and day out, you’ll appreciate the zest. It’s almost hard not to walk and talk without some spunk in your step around a zebra print rug. So if your room has fairly simple décor, a scheme of primary colors, or hardly any distinct color at all, you can definitely flaunt some a zebra area rug. The other option, of course, is to fully redecorate. Make your zebra skin rug the focal point. Build from there for a enlivened, modern look you can’t regret.

You will have to decide how much you can spend on one of these beauties, of course. Real zebra hide rugs can be quite an expense. Especially for a large space. Smaller skins will be slightly more affordable, but still not within everyone’s budget. The real thing also requires extra care and maintenance.

The best way to go for cheap zebra rugs are the faux zebra rugs. They are a fraction of the price, and a fraction of the maintenance. You can easily find a great looking faux zebra rug in nearly any shape and size, even in some hot colors. On eBay, you’ll find great prices on a pink zebra rug. A local discount vendor will offer you some mind-blowing deal on a brown zebra rug. When you realize this, all it takes is a little research in order to make both the sophisticated great aunt and the wild teenager happy on their upcoming birthdays.

If you go with the faux, even your bathroom and patio can enjoy zebra print rugs without you having to worry about rain, sun, or bathtub overspill. Buy a machine washable or zebra outdoor rug, and throw those worries out the window. This fun style should be a thrill, from beginning to end. The one thing I do have to say, however, is that you shouldn’t take all the advice I’ve given. Using zebra area rugs in your living room, bedroom, bathroom, and patio might be a little overwhelming for some guests. Limit your zebra décor to one or two areas. That way, you’ll achieve real style.

What To Know About In Floor Heating Systems Before Buying

GuestPoster — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:06:01 +0000

Just as with any home improvement product, underfloor heating systems are available from many sources, and there are just as many different configurations depending on the technology each maker uses in the construction of their product. Finding not only a cost efficient and reliable system, but also a contractor that will install it flawlessly and at a competitive price can be an overwhelming task for the average homeowner. One of the best sources is talking to neighbors, family members, and friends that have had this heating appliance installed in their home previously. They can alert you to what they would have done differently, and if their current system is living up to their expectations.

People in the southern region of the United States are slowly starting to embrace under floor heating as an alternative to central heat or forced air heating. The chances of finding enough people in your area to discuss this topic may be a lot slimmer than our neighbors to the extreme north. Fortunately the Internet puts everyone within reach, and you can join a home improvement forum, or other similar message board that people will share their experience with various models, and what they had to overcome to have a working before the underfloor heating installation could occur in their home.

First you should go visit local retailers to see what is available, taking notes all the while, and then looking up this information when you return home, to see what others are saying about the products that you just reviewed. Everything sounds good in the store, but what counts is after the product is installed, and how well it works in your home. There are always going to be pessimists on these message boards, but overall you should be able to get an idea of which heating system to gravitate towards purchasing.

One of the best ways to gather quite a bit of information at one time is to attend large home improvement expos in your area – They will have the underfloor heating systems set up to demonstrate, and while checking out their products, you can ask them about any special situations you have concerning your home. After the show, get back on the computer and search for these products and their respective reviews as well. This will arm you with enough information to make an intelligent choice about which system and new flooring to purchase for your home. You may want to snap some digital photos of the demonstration areas to remind you of certain features that interested you at them time.

A Floor Polisher Keeps Your Flooring Clean And Shining

GuestPoster — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:10:03 +0000

Maintenance of any type of flooring is extremely important to make it last longer and look better at all times. Floors get dirty very easily and frequently for obvious reasons and require thorough cleaning on a daily basis. If not cleaned properly, they can become the source of infections and diseases in your space by acting as the breeding source of microbes and mosquitoes. To clean any type of flooring effectively and quickly, a floor polisher is the ideal machines.

Floor polishers, also known as floor buffers, do two jobs at once: they remove the dislodged dirt from your flooring and also give it a nice gleaming look using a buffer and cleaning solution. Though they have traditionally been used for industrial cleaning, a scaled-down version of floor polisher is also available now. These are perfect for household cleaning of non-carpeted floors or cleaning of other small spaces.

There are some things that you should consider while shopping for floor polishers. Make sure that the motor of the polisher is strong enough for your usage. Ideally, one should opt for those models that have options to change the speed of the motor. With such buffers, you would be able to clean both delicate floors that might get damaged by very powerful cleaners and also those hard floors that have dirt dislodged deep between gaps and surfaces. For private usage though, buffers with less powerful motors, which are also cheaper, are more suitable.

Another thing to be kept in mind is the size of the machine. While small polishers are designed to fulfill cleaning requirements of small areas, large ones are more suitable for those big office spaces or buildings of colleges, schools, hospitals and malls. Since the polisher would require a separate storage area, make sure you make your purchases keeping this in mind.

They are quite affordable and give you the freedom of cleaning your floors whenever you want, unlike janitor services with which you would have to fix an appointment. Since it can be really difficult to find a janitor service that completes its assignment with utmost efficiency and honesty on time, floor polishers are a better choice any day. One can buy a floor polisher from any cleaning supplies firm. Additionally, one can also look for these cleaning machines on the web.

The Economics of Tigerwood Flooring Installation

GuestPoster — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:23:06 +0000

Tigerwood is an exotic hardwood used primarily for flooring. It is generally one of three species; Goncalo Alves, Brazilian Koa, or Muiracatiara. What makes this hardwood unique is its dark color and distinctive striping, reminiscent of tiger stripes. The rich color of Tigerwood makes it much more stunning than traditional hardwoods such as oak. It is beautiful without being as hard as some of the other exotic woods, making it easier to work with and more economical. Engineered Tigerwood flooring can be glued, tacked or floated, making it an ideal wood plank flooring in many places in the home. Its durability and natural resistance to rot, also makes it an ideal decking material.

Small rooms can accommodate this highly prized flooring with the careful use of narrower wood strips. Because of the dark color and distinctive grain, care should be used in smaller rooms or rooms that may require less striking, or muted flooring. The dark color can make small rooms appear smaller and the rich appearance can clash or compete with other styles or décor. This type of exotic hardwood flooring will bring a bold accent to a room of its own accord.

While hardwood floors are not as easy to care for and maintain as tile floors, many realtors have stated that hardwood flooring makes a home more sell-able, and homes with exotic hardwoods sell even faster. Hardwood floors make a home appear sturdier, warmer and more welcoming than homes with tile or large carpeted areas.

Hardwood such as oak flooring has been the most common flooring in traditional and country home styles. The more exotic wood floors are well suited to many other styles and decors, but their extreme hardness makes them heavier and harder to work with. Because it is easier to work with and weighs less, Tigerwood flooring installation is economical while still maintaining the rich colors and grains of exotic wood plank flooring.

Would You Consider Laminated Wood Flooring?

GuestPoster — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 01:25:06 +0000

Are you among the thousands who had to give up on your dream of selling your current house and moving to the home of your dreams when the real estate market basically imploded? Lots of people have decided that some dreams are just too important to abandon. Unwilling to simply wait and hope that housing prices and valuations soon stabilize, they have decided to try a different approach. If this sounds like you, then laminated wood flooring might be something you’ll be seeing in your near future.

Many of the features that people want can be obtained by remodeling right where they are instead of taking on a huge new mortgage by buying a more expensive house. There is a certain amount of hesitancy, though, about the economy and how careful they should be with the funds they are earmarking for renovations. In light of the recent catastrophe in the Gulf, resulting from the explosion of BP’s oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, consumers are concerned about the long range effects. Taking a more conservative approach than in the past, many people are making lists and choosing those things most important to them, rather than simply trying to do it all.

Unless a house already has wood flooring, it is usually close to the top of most priority lists. There’s just something about the classic beauty of solid oak flooring or the unique richness of walnut. Plus, if the day does come when it is time to put the house up for sale, few things add more market value than hardwood floors.

If there are any negatives to wood flooring it is the fact that it is costly. Some of those other things on that wish list may not make it if the remodeling fund is overly stretched because of the floors. If you can’t give up finally having a Jacuzzi bathtub or upgrading the counter tops and cabinets in the kitchen, then it might be time to explore other options.

One alternative that has become fairly popular is that of laminate wood floors instead of solid wood. These products have been greatly improved in recent years and are actually preferred in some areas that get a lot of traffic or abuse. Make no mistake, however, the amount of real wood in wood laminate is zero. A photo of a type of hardwood is applied to a composite of fiber board and resin.

Laminate wood flooring will save you a considerable amount of money. Whether you choose solid planks or oak or walnut laminate flooring will, in the end, depend upon your own priorities and your budget.

Natural Choices Are Travertine Tiles And Teak Flooring

GuestPoster — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:17:03 +0000

For many contractors and interior designers travertine tiles are one of the most popular natural stone materials recommended. Travertine is a form of limestone that is versatile, easy to custom shape, and stunning to look at it when it is installed in a home or commercial space.

It comes in a variety of colors and textures that can satisfy any decorative taste. It is a durable and stylish material that is a preferred choice when thinking of flooring, showers, and backsplashes for countertops. It adds that extra touch of style people take notice of.

Going back to decorative taste. Natural stone like travertine is a great choice for quality floors, but not the only one. Teak flooring is another natural material that is easy to work and extremely durable while offering different color shades to fit any décor. It is an extremely tough wood substance that will last for many years after it is installed in a home or commercial space.

In regards to flooring both are excellent choices. With proper installation and regular care both will last many years while keeping their strength, overall beauty, and appeal. That increases the value of any home or commercial building when owners decide to sell. Certain touches are proven to add appeal and value to a home or building. Location is a key factor, but savvy design choices go a long way in adding extra value and elegance to a property.

If it is a remolding or custom build job both of these materials are a tremendous improvement to the overall aesthetics of a structure. Quality materials are essential to an attractive design. There is no way to sugarcoat what professional contractors and interior designs agree on. Using poor quality materials will only lead to problems in the future. Go for quality for peace of mind.

Epoxy: The Number One Garage Floor Coating

GuestPoster — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 22:46:05 +0000

a guest post by Carlos Valencia

If you are looking for a product to seal your concrete floor you can’t get anything better than epoxy. There are many reasons that an epoxy floor coating is superior but the two most important are the wear ability and the safety factor that comes from applying a non-slip additive to the floor surface. You can buy many different floor paints, including latex, enamel, and stains, but you will never be able to surpass the functionality of a high quality epoxy product.

An epoxy is actually a solid coating that is created when two liquids are mixed together. The main ingredient is the resin which is a petroleum based product that stays liquid until the second ingredient, the hardener, is added. The hardener creates a chemical reaction in the resin which causes it to set up or cure. It really takes very little hardener, about an ounce or two, to cause a large portion of resin to morph into an extremely hard surface. This is the same idea behind fiberglass. A hardener is mixed with the resin and then when the mixture cures it is very hard. The only difference is a fiberglass actually has a web of spun glass embedded in it for lateral strength. On your floor, the underlying concrete gives the support for the epoxy on the surface.

The epoxy cures very hard and is not permeable which means it is great as a garage floor sealant. Even if petroleum products such as engine oil, transmission oil, or grease are spilled on it they will not soak in and you can just clean them up with a detergent and water.

The other great aspect of epoxy is its ability to accept non-slip additives such as paint chips or grit. Once the coating is rolled out, the additives are cast on top just like as if you were feeding chickens. As the floor cures, the additives stay on the surface and the result is great traction for walking even if the floor is wet or has an oil sheen. This is very important as concrete can get very slick and many accidents are caused every year from this problem.

It’s All In Karastan Carpeting

Linda Harris — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:47:17 +0000

If you are looking for a carpet for your home that will look good and last well, Karastan carpeting is what you are looking for. This line of carpets is known to be of top quality, a fact which many satisfied consumers can attest to.

When shopping for a carpet for your home, quality is the key. Yes, there may be some brands that are less expensive than others, but remember, you get what you pay for. A Karastan carpet may not be the cheapest product on the market, but because of its superior quality and durability, it will undoubtedly outlast other carpets, thereby retroactively saving your money in the long run. Karastan carpet prices are comparable to the prices of other quality carpets, and are worth every penny.

Every room in a home has unique uses and needs, with varying degrees of traffic, which is why one type of carpet will not be suitable for the whole house. Karastan carpets offer an array of carpet styles and designs in different thicknesses and colors to accommodate all different needs. You may want a thick plush carpet for your living room, but prefer a thinner more durable one for the play room. You may want a light colored carpet for the bedroom but opt for a darker one for the dining room.

Karastan carpet cleaning is a relatively easy and uncomplicated affair because the carpets are produced to resist stains and matting. If these carpets are well taken care of, they can look as good as new after years of use. The company prides itself with only using top quality materials for their merchandise. A Karastan wool carpet is made of fine real wool that is woven to perfection. Of course the wool carpets are more costly than their synthetic counterparts. Their synthetic carpets are also of high quality and make a great choice for the consumer who is looking to spend a little less. If you are planning to buy large quantities of carpets, buying the Karastan carpet wholesale will save you time and money.

If you take a look at the Karastan carpet reviews, you will find that they are generally well rated, and that consumers are pleased with the beauty, quality, and durability of these carpets. They make an excellent choice for any home and will offer a unique combination of beauty and practicality for years to come.