An ounce of prevention...

Hardwood flooring is one of the best interior investments you can add to your home. Realtors and homebuilders alike have acknowledged that wood flooring makes any home more appealing. That being said, maintaining your investment over many years is important. There are a few very simple steps you can take to help protect your wood flooring investment from wear and tear and damage.

• Beware dirt and grit.

Dirt and grit can scratch the wood finish when dragged across your floors by shoes or dust mops. Entrance mats help to control the amount of grit and dust coming into the home and dry mopping with microfiber helps to keep the dust that does get in under control.

• Vacuum safely

If you choose to use a vacuum on your wood flooring, make sure your vacuum employs a soft brush and never use a vacuum that has a beater bar on your wood floors.

• Protect your floors from furniture

Furniture—table and chair legs—can also scratch and damage your wood floors. To avoid damage from furniture movement, place felt pieces on table and chair legs. If your wood floor is in an area such as a dining room, where furniture is frequently moved, you can also use area rugs to protect your floor.

• Clean with care

Avoid harsh chemicals when cleaning your hardwood floors. Chemicals can be harmful to your wood floor finish and can cause discoloration. Contact your manufacturer for a recommendation on appropriate cleaners.

Water Happens, But it doesn't have to ruin your wood floors

One of the most costly threats to your hardwood floors is water damage. Water damage can occur from spills, leaks and humidity and moisture in the air. Of course the best way to save your hardwood floors from water damage is to employ preventive measures. Try to avoid water and other liquid spills; if they occur clean them immediately using absorbent cloth or paper towels. Maintaining air humidity in the recommended range for your particular hardwood floor is also necessary to prevent warping and other moisture related damage.

Some simple ways to prevent water damage include employing the use of rugs in areas, such as entryways, that are more likely to be exposed to moisture. Always be sure to speak with the manufacturer of your wood floors for tips and recommendations specific to your chosen floor.

Taking preventive measures will go a long way toward preserving the beauty of your hardwood floors over time. However, no matter how careful you may be, water damage can still occur. If you discover water or moisture damage on your hardwood floors, it is most important that you act quickly to remove or eliminate the source of moisture.

Depending on the kind of damage and the kind of hardwood floors you have, steps to repair it may vary. The important things to remember with any water damage are 1) eliminate the source of moisture and 2) wait until the wood has properly dried and relaxed prior to making any drastic decisions regarding repair. If water-damage related repairs are undertaken prior to the floor properly drying, permanent damage can be done to the floor. Feel free to email us regarding your specific issue and we’ll be happy to help you determine the next steps.

Protecting your wood floors from extra soles this holiday!

As you prepare your home for holiday guests this week, don't forget to give your wood floors some extra care and attention. The added foot traffic of friends and family during the holidays means extra wear and tear on your floors. The following tips can help you make sure your wood floors are properly protected as you welcome guests into your home:

If you have wood floors in your kitchen, be sure to protect areas near the refrigerator, sink, dishwasher and stove with area rugs to avoid water and food stains.

Place rugs or floor mats near any entrance into your home so guests can wipe their feet and keep any harsh materials from making their way onto your wood floors. You may also want to asks guests to remove their shoes when entering your home.

If you need to move furniture to make room for extra guests, be sure to use felt pads on table and chair legs to avoid scratching your wood floors.

If you have wood flooring in areas of your home that you anticipate seeing high traffic, you may want to use area rugs in those rooms as well.

These tips can help ensure that your wood floors maintain their finish and shine, even under the added holiday foot traffic. Taking these few extra steps to protect your floors can also help ensure that you can enjoy your holidays with family and friends without worrying about the safety of your floors.

Giving Thanks

As we take this week to think about all we're thankful for, we here at Real Wood Floors wanted to take the opportunity to say thanks to all of you for your support in 2010. We know that you have a choice for your engineered flooring needs and we're thankful that you choose our product.

We will continue to offer you the best products at a competitive rate as well as the "service after the sale" as we move forward through the end of 2010 and into 2011. Additionally, we hope you won't hesitate to let us know if there is something we can do to make your experience using our products even better.

Enjoy the holiday week and thanks for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

Should I paint or stain my trim?

I have been asked recently by a couple of clients what to do about their wall trim after they install their flooring. Should you paint trim to set it apart from the floor or should you buy the same type of wood that is used on the floor and stain it?

In my humble opinion, I think painting the base molding really helps to make the floor stand on its own. In other words, when you stain base shoe, quarter round or base molding to match the wood floor it tends to make the floor look like its crawling up the wall. Add to this that it is a good possibility that it will be very difficult to get an exact match on staining trim work and I think it makes the case for painting even better. It's a situation where just getting close on the color looks worse than being completely different. Look at these pictures below and decide for yourself.

Above: Stained shoe molding makes the flooring look like its crawling up the wall and doesn't set it apart from the trim.

Above: Painted base shoe and trim distinguishes the floor from the wall.

Wear layers and longevity

We talk a lot about the thickness of the wear layer on our products. The wear layer is the usable surface on an engineered floor, the layer of hardwood that sits on top that gives the floor its unique appearance which is exactly the same as a solid 3/4" floor. But it also represents the potential lifespan of the floor based on its thickness. Traditional solid 3/4" wood flooring is thought to be the gold standard of real wood flooring. And in many ways they still represent a viable option. They have a thick wear layer that can be re-used and they will look great in your home for a lifetime. Our engineered product mimics these benefits by giving you a heavy 5mm wear layer that can be re-sanded over time to refresh your floor and in addition give you added benefits like better dimensional stability which limits the seasonal shrinkage you typically see in solid floors. They can also be used in basements unlike solid wood flooring and also in glue-down applications they will eliminate the need for large unsightly transitions from wood to tile or carpet.

What is a quality wood floor?

I see a number of forum posts asking the above question. What is quality, how can it be defined? Here is a brief overview of the different aspects of picking out a quality wood flooring product.

Raw Materials
This can be difficult to ascertain but it is important to note that quality products start with quality raw materials. In engineered flooring this pertains to the backing material (plywood for multiply products and wood fillets and backing veneers for 3ply products), the actual hardwood veneer, and the glues used to process the product into a piece of usable flooring.

Processing
How are the floors made? What type of equipment are they processed on? Flooring produced on high-end German machinery are more likely to have tight fitting tolerances and less over-wood (height differences) than product made on lower end machinery. Not to mention contractors will have less difficulty installing products that are easy to work with. That translates to less time they are working in your home.

Investment Value
Is the floor you are purchasing made in such a way that it can be expected to last a long time in your home? This pertains mostly to the thickness of the wear-layer on an engineered floor. Is there enough usable hardwood to be refinished multiple times so that a few years down the road you can have them re-sanded and finished rather than paying for removal and replacement of new flooring?

There are other considerations but these are a few key items to explore when choosing a floor for your home.