Hardwood Flooring Installer Los Angeles

Several hundred years ago the common man lived in dwellings with dirt floors. Those a bit higher on the economic ladder might have slate rock or an array of flat stones found while clearing land. Only royalty could enjoy floors of wood and at the time these were nothing more than rough planks that were hand scraped to get rid of the bigger shards and splinters. Sandpaper was available in China at that time, but it was not available in the USA until the 1800s. People had to dump buckets of sand on the wood planks and rub by hand to get the desired smooth surface of the floor.

During the colonial period in the USA, the abundance of wood brought the benefits of wood flooring to the settlers and new immigrants from England and other European countries. Wood flooring dominated as the flooring choice well into the 20th century because the only other choice was linoleum or tile and only the top 1% of those eras could afford carpeting or handmade rugs made with natural materials. World War II saw the advent of synthetic materials for carpets which made the price drop to such a degree that it replaced wood as the preferred choice for flooring. It was not until the 1990’s that wood flooring made a comeback, but this was largely due to the development of laminate flooring that simulated a wood look. People now had a choice of laminate flooring or the timeless beauty of a real hardwood floor.

Real hardwood floors are expensive to purchase and install. Less expensive soft woods like pine, cedar or spruce make for an attractive floor but are vulnerable to scratches and dents. A bit costlier are oak, teak, bamboo, maple and cherry woods that offer their own unique look but will be more difficult to work with due to their increased hardness over pine. The top of the line hardwoods includes mahogany, cypress and walnut that are all quite exotic but about double the cost to buy and install.

What are the advantages and downsides of hardwood flooring compared to other flooring choices?

Hardwood is the most expensive but is also the most durable and can literally yield 50 to 100 years of service barring any calamity. It has the advantage over laminate in that scratches can be sanded over and refinished. Because it is real wood and not some ersatz material it will add value to your home and be a source of pride.

Real hardwoods are more difficult to clean and maintain compared to laminates and stone tile flooring. The homeowner will have to decide if the effort required is worth the benefits.

Avid environmentalists will try to make the case that using real wood is destroying forests that will lead to more man-made climate change eventually destroying the earth. If this is a concern to you remember that laminates do contain wood products and probably involve the use of hazardous materials in their manufacture. The eco-conscious person may want to consider bamboo flooring as this is a self-sustaining grass product and not from a tree that requires many years to replenish.

It is a joy to wiggle one’s toes into a plush new carpet but if you have kids or pets the joy quickly fades as stains, dirt, spilled drinks and pet “accidents” turn the carpet into a germ filled fiber mishmash. Vacuuming and carpet shampoo will help but even the best quality carpet will accumulate dirt and wear out after a few years of heavy traffic. Hardwood or laminate flooring gets the edge here.

Hardwood floors will require some type of finishing to protect it from moisture and gritty dirt that will erode bare wood.

Waxing was an early form of wood protection, but it does not give a hard finish and must be re-applied frequently. Shellac is best used on furniture but can be used on flooring as a hard underlayer to wax but this requires a lot of labor to apply both coatings. Varnish has been used since the Civil War and while it yields an attractive surface it is slow drying, and the finish is still somewhat soft. Polyurethane is the finishing agent most used today because it provides the hard and durable surface that is easily cleaned.

Finally, hardwood flooring will cost between $2,000 to $10,000 to install but it will yield the greatest return in terms of the value of your house and the appearance of your floors compared to any other flooring.

We, Los Angeles Home Remodelers, pride ourselves on being professional, reliable, and affordable. We can help you build install hardwood floors. We are fully licensed and fully insured. Contact us for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-818-532-0482