Hardwood Guide
Hardwood Guide
A gleaming new hardwood floor is the ultimate home indulgence. Offering up nature-derived textures and ongoing endurance, hardwood flooring can be a wonderful asset if properly selected and maintained. At Avant Garde Carpet One Floor & Home in Waldorf, MD, you’ll find stunning hardwood selections suitable for all settings.
With our hardwood flooring inventory spanning all of your solid and engineered favorites, including brilliant products made by brands like Baroque and Armstrong, we’re proud to serve the unique needs of greater Charles and Prince George’s counties and can help you find the perfect hardwood to handle Maryland’s humid summers and frosty winters.
There are hardwood flooring selections to fit nearly any style and setting. Depending on your tastes, budget, and functional needs, it’s easy to find the perfect product in your favorite hardwood species, finish, and size, with our inventory spanning both solid and engineered hardwood flooring.
Hardwood flooring is available in dozens of different tree species, both exotic and traditional. Since each hardwood species offers up unique levels of hardness, it’s important to look beyond the exterior appearance and do your just research. Traditional homeowners might prefer flooring made from pine, oak, or maple, while those who veer more on the cutting edge might well prefer mahogany or cherry.
Solid hardwood and engineered hardwood are inherently hard to tell apart upon first glance, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t some major differences to consider. Solid hardwood, made from solid wood planks, is hardwood flooring’s original form. Many prefer solid hardwood because it can be sanded down and refinished over and over again. Refinishing smooth’s out any surface blemishes and gives you the opportunity to change the look of your floors depending on your current home décor or current flooring trends. However, solid hardwood isn’t compatible with moisture, as it can warp when your interior climate isn’t carefully maintained.
Engineered hardwood, built using up to seven layers of natural woods and resins, is a denser and sturdier alternative. It’s made to resist moisture and can even be used below grade or in spaces like the kitchen. Since engineered wood is made of multiple layers, it can only be refinished a handful of times depending how thick the top veneer is.
Hardwood flooring, particularly solid hardwood, performs best in quiet, climate-controlled rooms. Engineered hardwood offers up a greater level of flexibility, as it can manage heavier use and everyday accidents. You can even install it in finished basements. Not sure which hardwood product is right for your upcoming project? Our flooring experts can steer you toward the better options.
No matter where you are in the floor buying process, it is always important to keep installation in mind. You should know what to consider before, during, and after your flooring purchase to simplify the process. Installing hardwood correctly ensures its beauty, durability, and performance is maximized. At Avante Garde Carpet One Floor & Home, we offer comprehensive hardwood installation services. You can turn to us to get the job done right.
When it comes to hardwood, installation methods vary by product. Solid hardwood typically requires glue or nail down installation, whereas engineered hardwood can be floated, or also glued or nailed down. There are challenges that come with hardwood installation, such as a subfloor that contains too much moisture. Always have your subfloor moisture tested before installing hardwood in your home. Once you have purchased your hardwood floors, you need to let them sit and adjust to the temperature and humidity of your home. If you install them right out of the box, you run the risk of them expanding or contracting which will cause the wood to warp.
To prepare for the installation, be sure that all of the furniture is out of the room and you allow your installers plenty of space to move around. Once installation is finished, and depending on which installation method you went with, allow the hardwood to settle overnight before placing furniture over the floor. When it comes to maintaining your hardwood floors, be sure to regularly care for them to ensure their lifespan as well as maintain their natural beauty. Your hardwood installers will specially space each plank to allow natural expansion and shrinkage during temperature and humidity changes. This will prevent your wood panels from warping over time. To learn more about hardwood installation, check out our installation FAQ, or visit our Waldorf showroom and speak with one of our flooring professionals.
Avant Garde Carpet One is proud to be a part of Carpet One Floor & Home: the continent’s largest cooperative of independently owned and operated flooring stores. Our expert team can offer you incredible value and an impressive hardwood flooring inventory that offers up options to best meet your budget and needs. To learn more about our many hardwood flooring options, visit us soon at 1254 Smallwood Drive W. in Waldorf, MD or call us today at (301) 276-7834.