Select Hardwood Flooring Types
to Suit Your Project

The warmth and character that certain hardwood flooring types can bring to a room in your home is almost impossible to match with any other flooring material. Hardwood can be used to give a room a touch of elegance, rustic charm, or an atmosphere of days gone by where your antique furniture looks right at home.

Most areas of your home are great for hardwood, it's easy keep clean, and with proper care quality floors can just about last forever. However, there’s more to hardwood flooring than its attractive appearance – there are many different types and you home's individual characteristics can help determine which is the best choice for you.

Many years ago the only choice a family had if they wanted hardwood flooring installed in their home was an unfinished wood that required sanding and finishing once it had been nailed in place. If your home was built on a concrete slab, hardwood wasn’t a flooring option without first installing a costly subfloor system. Unfinished hardwood is still popular today and there is really no comparison to a site-finished hardwood floor. However, there are now many other great options for families wishing to add the beauty of hardwood to their homes. A few of the varieties available:

• Engineered hardwood flooring
• Prefinished hardwood flooring
• Floating hardwood flooring
• Laminate wood flooring

• Wide plank hardwood flooring
• Reclaimed wood flooring
• Distressed wood flooring
• Hand scraped wood flooring

• Home gym wood flooring
• Used hardwood flooring

You can explore each of these hardwood flooring types in depth by clicking on the links, and the following brief summaries should help point you in the right direction:

This is the original member of the hardwood flooring family. Unfinished hardwood is just as the name implies – an unfinished wood that must be sanded and finished after installation.

It's is available in several widths and numerous wood species. This variety of flooring isn’t always the best choice for an inexperienced DIYer due to the specialized tools required during the installation and finishing process.

If you plan to place it in an existing home, care must be taken due to the dust created during the sanding stage. Unfinished hardwood is normally installed over a wood subfloor. More on unfinished hardwood flooring.

If you’re looking for hardwood flooring types to be placed on concrete slab, engineered flooring will likely be the best choice. This flooring has layers much the same as plywood with the top layer being a hardwood veneer. It’s a thinner floor than standard hardwood and can be glued or stapled in place.

In most cases engineered flooring is prefinished and is ready to use after installation. This flooring is available in numerous wood species, several widths, and many finishes. More on engineered hardwood flooring.

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This variety of hardwood flooring is very similar to the unfinished type of flooring, but arrives from the factory with the stain and finish already installed. It’s become very popular with homeowners who want the beauty and durability of hardwood, but not the time and mess traditionally involved with sanding and finishing.

The floor is DIY friendly and a good way to go for giving a room in an existing home a quick makeover. Prefinished flooring is available in several widths and numerous wood species and finishes. If you choose prefinished flooring for your home, it can be a good idea to purchase a little extra for future repairs. More on prefinished hardwood flooring.

This flooring isn’t really a 'wood floor' – it just looks like it is. Laminate boards are constructed from materials similar to the laminate countertops in kitchens. The material is very durable and extremely easy to clean. These qualities have made the flooring a popular choice for restaurants that desire a rustic or country décor.

Laminate flooring is glued down and can be used over most types of subfloors. Some varieties have a cushioned backing that can make standing in the kitchen for long periods a little easier. More on laminate wood flooring.

Floating wood flooring is a variety of engineered and laminate wood flooring that doesn’t require glue or staples to hold it in place – it essentially 'floats'. The flooring can be used over most types of subfloors and is very DIY friendly as you don’t need many tools for installation.

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Wide plank flooring is more a description of the style than a completely different variety of flooring. Standard hardwood flooring is usually 2 ¼ or 3 inches in width, but that can vary depending on the mill or manufacturer. Wide plank is a term used to describe hardwood that’s, well, wider than standard flooring boards and it may range from 5 inches all the way up to 10 inches or even wider.

These wider hardwood flooring types can be ideal for giving a room a rustic appearance and is usually installed as an unfinished, prefinished, or engineered floor. More on wide plank hardwood flooring.

Taking something old and making it new again - that's what you get with using reclaimed wood. The aged markings of a wood that's been around for years can add character to your room. It's a floor with history. More on reclaimed hardwood flooring.

An option for warmth, comfort and character. With both naturally distressed and artificially engineered 'distressed-looking' wood means you can put this flooring in almost any room and there are a range of price options too. More on distressed hardwood flooring.

A floor with history which shows the methods used before machines and factories were used for milling wood. A great choice if you're looking to add an antique décor with unique character. More on hand scraped wood flooring.

Working out at home is convenient for your lifestyle and you can still keep your stylish décor. There are some special considerations to protect your joints and your floor when choosing hardwood flooring types for home gyms: More on home gym flooring.

Flooring doesn't have to go to waste when the building around it does. If in a major renovation the floors can be salvaged this could be a great opportunity to get some flooring on a budget. Make sure to consider some important characteristics of used flooring before hauling the stack of wood to your home though: More on used hardwood flooring.

These are brief descriptions of the different hardwood flooring types available to beautify your home. Pay a visit to each type’s page for more information on each one and to learn more about which might be best for your project. Find out what varieties might be good selections for households with pets, homes located in humid parts of the country, and the many other factors that should be considered before making a choice. See the links in the text above!

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