 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Proud member of the Home Builders Association of Owensboro, The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, For quality, integrity and craftsmanship, do business with a member |
| Sore Thumb Wood Floors, LLC Real Wood Floors INSTALLATION SALES REPAIRS RESTORATION |
| MOVE BEYOND BUILDER GRADE Dustless floor sanding and refinishing is available in Owensboro |
| Sore Thumb Wood Floors we can help you locate, install, and sand and finish domestic unfinished woods such as cherry, oak or walnut in readily available widths up to 7 inches wide, (wider boards are available) unfinished exotics, reclaimed Heart Pine and more. We also sell and install wood products such as prefinished, engineered wood, and solid wood floors. We also offer a premium line of bamboo flooring from Bamboo Mountain. And we are pleased to announce our association with Olde World Flooring Company and can offer custom inlay medallions from teapots to hummingbirds. |
| Real Wood Floors: The flooring choice for your home. Information for these articles was obtained from the National Wood Floor Association (www.woodfloors.org/consumer) and the National Oak Floor Manufactures Association (www.nofma.org). Choosing a floor covering for your home. In a typical home, the floor covering receives more day to day wear than any other surface. You have several options when choosing a floor covering: carpet, vinyl, laminate, tile, or wood. Each of these products has advantages and disadvantages. For the purpose of these articles, I will focus on wood floors. Hardwood floors are a great choice for your home for several reasons. Wood floors are extremely durable. There are floors in America dating back to the 1700’s. We have wood floors in the Owensboro community over 100 years old. The Cracker Barrel here in Owensboro has had the same wood floor since it opened. It takes more wear in 1 week than most homes take in a year, and it still looks good. Did you know that a ¾ inch nailed down hardwood floor actually adds structural support and stability to your home? And maintenance is less than carpet, just vacuum and sweep a few times a week Wood floors are the only floor covering that become prettier with time. The patina a wood floor takes on reflect the lifestyle of the homeowners. Wood floors are flexible and go with any decorating style form country casual to urban contemporary. Choosing a wood floor There are several options in the wood floor category. How the floor is made: solid or engineered, site finished or factory finished, species, color, and width, just to start. A wood flooring professional can help you make an informed decision and choose the right floor for you and your home. How the floor is made. Wood floors are available in different thickness and construction methods, but the two most common are solid tongue and groove flooring which is one solid wood board ¾ of an inch thick, and engineered which is multiple layers of a plywood type material that has a solid wood veneer wear layer. The veneer layer can vary from a 1/32 of an inch to a ¼ inch. Solid wood has a wear layer of about a ¼ inch also. Sanding more than this layer will expose the nail heads and break off the shoulders of the groove. Professional sanding will only remove 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch of material depending on the condition of the floor, so a solid wood floor could be sanded 5-8 times over its life, while the veneer layer on some prefinished floors will not allow for sanding at all. Solid wood floors are not recommended for basements or below grade installations, or directly glued to a slab foundation. You would need to choose an engineered floor for these areas. Site finished or factory finished Site finished refers to finished the floor on site or traditional sanding and finishing. Factory finished or prefinished flooring is finished at the flooring plant plant. The advantage of prefinished flooring are that allows for a quicker installation. Site finished flooring offers more customization in the final look of the floor including color and choice of finish. Because a site finished flooring is sanded flat, it is also a good choice for remodeling where an uneven sub floor could cause a prefinished floor to stick up in spots. Species There are over 100 different species used for flooring. The most common in the United States is red oak, with white oak a close second. The oaks are abundant, readily available and durable. Oaks also take stain very well so you can produce a wide spectrum of color. There are several other commonly used domestic wood such as hickory, maple and pine. Exotics woods are milled trees that are not found in North America. They have a wide natural color pallet form the purples in purple heart to the deep browns of ipe also know as Brazilian Walnut. Finishing The most prevalent finishes today are the polyurethanes. There are two types oil and water based. The water based offer several advantages over oil based. The water based dry quicker and harder that oil and have less fumes. Depending on conditions, water based product are dry enough to walk on in 12 hours, and are ready for furniture in 48. Shellacs and oil based seal coats will tend to bring out the natural beauty of the wood but can darken or amber. Some exotic woods will have a reaction with oil based sealers causing adhesion problems. Other finished such as tung oil look great on reclaimed hardwood or a floor where an older, hand rubbed look is desired. Wax finishes are also making a comeback. Wax is a durable coating but prone to water spotting. It is a repairable finish and may only need recoating once a year depending on use. |