Wood Floor Types & Styles

We work with any type of hardwood flooring materials.

Engineered Wood Floors

  • Engineered Wood Floors are also called laminated wood floors because they are made of several thin, wood plies glued together under pressure and heat.
  • They vary from 3 to 9 plies and are offered in various widths from 2-1/4" to 8" wide.
  • Engineered wood flooring is composed of two or more layers of wood in the form of a plank. The top layer is the wood that is visible when the flooring is installed and is adhered to the substrate, which provides stability.
  • This wood will expand and contract less than solid wood flooring during fluctuations in humidity and temperature.
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring

The engineered Wood Flooring is real wood.

A few facts about the most used ones:

  • Hickory – rich, gives your house a timeless feeling
  • Bamboo – it is usually cheap and "green"
  • Maple – elegant finish, appropriate for living rooms, family rooms and dining-rooms
  • Oak – the traditional red oak always looks impeccable and is inexpensive

Solid Wood Floors

  • Solid hardwood floors come in a wide range of dimensions and styles, with each plank made of solid wood and milled from a single piece of timber
  • Are sensitive to humidity changes; thus, are only recommended for on or above ground level
  • Are meant to be nailed down over a wood type sub-floor and are installed perpendicular to the floor joists.
  • The thickness of solid wood flooring can vary but generally ranges from ¾" to 5/16"
  • It can be sanded and refinished many times.

Prefinished Wood Floors

IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring

There are two types of hardwood flooring: unfinished and prefinished. It is faster to install the prefinished and also less labor-intensive. This is because the finish is already applied, and it just needs to be installed. However, the beauty of a sanded finished hardwood floor cannot be matched with prefinished flooring. Always remember: The quality of the finished floor is directly related to the quality of the subfloor!

These are the new mainstream products in hardwood flooring. They can be acrylic impregnated, engineered, or solid. They have a tough factory finish, which is the main reason for their popularity.

They are also very easy to install and eliminate the need for messy sanding. Most prefinished floors done within the last ten years are urethane finished. Test this by placing a few drops of water on an obscure area. If the area turns white after 15 minutes, you have a waxed finish. Older floors are likely to have shellac or varnish finishes. Unfortunately, these do not work well with the newer urethane finishes and must be completely removed if you want a urethane finish. There is also likely to be some amount of aluminum oxide in the newer prefinished floors.

Unfinished Wood Floors

IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
  • Unfinished wood floors are better to match to an existing floor or trim and generally easier to stain to match.
  • Unfinished wood flooring offers the most options for an unusual wood species or specific plank width.
  • Unfinished flooring would be most appropriate if your home has historical or architectural significance.
  • If your floor is not precisely level, you may opt for unfinished flooring because it doesn't depend on a precisely level subfloor the way a prefinished floor does.

Laminate Floors

IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
IC Custom Hardwood Flooring
  • Laminate floors are not real wood floors.
  • Laminate floors are significantly impacted, scratch, sunlight fade, and stain-resistant.
  • Laminate flooring uses the floating installation method.
  • Most laminate floors can be used anywhere within the home, including wet areas. Laminate floors do not need wax or polish.

Styles of Wood Floors

Strip Flooring: Strip flooring ranges from 1-½" to 3″ wide, and creates a linear effect in a room, often making the room appear larger. Strip flooring generally is considered "traditional" wood flooring.

Plank Flooring: Plank flooring typically ranges from 3″ to 7″ wide. While plank flooring is linear, like strip flooring, its wider widths often create a more casual look.

Parquet Flooring: Parquet flooring can vary in size and usually generates a geometric, non-linear look. Parquet flooring can be simple in design or somewhat complex.