Responsible Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring is one of our favorite things in the whole world.  The beauty, timeless appeal, visual warmth, and durability makes it a great choice in almost any setting. The problem we run into when dealing with hardwood companies, is the environmental impact that logging has on the forests.

Eucalyptus Wood

One of the products that we believe in is called Lyptus, a eucalyptus product.  This product comes from a partnership between Weyerhaeuser, Fibria, Cerflor, and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).  Lyptus features a rich grain that is versatile enough to take a wide range of stains and finishes – for a lighter or darker look to complement nearly every décor.  Best of all, Lyptus hardwood flooring is competitively priced and comes from non-tropical, certified plantations from fast-growing eucalyptus trees that are ready to be harvested within 14 to 16 years of planting.  In contrast, tees in temperate forests may take 80 to 100 years or more to mature.

Fast Growing and Sustainable

As previously stated, Eucalyptus trees grow quickly and can be harvested within 14-16 years of planting.  In addition to this quick turn around, these plantation trees are manually pruned during their growing years, ensuring that the logs coming into the mill are uniform and have few knots.  This results in a high conversion rate of logs to clear lumber, minimizing waste.  Weyerhaeuser mills use virtually every portion of the log, converting it to lumber and other usable by-products (residuals are used as bio-energy for the kiln drying operations).

One acre of planted eucalyptus can produce about the same volume of wood as 30 acres of native forest, which means that, for every acre of forest that Fibria plants, 30 acres of native forest are preserved.  On top of that, Fibria works to introduce original species, native to the area over 100 years ago, back into the ecosystem in South America.

Lyptus® Flooring Products

Lyptus solid hardwood flooring is harder than oak, less expensive than walnut, and as beautiful as Brazilian cherry. Available unfinished or in six pre-finished colors, it complements the most stylish interiors.  Its tongue-and-groove construction, natural hardness, and aluminum-oxide finish yield long-standing durability, while its low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) levels makes it a healthier choice for your household than many other flooring options.

Lyptus is also available in 3 ¼" and 5” wide engineered flooring –perfect to withstand the moisture changes of the dry Colorado air.

For more information or to get a quote on Lyptus® Flooring Products

Call US Floors Direct, Inc. at (719) 325-7539

Laminate Flooring: What is it good for?

Laminate flooring has many practical applications.  It is typically made from synthetic materials, such as melamine resin, or from recycled composite materials in multiple laminated layers.  It is most often manufactured to have the look of hardwood, tile, or natural stone, but sold at a lower cost.  So, what is it that REALLY sets laminates apart from other flooring options?

Laminates are Strong

Laminate flooring is incredibly resilient and durable. The aluminum oxide finish commonly used on the surface of laminate planks is extremely hard.  I have seen a handyman drop a hammer on a freshly-laid laminate floor.  The terror on his face was priceless!  But to his relief, he could not find so much as a dent when he bent over to retrieve his hammer.

The hard finish on Laminate floors performs well against pets, children, office chair casters, and heavy traffic in general.  The finish is UV resistant, which means it will not bleach or fade in the sunlight.

Laminates are Easy

Easy to prep for, easy to install, easy to clean and maintain, and easy to remove and replace.  Laminates are often installed as a floating floor, which means they are not fastened to the subfloor, but merely snapped together. This makes it easy for do-it-yourselfers to install it without a lot of construction experience.  The everyday cleaning and maintenance is also simple.  For most laminate floors, a simple dust mop once a day is all that is needed.  In kitchens and bathrooms the floor can be mopped much like tile or vinyl.

Additional Pros and some Cons

As mentioned before, high quality laminates are often less expensive and easier to install than hardwood or tile. They can often perform better over radiant heat than solid wood floors and usually require less maintenance (no re-sanding and finishing every 5-10 years).  They also perform relatively well in wet areas, although they are not considered to be waterproof.  So, why doesn't everyone buy laminate?  1. They can be noisy; when walked across, they create a distinct clicking sound that is undesirable (special padding installed under the floor can reduce this noise significantly).  2. Upon closer inspection, one can often tell that the floor is man made and not a natural product. 3. When damaged, they can be much more difficult to repair than a wood or tile floor.  While repair kits are available, they are often hard to find and seldom hide the damage completely.

Have more questions?

If you live in Colorado and are interested in more information on laminate flooring, call us!

We'll get you in touch with one of our friendly flooring specialists.

(719) 391-9319

Ask about our current flooring specials and sales.

Wood Flooring

What is wood flooring?  Well, that's a broad term.  Wood flooring is hardwood, softwood, laminate, engineered, pre-finished, or unfinished wood flooring.

Hardwood

Hardwood flooring is any type of deciduous, or broadleaved, wood flooring.  These wood species are usually harder than their coniferous, or evergreen, relatives.  Examples of hardwood are Oak, Walnut, Cherry, Hickory, Birch, Elm, etc.  Deciduous trees produce a more durable and dimensionally stable floor.  Solid hardwood floors can be installed in a variety of situations with a variety of stains and finishes.  We will discuss wood finish in a future blog post.

Softwood

The term softwood designates wood from conifers or gymnosperm trees (plants having seeds with no covering). Examples of the softwood trees are Pine, Spruce, Cedar, Fir, Larch, Douglas-Fir, Hemlock, Cypress, Redwood, and Yew. There are about one-hundred times as many hardwood species as softwoods.  Flooring is not often made with softwood lumber.

Engineered Wood

Engineered Hardwood is made up of several layers of pressed wood.  The layers are pressed with the grain running in alternating directions. It is much more dimensionally stable than traditional solid wood floors.  In other words, it is more resistant to expansion and shrinkage due to changes in relative humidity.  Engineered wood is great for installation below grade (below ground level) or in areas with a lot of moisture (bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms) or areas with very little moisture (Colorado!).

Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is a synthetic or composite recycled material with a layer of aluminum oxide finish on top.  Laminate flooring is made to look like natural products, such as wood flooring or natural stone.  Most laminate flooring is essentially a photograph of wood sealed with a plastic coating. Laminates are often much harder and more durable than 100% natural wood products.

Bamboo

Though bamboo makes a durable floor, it is neither a hardwood or softwood.  In fact, bamboo is not a tree at all, but a grass.  Bamboo is becoming increasingly more popular due to its perceived benefits to the environment.  Special precautions must be taken when installing bamboo in Colorado.

Cork

Cork flooring is manufactured from the bark of the evergreen Cork Oak tree. The hardness of cork is rarely discussed because it is starkly different from other wood and laminate flooring materials. Its Janka rating is 200, but that doesn't accurately reflect its durability. Because cork is soft, it is often thought of as being a low quality flooring option, however, cork has an uncanny ability to “heal” when dented or torn.

We'd love to help you select the right Wood Floor for your home!

Call US Floors Direct today for a flooring estimate!

(719) 391-9319

Ask about our current specials

Hardwood and Moisture

Most problems with hardwood flooring are related to changes in the moisture content of flooring and surrounding wood products. When moisture changes are severe, the result can be gaps between strips, cupping, buckling, movement, cracks, or splits in the wood.  Often, combinations of these symptoms occur at the same time.


Homeowners should be aware of, and educated on, the following items to ensure that the floor performs to its maximum potential:

1. The expected moisture content of wood flooring in a particular area after acclimation
2. The moisture content of flooring both at time of delivery and installation
3. The moisture content of flooring system and moisture conditions at the jobsite (i.e. moisture in subfloor)
4. The type of HVAC system and how often it will run
5. Construction factors which influence moisture content of adjacent materials such as masonry, drywall, and/or the location of the floor in relation to the ground level outside the home
6. How variations in climate effect relative humidity and, therefore, moisture content of wood.

Shrinkage/Expansion

Wood is a hygroscopic material. This means when wood is exposed to air; it will dry or pick up moisture until it is in equilibrium with the humidity and temperature of the air. Moisture absorption causes wood to swell and desorption causes it to shrink. Shrinkage of wood begins at 25-30% moisture content (the fiber saturation point) and continues until wood reaches 0% moisture content (oven dry state). Conversely, swelling occurs as wood increases in moisture content from 0% to 25-30% moisture content until it reaches the fiber saturation point. Above 25% - 30% wood is dimensionally stable.

Wood does not shrink or swell equally in all directions. A change in the moisture content of a board from oven dry to fiber saturation point will increase the size of the piece approximately 0.1% longitudinally (along the length), 2% to 8% perpendicular to the annular growth rings (radially or in strip height for plain sawn lumber and width for quarter sawn flooring), and 5% to 15% change in size parallel to the trees annular growth rings (also known as tangentially or in width of the strip with plain sawn flooring).


* CUPPED  -Flooring absorbing excessive moisture on the underside causes expansion and cupping with the edges raised.

* FLOORING SANDED FLAT  -Floor is sanded flat while at the higher moisture content, resulting in strips with thinner edges.

* CROWNED FLOORING  -Flooring loses some excess moisture, shrinks on the underside and flattens, leaving the edges of strips lower than the center.

Wood Floor Cupping: Causes

Kiln-dried wood boards which are subjected to moisture only on one side will expand on that side, and will warp by bending away from the moist side. This can be easily demonstrated with a narrow piece of paper; simply moisten one side. The paper will immediately "cup" away from the wet side, creating a convex surface on the wetted side and a concave surface on the other side. Similarly, hardwood flooring will cup for one reason - from gaining or losing moisture on one side faster than on the other.

Normally when cupping is noticed, the surface of boards will be concave -- edges higher than the center of the boards. This means that the backs of the boards are absorbing water vapor to an extent expansion has begun. If left unchecked, heavy expansion may ensue followed by buckling. Often, however, only enough moisture is present to cause the cupping, and this will be the extent of damage.

Usually when signs like the above are found some evidence of the moisture source will be obvious, especially in a crawl space, when the full inspection procedure is followed. In a basement the moisture source may not be quite as obvious_ An observant inspector will usually notice high humidity, however, because the air in the basement will feel cooler than its dryer counterpart in the rooms above. Lack of visual evidence of evaporation below the floor does not disprove its presence by any means. Concrete basement walls and floors are ready evaporators, as can be demonstrated with a moisture meter.

If cupped boards are dried soon enough, they usually return to a flat position. However, if they remain cupped long, the stresses within boards may change to the extent drying will not remove the cupping. (This is more common in wider boards.) In that event, moisture readings taken during the inspection can be at or near normal.