Hardwood floors are the little black dress of the home: They’re classic and they go with everything.
Today, that basic for the home comes in dozens of species of woods, domestic and exotic, as well as different widths, prices and styles. In addition to standbys like oak, customers are opting for dark stains, hand-distressed wood, wide planks and “green” options such as reclaimed wood.
“A lot of people don’t realize there are so many different woods,” said Jeff Petersen, owner of Craftsman Hardwood Flooring. His Arlington-based business installs and refinishes wood floors.
His distributor offers more than a hundred, including exotic woods such as teak, tiger wood and Brazilian cherry. Homeowners who want to get a darker look on their existing hardwood floors can have them refinished, he said.
Some of his customers are asking for reclaimed wood, either because they like the look or the idea of reusing a product. Reclaimed woods often offer unique character, such as dark stains from rusted nails. Expect reclaimed wood to cost two or three times the cost of other products, he said.
“(Reclaimed wood) can be used in any application,” he said. “It just depends on how you dress up the inside of the house.”
Wood floors are considered a green building product, but the uber-green conscious can choose wood floors with a pedigree. North Slope Sustainable Wood offers larch flooring called Treadlight from sustainable sites, and on orders of 700 square feet or more the company includes a “natural history” of the wood: a pagelong certificate that includes the latitude and longitude of the restored piece of forest, name of the mountain valley, nearest creek and the general topography.
Wood floors come prefinished or are finished on site, said Larry Bauer of Classical Hardwood Floors in Stanwood. Prefinished boards usually cost a little less than those finished on site because there’s less labor and they’re quicker to install. However, the color palette is limited to what the factory offers, and prefinished boards show small lines between the boards. The majority of Bauer’s customers choose floors finished on site, which allows him to mix the exact stain color the customer wants. Floors finished on site have a smoother appearance.
Many of his customers prefer a Swedish finish, a durable varnish. The problem with Swedish finishes is they come with a powerful odor, and varnish is highly volatile. Water-based finishes are less toxic and usually require two coats.
With wood floors, customers get what they pay for. For a hardwood floor, expect to pay $7.50 to $12.50 a square foot. Petersen said the cost can go as high as $25 a square foot or more for hardwood finished on site, depending on the wood and finish.
If cared for, wood floors should last more than a lifetime. Bauer said maintenance varies depending on wear-and-tear, but generally, homeowners can expect to sweep and clean with a well-wrung out mop about once a week. Use a solution of a capful of vinegar for every gallon of water. Avoid cleaners with waxes, he said. He recommended cleaning products by Synteko, Glitza and Woodwise. If there’s any doubt, purchase a cleaning product from a flooring distributor rather than a big-box store, he said.
Scuffs can be buffed out by a professional and a new finishing coat applied for about $1 a square foot, usually every one to five years. A complete refinish job costs about $3.50 a square foot, he said.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com
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