Top 5 Hardwood Flooring Accessories

When installing hardwood flooring in your home, the star of the show is obviously the raw material. You chose that specific hardwood because of its appearance, its durability, and the way it complements your home's existing design scheme. But even the best hardwood flooring needs a little help living up t its full potential. The following are some of the most important hardwood flooring accessories you'll need if you want your floors to really shine.

Hardwood Moldings

Remember these? They fill in the expansion gap between floors and wall, and can create smooth transitions between floors of different heights or thicknesses.

Underlayment

Don’t want to hear the “click clack” of people walking on the floor above you? Underlayment minimizes sound between floors, and is so versatile it can be used with glue-down, nail-down, or floating hardwood floors.

Stair Treads

If you’re laying down hardwood stairs, you need the appropriate treads – the horizontal portion of the step that you step on. Without them, walking up and down stairs would be just plain awkward.

Fasteners

You need some kind of binder, such as nails or adhesives, to attach your hardwood securely to the subfloor below. Different types of hardwoods only work with certain types of subfloors and fasteners, so choose carefully.

Stains

Don’t worry, this is a good kind of stain. It’s the ultimate finisher for your floor once it’s all fastened and in place. Stains can be used to change the floor’s color or bring out the wood's existing color and grain patterns.

No star would be what they are without a support team. With the help of these accessories, your hardwood floor can achieve true star quality.

Need advice on picking the right underlayment, fasteners, or any other hardwood flooring accessory? Call The Fantastic Floor today at 1-888-448-9663, or send us an email at customer.service@fantastic-floor.com. We can't wait to help you pick the perfect hardwood flooring accessories! 

Moisture Barriers: What They Are and Why You Need Them

If you're planning on having new hardwood flooring installed and you've done your homework, you probably know that most installation jobs require some sort of moisture barrier between the new boards and the existing subfloor. But what are moisture barriers, exactly? And why are they so important? Good questions. Check out the info below to find out all you need to know about moisture barriers!

What are moisture barriers?
Moisture barriers, also called vapor barriers or vapor retarders, are layers of material that help prevent moisture-related problems in your floors by protecting the wood from ground moisture and condensation. They also help reduce the amount of noise floors make and prevent damaging wood-on-wood contact.

Why do I need moisture barriers?
Ground moisture and condensation are a few of the biggest threats to hardwood floors. Dramatic changes in humidity and ground moisture can cause wood boards to shrink and expand more than they should, which can lead to gapping, warping, and buckling. Moisture barriers help prevent the wood from absorbing excess moisture, preserving their stability and helping reduce the amounts of moisture-related problems.

What kind of moisture barriers are out there?
There are three main types of moisture barriers: impermeable, semi-permeable, and permeable. These different levels of permeability allow you to install wood floors over different types of subfloors. Wood subfloors, for instance, do better with an impermeable barrier with a permeability rating greater than 0.7; anything less can cause moisture to be trapped below or on the subfloor. Concrete subfloors, on the other hand, require a very high level of impermeability; usually .15 perms or lower. This allows for little to no moisture movement.

Does the installation method change the type of moisture barrier I'll need?
Yes, insomuch as different installation methods are required for different types of subfloors. Moisture barriers offer protection in one of three ways:
The first kind of protection is for nail down install jobs. This involves placing a layer of 6 mil poly sheeting plastic over the dirt in the crawl spaces beneath the subfloor, then placing a 15-pound felt paper between the subfloor and the hardwood.
The second kind of protection is for glue down installations and usually requires using a trowel-applied moisture barrier (such as Bostik) since plastic barriers can prevent the glue on the floors from sticking to the subfloor.
The third kind of protection is for floating floor installations and also involves a 6 mil poly sheeting plastic barrier under the boards. Unlike nail down installations, however, plastic barriers shouldn't be used if the floating floors are covering wood subfloors as they prevent the subfloor from breathing.

What if the floor is above grade? Do I still need a moisture barrier?
Yes. For above grade floors, a 15-pound felt paper works wonders. This moisture barrier should be laid between the hardwood and the wood subfloor; this is the best way to reduce the amount of moisture that can get to the new flooring.

Confused? Don't worry. It's not your job to understand all the technicalities of moisture barriers and hardwood flooring installation. However, knowing the basics about this important flooring component can help you better understand the installation process in general and allow you to make sure your flooring installer is doing the job right. Visit Fantastic-Floor.com to learn more about moisture barriers and solid hardwood flooring installation, or give us a call at 1-888-448-9663.

Is DIY Hardwood Flooring Installation a Good Idea?

Installing hardwood flooring yourself can be a very satisfying, money-saving venture. But if done wrong, it can also be a nightmare and end up costing you more than you ever would have paid a professional. Many people think of attempting a DIY flooring installation project without considering the pros and cons of the project. What are the risks of installing hardwood floors yourself? What are the benefits? If you are thinking about starting such a project you should definitely consider the following arguments for and against it:

Pros
Here are a few of the main reasons you might want to install your new hardwood flooring yourself:

Cost
Hiring a contractor to install your new hardwood floors can end up costing you a pretty penny, especially if you have a lot of space to cover. If you have the know-how and the time, installing floors yourself can save you a lot of money in contractor fees.

Time
When you choose to install hardwood flooring yourself you get to decide how much work will go into the project every day. Most contractors will work a respectable eight-hour day, but if you want your floors installed quickly that might not be enough time. If you do the installation yourself you can work all day and all night if you like, which can help get the project done faster.

Convenience
Let's face it - no matter how polite they are, having a group of contractors in your house all day can be pretty annoying. When you install hardwood floors yourself you don't have to worry about a crew coming in and disrupting your day-to-day.

Cons
As it turns out, the cons of DIY hardwood flooring installation are the same as the pros, but for different reasons. Here are a few of the main reasons you would want to call a professional to handle your installation:

Cost
While a successful DIY installation can save you a lot of money, a failed attempt can end up costing you a lot more. If you can't finish your installation, or you do it incorrectly, you will have not only have to pay a contractor for a new install job, but also to fix any mistakes you made. Also, if you make a mistake in the DIY installation you might be setting yourself up for a costly repair or replacement project in the not-too-distant future.

Time
Just like cost, a botched DIY installation job can take a lot more time than a professional install. If you don't have a lot of experience with installing floors you may find yourself working on the project much longer than you had anticipated.

Convenience
DIY projects can be just as inconvenient to the busy or inexperienced homeowner as hiring a contractor. In fact, finding time in your busy work and social life can be sometimes much harder than just paying a professional to do the work while you're at work or out running errands.

Do you have any experience with DIY flooring installation projects? Was it a good or bad experience? Leave us a comment and tell us your story!

The Best Hardwood for Radiant Heat Systems

Radiant heat systems have been around for years, but they are gaining popularity in homeowners that want to cut down on their energy consumption and save a little money in utility bills. However, floor radiant heat systems can really mess up a hardwood floor. These types of heat systems can cause your wood flooring to dry out quicker than other heating systems, which can lead to warping and buckling. Luckily, there are certain types of hardwood flooring you can install that are less likely to experience the negative side effects of radiant heat systems.

The key to using hardwood flooring over radiant heating systems is to choose a product that is very dimensionally stable. Dimensional stability is the measure of wood's tendency to shrink and swell as it gains and loses moisture. Because radiant heat systems pump heat directly through the floor, it's very important to find boards that are less likely to move around as their moisture levels change.

Low-Density
Domestic hardwood species with a lower density tend to have better dimensional stability than their more denser exotic counterparts. North American oak, American walnut, and American cherry are all great known for their natural stability.

Engineered Flooring
People prefer engineered flooring over solid hardwood for a lot of reasons — it's easy to install, it's versatile, it's light-weight — but what a lot of folks don't know is that it is also much more stable than solid flooring. These reasons combined make it a perfect match for radiant heat systems.

Narrow Boards
Fact: wide hardwood boards are inherently less stable than narrow ones. In fact, any board over three inches wide is frowned upon for installation over radiant heat systems. Stick to the industry standard: 2 1/4".

Quartersawn
We could go on and on about the differences between quartersawn and rift-sawn floors, but for this post you really only need to know one thing: quartersawn is more dimensionally stable. Done and done.

Questions? Read Radiant Heat Installation of Hardwood Flooring on our website or give us a call at 1-888-448-9663.

Frequently Asked Questions: What Wood Can Be Installed Over Concrete?

Q: What kind of hardwood flooring can I install over a concrete slab?

A: In the old days of hardwood flooring, concrete slabs did not make a suitable sub-floor. Even today most manufacturers do not recommend using solid hardwood floors over a concrete slab. However, most engineered and longstrip engineered plank floors can be used over concrete. Hooray!

Engineered planks and strip wood floors can be glued directly to a clean, dry, well-cured concrete floor. Certain types of engineered hardwood flooring can be glued at the tongue/groove intersection and floated over concrete, provided there is a special padding in place. There are even new varieties of hybrid engineered flooring that can be floated over a concrete floor without glue - the tongue-and-groove locking system holds the planks in place.

Of course, it's important to talk with the manufacturer of the specific engineered hardwood flooring you're using. It's also important to note that concrete slabs need to be fully cured for at least 60 days before installing hardwood flooring over them. Additionally, your flooring should be properly acclimated before you begin the installation process.

To learn more about installing engineered hardwood flooring over concrete slabs visit our Frequently Asked Questions page, or call one of our flooring professionals at 1-888-448-9663.

Engineered flooring such as this engineered Amendoim hardwood flooring. can be easily installed over an existing concrete slab.

Frequently Asked Questions: When Should I Install New Hardwood Floors?

When building a new home or remodeling an existing one, there is a certain order your project must take in order to be successful. After all, you wouldn't want to put up the walls before you pour the foundation, would you? Well, installing hardwood flooring also has a place in the construction or remodeling process.

Unfortunately, builders or contractors will often rush through the hardwood flooring installation process without regard to the negative consequences the homeowner could face in the future. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that hardwood flooring has to be installed correctly to avoid such future problems as bending, warping, end checking, and others. If installed too early in a construction process, flooring can be exposed to moisture, dents, scrapes, stains, and other project-related problems. Hardwood flooring installation should be saved for the end of a construction project to minimize these risks. 

Hardwood flooring installation should be one of the last home building
or remodeling projects you complete.

Visit Fantastic-Floor.com to learn more about hardwood flooring installation, or give us a call at 888-448-9663.