Solid Oak Flooring
All wood flooring is made of wood but not all are solid wood pieces. When two or more thin strips of wood are pressed together, it’s called engineered wood. Solid oak flooring planks are one piece of wood from top to bottom, milled from a single piece of timber.
According to Stephen Calloway’s architectural encyclopedia, The Elements of Style, it was not until the early 1600′s that solid wood planks replaced bare ground or straw as flooring in this country. By the mid 1800′s, wood floors were being mass produced, and it wasn’t until right after World War II that cheap housing via the GI Bill led to the carpet boom. Many industrious homeowners over the years have been delighted to discover beautiful old oak floors when they ripped the carpet out of their pre-WWII homes.
Solid wood floors, whether oak, maple or any of a variety of hardwoods, come in a wide range of dimensions and styles. Originally, wood planks were used for structural purposes and were nailed perpendicular to the support beams. Today, however, the visible flooring in homes and commercial buildings is aesthetic rather than part of the support system.
There are advantages and disadvantages to solid wood. Besides the perception value, the pride factor in being able to say that your floors are solid oak or walnut, there is far more opportunity for customization. The choice is entirely yours of combinations of species, stains and finishes, all of which create a finished floor unlike any other. Solid wood is easier to sand and refinish due to its thickness, can be installed with nails and can actually be less expensive than most of the better types of engineered wood.
One of the chief disadvantages of solid wood is it’s susceptibility to changes in temperature and moisture levels. This can cause the planks to shrink or expand, resulting in gaps between boards during colder or dryer seasons or cupping during hot, humid months. Because of this tendency for expansion and contraction, there are usually restrictions placed on the width and thickness of the boards, with 5″ wide and 3/4″ thick typically being the largest that can be cut from solid wood without the structure of the flooring being compromised. In addition, solid wood is not recommended for installation below grade, meaning in basement levels, and should not be placed directly on top of concrete without there being some sort of sub-flooring.
Unless your situation calls specifically for one or the other, in the end, it comes down to a matter of choice. The good news is that, in all likelihood, you will be pleased whether you end up with solid oak flooring or it’s engineered cousin.
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Tagged With Engineered Wood, hardwood floors, oak flooring, Solid Wood, Stephen Calloway