Hardwood Flooring reviews

Our hardwood flooring reviews can be an invaluable tool when deciding which wood flooring product is best for your project. Remember at the flooring professor we have years of hands on experience selling, installing and maintaining these products as well as real feedback from thousands of customers! This makes our hardwood flooring reviews much more valuable and useful to you than those that do not use real hands on experience but the manufacturers claims. (like most review sites on the internet.)

Which type of wood flooring should I buy for my project?

There are many factors that can affect which product is best so there is no blanket "right' answer. In this section of our hardwood flooring reviews by type we will give you an overview of which type of hardwood floor is best suited for a particular application, in other sections of this page we will look at some other selection factors.

solid hardwood flooring (the traditional standard)

This type can be installed in a nail down application above grade on a plywood, OSB, or other acceptable wood subfloor. It can also be installed on grade or below grade with a recommended premium adhesive. It is also suitable (if all guidelines are followed) for installation over radiant heat floor systems.

In our hardwood flooring reviews of this type of wood floor we find that if the proper installation guidelines are followed that it is VERY well suited for any of the above listed installations!

For a more in depth definition of this type of wood floor visit our page on hardwood flooring styles. For more information on the proper installation procedures of each application visit our page on hardwood floor installation.

Engineered wood flooring

This type differs from solid in that it has a "plywood" type base with a wood veer top layer and the solid is made from 100% hardwood in the species selected. It is suited for all the same areas as the solid wood flooring, but offers a bit more stability than the solid in applications such as over radiant heat systems, below grade, or directly on grade concrete subfloors. It also tends to be "thinner" so some jobsites that have issues with the amount that the floor can be raised this type could offer a solution.

We find in our hardwood flooring reviews of this type of wood floor that the very minimal benefits it offers in most cases along with the fact that at this point it seems to be more expensive than solid hardwood flooring in most cases it would not be our choice over solid.

For a more in depth definition of this type of wood floor visit our page on wood flooring styles. For more information on the proper installation procedures of each application visit our page on hardwood floor installation

Floating hardwood flooring

This type is similar to engineered wood flooring, but the "core" of the product is made a bit differently, and it is designed to either "click" together or glue together at the joints only and does not actually secure to the subfloor. This in effect has the entire floor as one piece "floating" in the room. it is suited for all the same applications as solid and engineered, but does offer the possibility to go over additional subfloor types that the others do not. For example a flat ceramic tile floor or a subfloor of "particle board" can be gone over with this product and it cannot properly with the solid or engineered versions.

We find in our hardwood flooring reviews of this type of hardwood floor that it is by far not our favorite, it lends itself to many aesthetic and performance disadvantages over the long haul in our opinion. It has it's place, but we only use it when either the jobsite conditions require it, or in some cases of a do-it-yourself installation the homeowner will find this much easier to install themselves.

For a more in depth definition of this type of wood flooring visit our page on hard wood flooring styles. For more information on the proper installation procedures of each application visit our page on wood floor installation. For more info on floating floors in general visit our floating floor page.

Hardwood flooring finishes

There are many different finishes available for wood flooring. So many we cannot possibly cover all of it on this page. The finish is a VERY important part of the overall performance of your new hardwood floor so do NOT ignore this factor!

Most products have a polyurethane finish of some sort or another, however they will vary in thickness, number of layers, technological advances, overall hardness etc..

Although If you are a follower of the flooring professor you know we do not put too much weight on warranties, often the warranty is a Guideline of the finish quality. For example if you have one manufacturer offering three different warranty levels and price points, chances are the lower price points have an inferior quality finish to the higher ones. In hardwood flooring reviews of finishes we find the above stated tip and the manufacturers written brochures to be the best guide for determining the quality of the finish.

Hardwood flooring reviews by brand

Brand specific hardwood flooring reviews are based on our hands on experience with each brand or vendor and feedback from our huge customer base. For in depth brand specific review information please visit our wood flooring brands page for hardwood flooring reviews by brand.

For much more in depth and specific information on all flooring products check out one of our many consumer flooring buyers guides as they are packed full of information and resources as well as personal advisory options so you can be absolutely sure to get the most comprehensive and accurate information BEFORE buying the wrong product! This could save you thousands of dollars!!