The Most Popular Types of Hardwood Floors for Your Home

The best part of all types of hardwood floors is that you may choose any of them and your house will look fantastic. All of them have unmatched natural beauty and complement any kind of decor — be it modern, traditional, contemporary, country, classic, or even eclectic. With wooden floors, you can’t go wrong.

Hardwood floors are durable, natural, and renewable. Furthermore, they are available in a variety of colors and grain patterns.

So, if you’re planning a home remodeling and want to choose between the types of hardwood floors for your living space, this article will help you. It’ll list out the most popular hardwood flooring for you to choose from. 

Is a home remodeling on the cards? Use our free home renovation estimator to have a fair idea of the total expenditure of your project. 

Undoubtedly, a hardwood floor has a charm, richness, and classic looks. What’s more, it lasts a lifetime and “ages well”. 

Hardwood flooring comes in different types and styles to fit various lifestyle needs, individual designs, and budgets. Here, we have explored all the popular options in three categories: production style, wood species, and finish. So, let’s begin. 

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Types of Hardwood Floors Based on Production Style

1. Solid Wood Flooring

Hardwood flooring prices: $4 to $12 per square foot

Solid hardwood flooring consists of solid pieces of wood from choicest wood species. You construct the entire hardwood plank from that wood. This type of hardwood floor is as natural as can be — giving your home a warm, authentic charm. If well-maintained, this durable flooring will last you a lifetime. 

There are however two downsides to solid hardwood. One is its high price and the other is that it’s susceptible to moisture damage. Therefore, it’s not a good choice for rooms with high amounts of humidity.

Solid wood is primarily available in three types of flooring — based on their size and style. You can have both unfinished as well as pre-finished versions in all three. 

For those who are new at this, unfinished flooring is sanded and finished after installation at the job site while pre-finished flooring is sanded and finished at the factory, and then installed. 

The three types of solid wood flooring are:

• Strip flooring – These strips are great for giving an illusion of more space. Thickness range: 5/16 — 3/4 of an inch wide. Available widths: 1 1/2 inches, 2 inches, and 2 1/4 inches.
• Plank flooring – The floor planks are perfect for a rustic look. Available thicknesses: 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch. Width range: 3 inches — 8 inches.
• Parquet flooring – Parquet floors are made up of individual wood slats with geometrical patterns. 

Read more: Hardwood Floor Refinishing: Costs, Tips, and Steps

2. Engineered Wood Flooring

Hardwood flooring cost: $2.50 to $10 per square foot. 

Several layers of wood are pressed together and then a layer of actual hardwood is laid on top and bottom of this core layer. Interestingly, the multi-ply engineered hardwood flooring is less susceptible to moisture damage. 

What’s more, this inexpensive floor option is flexible and versatile enough to use in basements and upper stories of your house. You can easily install it directly over a concrete subfloor or a radiant heating system.

On the flip side, you can’t sand or refinish this floor, it’s not very durable, and doesn’t add much resale value to your home.

3. Laminate Flooring

Hardwood flooring cost: $0.50 to $6 per sq ft. 

When you compress layers of fiberboard together, place a photographic image of wood grain, stone, or tile, and then add a protective coating over the fiberboard — you get laminate flooring. 

For those on a tight budget, laminate is the most cost-effective option. It’s inexpensive, can withstand minor wear and tear (some are even waterproof), and has an easy installation process. It tries to mimic the look and feel of real wood. 

If you opt for such flooring, make sure that you buy a good quality one with a guarantee. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to repair a damaged laminate. Do keep in mind that a laminate floor is not very appealing to potential homebuyers.

Take a look at our guide on Wood Flooring Options for Your Home

Types of Hardwood Floors Based on Wood Species

There are so many varieties of wood species for your flooring that choosing the right one can be overwhelming. We’ll list out 20 such kinds of wood for you to choose from. 

Types of Hardwood Floors Based on Finish

There are two versions of wood flooring: unfinished and prefinished. 

1. Unfinished hardwood flooring is great if you want to apply a custom stain before the final finish. This usually happens when you want to match the color of existing flooring. After hardwood flooring installation and staining, you can give the floor coats of protective finish. This kind of flooring is ideal for your kitchen. The finish will penetrate and seal the seams between boards — preventing water from seeping between boards.
2. Prefinished hardwood flooring, on the other hand, comes from the factory — already sanded and sealed. You just have to install the flooring without worrying about odors and VOCs. And, the floor is ready to walk on almost immediately.

Conclusion

Hardwood flooring has been and will continue to be the most popular choice for homeowners. It’s beautiful, timeless, and can be refinished. What’s more, unlike other types of hardwood floors, it can last a lifetime. Let’s just say, hardwood is the gold standard in flooring options. It can add tremendous value to your house. 

The most important step is to choose the right type of wood floor that best fits your living space. We hope this article helps you select the surface that you find classic, durable, and attractive. 

Read more: Best Flooring Materials

Written by Ramona Sinha. September 4, 2019

Ramona is a content writer for Kukun. This experienced blogger uses simple and succinct words to decipher the complex phenomenon called life. An avid traveler, she’s a digital nomad at heart and an animal lover from the depths of her soul.