Prospective homebuyers list hardwood flooring as one of their most-sought-after features when they begin shopping for a new home.
Hardwood is timeless, beautiful, and resilient. If properly cared for, a hardwood floor can last upwards of 100 years. But have you ever wondered how your home’s indoor environment affects hardwood flooring?
Incontinent pets, children’s toys, high-heeled shoes, spills, and a busy family can all cause damage to a hardwood floor, but the greatest threat your floor faces may be the environmental factors that you can’t see.
As a natural product (it is wood, after all), hardwood flooring is extremely susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity. Installing a hardwood floor in a geographic region where temperatures and humidity fluctuate wildly from one season to the next can be a tricky endeavor.
If your flooring contractor installs the planks too closely to the walls without allowing room for the wood to expand and contract, there is a strong probability that your flooring may begin to peak during humid months. Alternatively, when the humidity drops, you may notice unsightly gaps between the planks.
Let’s face it; having hardwood floors installed in your home costs a pretty penny. If you choose the wrong contractor or you pick a wood species that doesn’t react well to fluctuations in temperature and humidity, thousands of your hard-earned dollars might end up in the nearest landfill.
It’s in your best interest as a homeowner and a consumer to do your homework on individual wood species, the Janka scale (the Janka scale measures how much pressure a wood species can handle before denting occurs), and how the geographic region you live in may affect the longevity and beauty of your hardwood floors. Hardwood flooring in a home in Michigan won’t react the same way to seasonal changes as a home in south Florida will.
If you live in the Metro Detroit area and would like to get a free, in-home hardwood estimate on how much it will cost you to have new hardwood flooring installed in your home, contact The Carpet Guys at (248) 409-5359 today. We’ll send one of our knowledgeable design consultants out with a fantastic selection of hardwood flooring samples for you to peruse in the comfort and privacy of your home, under your lighting, and next to your furniture.
The Carpet Guys will take all the necessary measurements, we’ll remove your home’s preexisting carpet or flooring, and we’ll even move your furniture, at no additional cost to you.
