Flooring types
Hardwood
Hardwood rewards careful preparation and punishes moisture mistakes. The topics below map the decisions that most affect the outcome: material selection, acclimation, installation methods and the wood movement issues that show up afterward.
What this hub covers
Costs, installation, floor prep, tools, problems and maintenance for this material.
Solid vs. engineered
Where each one belongs, and where it does not.
Acclimation
Conditioning material to the space before install.
Subfloor & moisture
Testing and preparing wood and concrete subfloors.
Install methods
Nail-down, glue-down and floating engineered.
Finishing
Prefinished versus site-finished floors.
Hardwood problems
Cupping, crowning, gapping and squeaks.
Start with the numbers
Plan the material and cost side of the job, or see how a contractor estimate lines up against practical planning benchmarks.