Wear due to frequent foot traffic on your wood flooring is inevitable. But really, when you think about it, your floor is installed to serve you not the other way around. So, the balance to strike is how to minimize that wear on your wood floor, while also getting the most out of your life while you’re walking on it.
By this point, you’ve taken some simple steps to help you strike this balance. You’ve installed mats at your entrances, to catch the unwanted outdoor materials that will affect your flooring in the long-term. You’ve also taken on a no-shoes-on-floor policy in your space too, to avoid introducing that dirt, grit, and tiny glass fragments that your mats didn’t quite catch.
But, even without the abrasion of soles and the materials that often come with them, the very act of walking on a certain section of a floor can be a source of subtle wear over time. Once again, quality wood floors are made to resist abrasion, and often do so for decades. But the goal here is to be an ally to maintaining the original luster of your flooring. And if you can take some easy steps to do that, why wouldn’t you? So, here’s another couple of choices to undertake that accomplishes this, and then some.
First, there’s area rugs. In a post about area rugs written a couple of months back by Rob Banks, a number of advantages that area rugs offer you were outlined including noise reduction, look, and plain old comfort. Area rugs on your wood flooring can also help you to control the continuity of your space, particularly if it’s an open concept. Area rugs in your space that establishes maximum eye appeal and flow which help make each room unique, even if they’re connected.
Protection is another aspect that area rugs render in areas of your home or office where there is the most foot movement. In this, an area rug can be a strategic element too, cutting down on the contact your floor has with the abrasion of frequent foot traffic.
Second, there’s runners. These additions are basically elongated versions of area rugs placed in transition areas of your space. This specifically means in hallways and foyers. These areas are like the highways of your home or office, because they connect popular destinations - bedroom to bathroom, bathroom to kitchen, kitchen to living room - together. And because of the amount of traffic these transition spaces get, a layer between feet and floor can go a long way in reducing the subtle effects of wear over time.
Runners can even serve in kitchens, along the front of your sinks and kitchen cabinets. Think about how often you’re pacing back and forth in this relatively small space, just doing the dishes or cooking up to three times a day. That’s the level of abrasion your runner will spare your wood floor.
But, like area rugs, runners can serve a visual benefit, too. Style and strategy meet again, and the overall look of your interior on the whole is enhanced, as well as preserved. Magic!
Circling back to how durable your wood floor is, and how great it looks, you really do want to establish a balance when using area rugs and runners. You didn’t invest in wood flooring to cover it with protective surfaces. That would be a waste. But, those surfaces can help to protect your wood floors where you get the most foot traffic, while also serving as complementing textures that help to create an appealing contrast to bring out the best in them.
In conjunction with my last post, wood flooring maintenance when it comes to frequent foot traffic doesn’t have to be intrusive to your enjoyment of your wood flooring. This is how it should be, considering that you installed your wood floor to enhance your space, quality of life, and maybe the potential resale value of your property. When it comes to protecting your investment, sometimes it’s just about putting some very simple measures in place, like a good old fashioned welcome mat at your front door.
Another simple measure in everyday wood floor care is your footwear, or the footwear of your guests. By the time you’ve read this post, you’ve probably read several other posts and articles that have told you that wearing high-heels and athletic cleats on your wood floor surface is a bad move. Pressure per square inch on a high-heel alone will absolutely scratch your flooring. So will your golf shoes, friends. But, you knew that too. It’s pretty obvious.
But, remember; a lot of harmful elements coming from the outside on any kind of footwear can also take away from the original lustre of your flooring. The mat you put in place can capture a lot of it. But, how about this? What if everyone took off their shoes, no matter what type?
What if everybody “cut loose, footloose” ?
Does this mean Kevin Bacon-esque dancing across your floor? Well, it could mean that, I guess. But I suppose when I say that, I mean that a no-shoes policy while on wood flooring can add subtle difference in the way that your flooring will wear over time, whether your guests are boogeying across your floor or not. Set your feet free!
Now, another thing should be restated, and that is that quality wood floors, be they solid hardwood, engineered wood, laminate, cork, or bamboo floors are made to last a long time. Some hardwoods and other naturally-derived surfaces like cork flooring have lasted hundreds of years. Laminate floors are given robust warranties that span decades as well. You haven’t invested in a fragile material. But, implementing simple solutions to keep grit and glass fragments common to the bottoms of shoes off your floor means that you’re acting as an ally to the long-term look that attracted you to your choice in wood flooring to begin with.
So, break out the slippers! Or get down in your socks! Your floors will thank you with the lustrous sheen that they rewarded you with you installed them.
For the next and final post in our frequent foot traffic series, we’ll talk a bit about runners and area rugs, and how they can enhance your space while also helping to preserve your wood flooring at the same time.
You’re looking to preserve your wood floor, and enjoy it at the same time without spending undo time worrying about it. Frequent foot traffic on your floor is something to pay attention to, and thinking about simple ways to minimize wear can go a long way, too. One way to do that is pretty simple - get your visitors to wipe their feet on a designated floor mat.
Entrances and exits in your space are the ultimate in frequent foot traffic sites, aren’t they? Everyone needs to get in and out. The problem with these sites is that outdoors elements and indoor ones don’t tend to mix. Dirt, grit, fragments of glass - all of these things can get tracked in onto your floor too.
And because of this, minute scratching can occur that affects the original luster of your floor over time. You can see where a mat at a front door, a back door, a side door, where visitors and occupants are going in and out, might help to reduce the presence of these materials. The ‘welcome’ on the mat should be for your visitors, not the stuff that they bring in on their shoes.
And one thing to remember is to give your entrance mats a frequent beating. Take out your frustrations, and clean your mats at the same time! Make sure you do this outside, with the door closed, so as not to introduce the grit and dirt trapped in the fibers of the mat into your house, and onto your flooring. And in the case of an indoor mat, make sure they don’t sit on your wood floor while damp, too. This is a common scenario in the wintertime, when melted snow runs off boots, onto mats, and then seeps through to the wood floor underneath.
So there you have it. The next thing to think about is footwear, which we’ll talk about in an upcoming post. Until then,
So, you’ve installed wood flooring in your home or office, and you want to make sure that they look as great as they did the first day you installed it, in the long term. It’s a common goal, and a smart one. After all, should it come time to sell your home, you’re going to want your wood floor to be an ally in helping you get a good resale value. You don’t want your floor to be faded, old, and bitter like a character in a Tennessee Williams play.
And there I go betraying my background as a former literature student.
In any case, here are a couple priorities to consider, and the first of course has already been stated. Preserving your investment in wood flooring is a good idea, be it the highest end solid hardwood floor, or the highest quality (yet most reasonably priced) laminate floor that you put in to suit your modest budget.
But second, there’s the balance to be struck between preservation of your floor, and plain and simple living in your space without worrying too much about wear. You’ve got a high-performing floor, either because it’s a hardy species in the case of real wood flooring, or it’s been AC rated for your space in the case of a laminate. You’ve made a smart choice in wood floors, so there isn’t too much to worry about, since you’ve done your research on where wood floors of the type you’ve chosen will thrive the best.
Yet to this last point, it makes sense to think about frequent foot traffic. Of all of the sources of wear your floor will experience over the course of its life, this is the area that will be the most pertinent issue in the long term. A lot of the time, if you haven’t got a policy in place, the damage will be too gradual for you to notice. But, your visitors (and potential house-hunters) certainly will.
So, here are three strategies to consider when it comes to thinking about, and managing, frequent foot traffic on a your wood floor surface.
1. Use mats at entrances and exits
2. Restrict footwear in house, especially high heels
3. Use of runners and area rugs
In the next few posts coming up, we’ll explore each of these strategies in turn to help you bring these two priorities of preserving an investment while not worrying so much about it that it affects the enjoyment of your space. Because once again, your first quality wood floors are designed to be tough, either by nature or by manufacturing expertise.
When it comes to your wood flooring, think of yourself as an ally, not a protector. And stay tuned as we delve a bit deeper on these three areas above to help you do that, and be that.
Look at those brown, soulful eyes! How could anyone suspect that your wood floors could be damaged by someone with such an innocent face!
First of all it’s true - your pet is innocent of any crimes against your floors. After all, he’s a dog (or a cat, or a ferret, or whatever four-legged furry creature you’ve adopted as one of your family…). He cares mostly about eating, drinking, and chasing squirrels.
And he cares about keeping cool, too. He doesn’t sweat like you do, so he has to rely on a cool surfaces (as well as lots of panting) to help him cool down. That makes your wood floor a prime candidate for him to flop down on, especially in summer months.
But for you, your wood floors aren’t just a cool surface (in every sense of the word). You’ve invested in quality wood flooring for the significant value it can bring to your home or office. And so, you’ve very wisely also taken a couple of steps to make sure that you don’t have to choose between your best friend, and your wood floor. So, without further ado, here are some of the ways you’ve made sure that the potential war between your floors and your pet remains to be a ‘cold war’.
For one thing, you’ve taken the time to 1. clip his nails.
Doggie (or feline) nails can create significant scratches on the surface of the wood. You know that one cry of ‘walkies!’ from you, and a deep gouge can be the result in all the excitement it creates. So, you’ve taken care of that by keeping his nails short enough for his comfort, and for the comfort of knowing your floors are safe. Find out how to clip your dogs nails properly, just in case you haven’t heard yet.
You taken the time to 2. train him to do his business outside, or in a designated area where floors are better protected.
And you’ve done this because you know that dogs and cats are territorial. They like to mark their space with pee. But, you’ve already figured out that the integration of a pet into your life means making sure that he understands where your territory is in relation to his. And your dog respects you for it because that’s how he rolls, evolutionarily speaking. Of course it doesn’t hurt to find out more about how to housetrain your pet.
You’ve even seen to it that his 3. water dish an food dish spills are cleaned up right away.
Your dog or cat is great for a lot of reasons. But, he’s not noted for his refined table manners. Spills occur, which you already know. And you also know that monitoring for spills is a good idea. So is putting down a mat to stand between the dish and your wood floors, and then making sure that the mat doesn’t stand wet on your floor for a long period of time. Keeping moisture of any kind away from the surface of your wood floor is your primary concern. Maybe you’ve even designated a space for water dishes completely elsewhere, like in a tiled laundry area, or a mud room. That works too.
So here we are. We’ve talked a bit about some preventative measures in making sure that your pet is happy in your home, and that your wood floors continue to look great. But, it’s not a perfect world, and accidents happen. And in later posts, I’ll talk more about ways to preserve your wood floors from damage by your pet with the soulful eyes. Until then,
Vancouver is a pretty rainy city, especially in wintertime (although as I write, the sun’s just come out for the first time in a few days … beautiful!). As such, I’ve been thinking a lot about excessive water and how sometimes accidents happen inside your home whether it’s raining outside or not. Maybe you’ve left the bath running while trying to get the dishes done, or helping the kids with homework. Or maybe a pipe burst due to the cold. Or, maybe there are blockages that have resulted in major drainage problems in your area.
In any case, wood floors are extremely susceptible to moisture damage. And when accidents involving excessive moisture occur, you need a strategy in place to protect your investment. And this isn’t just about your floor. The growth of mold is also a concern, which can drastically affect air quality. So, in the event of flooding, you’ve got to act fast.
When you are inundated by excessive water, here are a few things you might want to consider if you’ve got wood flooring.
Turn off the power to the affected room until excessive water has been removed
If you’ve got glueless engineered or laminate flooring that you’ve floated, take it up right away if you can, dry them, and store the boards in a dry place. Allow a few days for the boards to expand and contract before re-installing them, even after they’re dry
dry out the subfloor, as residual moisture from below can be damaging in the long run
If you can’t take up the floors, large fans pointed at the affected area is your next step
Remove baseboards and other moldings that have also been affected, and store them in a dry place
Rent additional drying equipment and dehumidifiers to ensure that residual dampness is dealt with
Ensure that airflow is optimum during the drying process
Another consideration which has probably already leapt to your mind is to call a wood flooring expert to advise you on your specific situation. An expert eye who is on the scene can provide far more insight than any article or blog post can - even this one! Your local flooring contractor has specialized equipment for all kinds of situations like yours, including precise moisture testing tools which can test both your flooring and the surrounding site including your subfloor.
Floods tend to encourage the growth of molds, which can affect your health. So, another call to consider making is one to an air quality accessor, to make sure that the presence of mold hasn’t risen, and that airflow in your home keeps that presence to a minimum. You might want to have an initial visit a month to three months after the incident, with additional visits depending on those initial findings. An air quality assessment can help you to map out ways to keep mold growth at a minimum in the long run, even well after your flood situation is far behind you.
Also, your home insurance carrier is another call to make, just to make sure that the stipulations in your policy are met with regard to flood damage. If your floor is damaged to the point where your insurance may cover the costs for a new floor, you’ll want to make sure to follow any instructions they have to the letter. Make sure you document as much as you can, including the reasons for the damage, and what was done in response. Be ready to provide the contact details of any professionals you worked with to solve the problem as well.
The ideal is that you’ll never need this kind of information. But, if you do, then I hope that the above will give you some direction as to how to deal with it.
We at BuildDirect want to do our part in helping to provide the tools and resources that are necessary to ease the suffering of the Haitian people in the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake.
We want to involve you, our visitors, friends, family, and even our competition by donating $0.10 for every click on our link below.
Once you do, we will turn your click into a donation of $0.10, upwards to $20 000, toward the efforts of the American Red Cross, currently active in Haiti and doing great work toward the recovery of a nation and a people hit hard by a natural disaster.
A few weeks back, we talked about buying bamboo flooring by cut. And featured in that post were two main choices in bamboo floor cuts; horizontal and vertical.
As a kind of supplement to that post, here’s a video about bamboo floor cuts featuring our Co-Founder Rob Banks that gives you an even clearer idea about what these types of bamboo floors actually look like. Take a look.
And as Rob states, one cut isn’t superior over another. Buying bamboo floors by cut is all about the kind of look you’re after.
When you think of a wood floor, you’re thinking of the finished result - and so you should. If you are thinking about them at all, you’re holding a warm, organic, naturally decorative surface in your mind. There is a reason that wood floors have something of a timeless appeal. There is something about them that fundamentally hits our interior design pleasure center, so to speak.
But, before that timeless look can be achieved, it’s important to figure out not only who is going to install your wood floor (maybe it’s you, maybe it’s a professional depending on your experience), but what that process will entail. What kind of wood flooring installation have you got ahead of you? Well, like many important questions, the answer is ‘it depends’. On what?, you ask.
It depends on the kind of wood floor you’ve got in mind. If you want a solid hardwood floor, you’re going to have to nail it directly to your subfloor. You say that your space is a concrete slab? Well, you’ll have to strike solid hardwood off your list. But, then again, there’s always engineered hardwood floors. Those can be floated (meaning that they’re installed over the subfloor but aren’t attached), or even glued down in some cases.
Speaking of floating and gluing down, bamboo flooring can be installed this way. Some choices in bamboo can be stapled down as well. Laminates are strictly floating floors, which makes them pretty versatile. They also generally feature glueless click systems, although some installers like to apply glue to the tongue and groove edges for extra hold. This is true of bamboo and engineered floors too.
So to review:
Nail down - solid hardwood (requires a wood subfloor)
Glue-down - bamboo and engineered floors
staple-down - bamboo
floating - engineered and laminate(sometimes with a glued-edge for extra hold).
The great thing about wood floors is that regardless of how you install them, you still get that great look you’ve held in your mind when you first had the idea of putting them into your space. And these days, there are many choices that help you get the look you want, no matter what kind of subfloor you have.
It is with tremendous effort that I have refrained from using the word grrrrrrEAT! in the title of this blog post. I am a sucker for a bad pun and pop culture reference all in one (hint to the non-generation X among you: this is Tony the Tiger’s catchphrase for his favorite breakfast cereal as featured on TV commercials since the 50s …).
But in any case, I thought I’d talk a bit about tiger strand-woven floors because they are kind of great. They provide a wild, random, bold and vibrant look to a space. And the process by which they are made is a perfect model for sustainable flooring.
Tiger strand-woven bamboo floors are made when the parings of two kinds of bamboo floors - natural and carbonized - are literally woven together and pressed into a new type of bamboo floor. As you know by now perhaps, natural bamboo is a blonde shade, and carbonized is closer to a caramel. So, you can guess where tiger strand-woven might get its name, with random ’stripes’ that are created by the process.
Bamboo flooring is known to be a ‘green floor’ for many reasons. And tiger strand-woven adds to the list of reasons to support this position, given that there is almost zero-wastage involved in its manufacturing process.
Given that we’re going into a decade where sustainable building materials are likely to become more and more sought after than ever before, tiger strand-woven may be a potential superstar.
But, even without the abrasion of soles and the materials that often come with them, the very act of walking on a certain section of a floor can be a source of subtle wear over time. Once again, quality wood floors are made to resist abrasion, and often do so for decades. But the goal here is to be an ally to maintaining the original luster of your flooring. And if you can take some easy steps to do that, why wouldn’t you? So, here’s another couple of choices to undertake that accomplishes this, and then some.
Second, there’s runners. These additions are basically elongated versions of area rugs placed in transition areas of your space. This specifically means in hallways and foyers. These areas are like the highways of your home or office, because they connect popular destinations - bedroom to bathroom, bathroom to kitchen, kitchen to living room - together. And because of the amount of traffic these transition spaces get, a layer between feet and floor can go a long way in reducing the subtle effects of wear over time.
And because of this, minute scratching can occur that affects the original luster of your floor over time. You can see where a mat at a front door, a back door, a side door, where visitors and occupants are going in and out, might help to reduce the presence of these materials. The ‘welcome’ on the mat should be for your visitors, not the stuff that they bring in on their shoes.
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