How To Identify Hardwood Floors

Many species such as oak pine and fir are easily recognizable.

How to identify hardwood floors.

Hardwood flooring the basics. The history of wood flooring. There are many types of old hardwood floors that can hold up to high traffic remodels and renovations. How to find out what type of wood floor you have.

Gleaming tongue and groove hardwood floors might seem like the standard for old houses but that wasn t always the case as a trip through wood flooring history illustrates. Finishing expert peter gedrys explains how you can test you floors to determine the finish used. Observe the wood grain. Stack flooring log cabin style or just spread it around the room but not directly on concrete.

Hardwood floors are traditionally oak although other woods such as cherry walnut birch beech mahogany elm and maple are also used. In order to clean repair stain or treat the wood flooring you will need to correctly identify the type of hardwood under your feet. This eliminates the chances of a stain or natural aging skewing the color diagnosis of the wood. The most predictable baseline to use when identifying wood is in a freshly sanded state.

For instance in the united states. Most engineered flooring can be installed using staples full spread adhesive or a floating method over an approved subfloor. Many older houses with solid hardwood floors have commonly used either red oak or. Most 3 4 inch solid hardwood flooring can be installed using nails or staples over an approved subfloor.

You often can tell what kind of wood your floor is made from just by looking at it. Bamboo is not technically wood but is also used as flooring. Hardwood flooring may be in the form of strips or parquet which often consist of six inch squares with each square.