BIRCH COVE BUILDERSFlooring types
How the planks lock together
- Laminate: click lockThe edges are shaped to angle in and snap down. The floor floats on a thin pad, with no nails or glue.
- Vinyl plank: click lockThe same snap-together edge in a much thinner plank, usually with the pad built onto the back. Floats over the subfloor.
- Engineered: tongue and grooveA tongue on one edge fits a groove in the next. Usually nailed or glued down, and some can float.
- Solid hardwood: tongue and grooveThe same tongue and groove, milled into solid wood and nailed down through the tongue so the nails hide.
Laminate
A printed wood look over a fiberboard core. Economical, but it doesn't like standing water.
Luxury vinyl plank
Waterproof and tough, a good fit for basements, mudrooms and rentals. It can't be refinished.
Carpet
Soft and quiet in bedrooms. Quality depends mostly on the pad and the fiber.
Engineered hardwood
A real wood top layer on a plywood base. Stable through humidity swings and over radiant heat, and it can be refinished, depending on the top layer.
Solid hardwood
Can be sanded and refinished many times. It moves with the seasons and isn't a good fit over radiant heat or in basements.
Porcelain and stone floors are covered in the tile guide.
Wood floor choices
Species
Red oak is the most economical, white oak is the most requested today, and maple, hickory and walnut each cost more.
Board width
Wider boards look more modern and cost more. They also move more with the seasons.
Prefinished
Finished at the factory. Tough, faster to install, and the boards have small bevels between them.
Site-finished
Sanded flat and finished in place. Seamless, with a custom stain color, and the house is off limits for a few days while it cures.
Wood flooring sits in the house with the heat running before it's installed, so it adjusts to the house and doesn't gap or cup later.
More guides
Outside the house
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