Easy Does It Wood Floor Planks: Tongue and Groove Flooring Make Wood Floor Installation A Very Rewarding Experience

Perhaps one apprehension that homeowners have with wood flooring is its installation. Certainly something as beautiful would require skilled artisans to install in order to get the best out of such a material. Indeed, wood floor planks are one of the most intimidating flooring materials, but that doesn't mean that it will be a hassle to install.

An Easy Wood Floor Option

The tongue and groove feature of several wood floor planks offer homeowners an easy-to-install wood floor option that readily gives them the floors they want. Almost all wood floor planks in distribution today feature this option, and so you would have no problem installing your dream wood flooring yourself. From light, medium, to dark colored varieties, tongue and groove wood floor planks are the best flooring material for the DIY-er.

Pre-Installation Preparations

Tongue and groove wood floor planks may be easy to install but they are not foolproof. Prior to installation, one must read the instructions and see to it that all the requirements are met. Other preparations must be done in order to make the installation a success.

One of the keys to a successful wood floor plank installation is the prep work. Since these wood planks are going to be a fixture in your home, the process of acclimation helps the floor planks to adjust to the humidity and temperature conditions in your home. This is done by leaving the boxes of floor planks open overnight in the site where you ought to install them. Not doing so will cause disastrous consequences.

It also pays to know the measurements of the room where you plan to install the wood floor planks so that you won't get too much or too few (both problems with unprepared homeowners). Though you should have a few planks extra, 5 extra boxes of wood floor planks is just a waste.

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Step 1 - Type

The original, and some would say, the best. Even though Solid Tongue & Groove Hardwood Timber Flooring has been used for centuries as a flooring material its unique and varied appearance ensures it will always have a place in both modern and traditional interior design.

Kiln Dried Hardwood Tongue and Groove Timber Flooring has been used throughout Australia for over 100 years. The flooring has a structural quality, which means it can be laid directly to the floor joists, over concrete, plywood, battens or a number of other surfaces. It is available in secret nail or top nail profile and comes in a huge cross section of colours, price ranges and widths. Wood Floor Solutions are one of Australia's largest retailers of Tongue and Groove Flooring, and chances are we've got the right combination of products to suit any application, vision and budget.

Step 2 - Grade

Next, you'll need to decide which grade of timber you'd like. This terminology refers to the amount of feature visible in the timber. Features are visible appearances occurring naturally in the timber that are caused by knots, insects, fire, damage and other occurrences. Remember it is the natural features of a timber floor that gives it its character, natural beauty and warmth. Wood Floor Solutions make this step a little easier, by offering three grades of flooring in their Tongue and Groove Product Range:

Please note: not all gradings are available in all species.

• Contemporary (also known within the industry as Select or Low feature) This grade exhibits minimum features, so it allows a sleek minimalist look to the finished product. It is commonly referred to as the premium grade as the timber flooring market tends to prefer that the amount of visible feature to be limited. To create Contemporary grade flooring, we sort and re-grade the more featured timber at the time of manufacture, as a result, Contemporary is the most expensive grade. Remember though: the price of flooring is not just dependent on the grade - the species of timber plays a major role in the pricing of the flooring. So if you've got your heart set on a sleek contemporary look for your room, but your budget won't stretch to have it in your chosen timber - speak with your Wood Floor Solutions Representative, they may be able to suggest a similar look at a much lower price.
• Colonial (also known within the industry as Standard or Medium feature). This grade is a mixture of boards that have more features visible. You will get a varying degree of Contemporary-looking timber in this grade of floor after it's been installed. This is because a length of timber may only have one small feature in its entirety, so when it's laid, the overall effect can be of contemporary boards with a bit of character about them. Colonial Grade is also great on the pocket, as the price is usually about 25% lower than a Contemporary grade floor (depending on the species chosen).
• Natural Feature (also known within the industry as Rustic or High Feature) - This grade is a mix of the more heavily featured lengths of timber that do not fit within our other grading. Customers tend to favour this grade of timber when they are looking for a rustic or old-world appearance. This grade offers approximately a 40% saving compared to a Contemporary grade floor of the same species.

Step 3 - Colour

Lights, Mediums and Darks from Australia and Abroad

What's the vision you have for your room? Do you want bright and breezy, or warm and cozy? Do you like cool colours or rich and opulent colours. And while, this decision seems daunting, it really isn't. You see, Mother Nature has made it easy by dividing her timber products into lights (also known as Blondes), Mediums (Browns) and Darks (Red and deep chocolate browns). And remember, the choice between them is purely aesthetic. In fact, you could think of it a bit like hair colour ...

So whether you're after a strawberry blonde, like New England Beech, a True-Blue Aussie Blonde like New England Backbutt, a sultry brunette like our Brown Ironbox, a rich milk chocolate like our Spotted Gum, or a Spicy Red like our Red Ironbox, we've got the entire colour spectrum.

So consider your room, your lifestyle and what you want to use the room for. Visualise yourself using your room. What colour flooring will work with your vision? Do you love the light golden blondes, an earthy brunette (brown) or maybe you're swayed by a rich and timeless red. Although it can seem to be an insurmountable decision - once you've chosen your palette - the rest, as they say is easy.

Remember, while the general colour of the timber will be determined by the species, natural variations can and do occur. Keep in mind that timber is a natural product and no matter how big a sample you have seen, your floor WILL BE DIFFERENT from the sample and it will be completely unique.

However, as a general rule, darker colours are usually found in formal or more traditional interiors, whereas lighter colours are for casual, country or contemporary settings. Keep in mind that there are many choices when selecting the right floor for your space.

The true colour of a floor will shine through after it has been sanded and coated with your chosen finish or coating. And even then, the colour can mature over time - lighter floors are particularly susceptible to a "honey-ing" of their tonings.