Before You Buy
Hardwood

• Choosing a hardwood floor may look complicated.  You may become frustrated and confused, but in reality it is simple.
• Upgrading your home with hardwood floors has many benefits:  may last up to a lifetime, easy to maintain, adds value to your home, hypoallergenic great for people who suffer from allergies, and available in variety of styles.
• With so many options of hardwood flooring which species should you select? Should you select Oak? Maple? Moreover should you select solid wood, or engineered wood? What about width and thickness?
• After visiting a few flooring stores, speaking with different people, you find that you have become more confused than ever. At McCurley’s Floor Center we will supply you with honesty, straight talk, and answer any questions you may have.
• Contrary to what some may say, the best way to select a hardwood floor is to understand the characteristics of species of wood.
• Maple is considered harder than Oak, has a clean finish, and has very minimal grain apperance. Maple is beautiful due to its tight uniform grain, and clean finish.
• Hickory is harder than Oak and Maple. Hickory is considered Americas heaviest hardwood. Hickory typically has a variation of grain, knots, streaks, and character.

Hardwood Flooring Basics

Types of Hardwood Flooring

• Solid Hardwood Flooring: A piece of solid wood from top to bottom. There is a large range of versatility when it comes to solid floors, including species of wood, finishes, stains, with add to the options for they buyer. Primarily solid hardwood floor must be installed on top of a wood subfloor.
• Engineered Hardwood: Engineered hardwood is made up of layers of wood pressed together under high heat and pressure. Engineered hardwood is a therefore must more stable to changes in humidity, allowing it to be installed virtually anywhere.
• Prefinished- Wood that is ready to be installed does not require any sand or refinish
• Unfinished wood- Wood that is ready for installation, but needs to be sanded and refinish

Styles of Hardwood Flooring

Strip Hardwood Flooring- Narrow long hardwood, various lengths.

Plank Hardwood Flooring- Comes in thicknesses of ½” and ¾”, various width

Parquet Hardwood Flooring- Parquet floors have a very different look from typical hardwoods. They are made up of geometrical patterns composed of individual wood slats held in place by mechanical fastening or an adhesive.