The pros and cons of oak hardwood flooring

Imagine you have good furniture everything else is nice but your floor is old and cracked. Definitely when someone visits you they will not be able to see that you have nice furniture but rather the first thing they will take note of is you have a cracked floor. So then it is important that the floor your furniture stands on is as attractive as your furniture is so overall your floor is as important as is your furniture. Well there are many floor types that are available on the market today among such is the oak wood floor. Oak wood has some very attractive colors that are complemented by the wonder shine of this wooden floor when it has been polished. This has contributed so much to the success of the oak wood floor as well as the fact that it is long lasting unlike other floor types. Another advantage that oak wood floors have over other floor types is that an oak wood floor simply blends in with all furniture types.
Oak wood floors are good but they however do have their limitations as does everything that was created by man on earth. One problem that oak wood has is that it cannot be put into places or rooms that are prone to water spills, thus you cannot install an oak wood floor in a kitchen. If your home is a busy one your oak wood is prone to scratches. These scratches can be so visible that they make the floor very unattractive. If you move heavy furniture around these scratches can be so visible that they will annoy you. Once your oak wood floor has scratches it will require you to apply more polish as you will be trying to mask some of those visible scratches. Due too these reasons oak wood floors can only be put in places that are not that busy such as the dining room, bedrooms and lounges.
Now that you know what beauty an oak wood floor will bring to you home, it is important that you have an understanding of how it can properly be installed. Since oak is wood it is prone to moisture loss and gains. When installing it, it is important that you do not allow it to lose any moisture as moisture loss will result in it warping. This means that the floor where you are going to install it should be dry and free of moisture. It is also advised that before installing the oak wood floor it is ideal that you allow the wood some time to get into equilibrium with the climate that is in the rooms before you install it. This ensures that your tiles do not crack due to climatic or environmental changes and if they are to do so you will realize it before installing it and you take any necessary measures. The oak wood can be installed on floors that are made of concrete. It is therefore important to make sure that the floor is installed on concrete floors that have thoroughly dried and have no traces of moisture. When your oak wood floor is to be installed on a concrete floor it is important that it is put on a floor that has a moisture or vapor guard. There are many materials that can be placed on the underneath that will ensure that moisture from below the ground does not reach the surface and affect the wooden floor.
Once you have ensured that the floor is free from external moisture, you can then install you oak wood floor. Oak wood can be nailed down, but that is if you are installing it on a floor that is made of wood. If it is being installed on a concrete floor you can glue it on. When using glue it is very important that you use glue that binds well with the concrete floor as well as with wooden floor. This is very important for if you use glue that bonds poorly with one of the materials then your wooden tile will just move out of place when pressure is applied on them and you would have wasted money. If you are not sure of the type of glue to use it is often a good idea to consult with the merchant who supplied you the oak wood tiles.
Now that you have your oak wood floor and it has been properly installed. It is now time to know how to look after it. A wooden floor will last for a lifetime as long as it is always polished and it is not exposed to harsh conditions such as water spills. Once water does spill by accident onto a wooden floor it is important that you wipe it off as soon as possible. Once you have wiped the water off you should apply a floor polish for if you do not the spot turns white and this damages the surface of the affected tiles. It is important that you use a floor polish that is wax based, a wax floor polish ensures that the wooden floor is protected from moisture that is in the surrounding air. The material that is used to apply the floor polish should be gentle on the floor it should not be rough such that it causes some abrasions on the floor. You can buy some floor polish appliers, that are soft and ensure an even spread of polish on your floor.
If you are not sure of any of these methods as regards how to install an oak wood floor, you can go on the web. On the web you will be able to access some sites that will provide you some articles that will give you a step by step guide on how to install a wooden floor on you own. You can even get some free pamphlets’ from merchants that supply these oak wood floors. So why wait beautify your home with an oak wood floor it’s the best choice on the market.