100 percent natural, elegant look, and lifelong durability: anyone who appreciates these features is attracted to hardwood flooring.
Brushed, planed, finished, natural-toned, or color-refined and adapted, the hardwood wood options give each room its unmistakable character in the commercial and residential sectors.
Hardwood flooring also comes with its disadvantages. The main disadvantage is its Engineered wood price, which can vary according to your chosen wood material.
Here are the detailed pros and cons of hardwood flooring for you to weigh before installing any flooring.
Table of Contents
Pros of Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring offers numerous advantages over other floor coverings. No other floor covering looks as natural as hardwood with natural charm. Here are its benefits:
1. Heat Insulation
The hardwood floor does not require additional insulation. Natural material can maintain temperature and refrains drafts and cold from the concrete base.
Underfloor heating systems with a water circuit are prohibited due to possible leakage and condensation.
2. Easy installation
Laying flooring is much faster and easier with hardwood flooring material. It is primarily due to the large size of the individual elements of the material.
At the same time, laying can be done independently, even without special skills and installation experience.
3. Natural Essense
In the structure of the parquet board, there is only real wood. The slats do not contain harmful compounds and toxins. Environmental friendliness and safety of the material are one of its main advantages.
The coating is completely safe for the health of adults and children, so it is often laid in bedrooms and children’s rooms.
4. Maintainability
Maintainability is another advantage of this flooring option. In case of damage, it is easy to replace it.
Restoration of individual planks of stacked hardwood is a laborious procedure, but it is understandable and feasible with an ethical approach.
5. Elegant design
The impeccable look of the floor will emphasize the respectability of any style of the room – both classic and modern.
The material allows receiving a floor from various breeds of wood. A large selection of textures and colors is available, making it irresistible natural beauty.
It allows you to implement the boldest stylistic decisions in manufacturing products using various tinting compositions that create an impressive palette of shades.
The slats can be tinted – they can be covered with special varnishes (color, black, white), showing the wood texture differently.
6. Increase the property value
If the floor is laid with this type of flooring, it raises the status of the owners of the house in the eyes of the guests since only wealthy people can afford to finish the floor with such by no means cheap material.
Whether this is good or bad is a separate issue, but if we talk about the status of hardwood, then this is a strong argument in favor of buying it.
Natural wood’s warmth and positive aura will bring charm and uniqueness to any room.
7. Cushioning and gentleness
The feel and treading comfort when walking barefoot on hardwood flooring is also an advantage of hardwood flooring material.
There are innumerable conduits inside solid wood, and there is “moderate treading comfort” and “warmth” that stone and concrete do not have.
Softwoods (sugi, cypress, pine) are excellent in treading comfort, and hardwoods (oak, chestnut, walnut) are excellent in durability.
In terms of skin touching, it is recommended to paint the surface of the solid flooring naturally rather than urethane.
8. Noble optics
Corrections are not necessary, and nature has done a great job. The irregular, the more or less finely-grained surface of hardwood looks beautiful, lively, and noble.
Wood oil or hard wax oil provides a natural finish, and lacquer creates a beautiful shine.
9. Soundproof
When laid correctly, wooden floors have a sound-insulating effect that prevents footfall noise in the surrounding rooms and thus contributes to the quality of living.
Hardwood is particularly advantageous in rented apartments or families with children who like to romp around.
10. Sustainable
Hardwood as a floor covering is sustainable, whether solid or in the multi-layer variant, and consists of 100 percent wood – and that grows back.
If you wish to be on the safe side regarding ecological balance, you can use local species such as beech, ash, or oak.
11. Bring nature into your four walls
Solid hardwood floors are a popular choice to create a natural ambiance in your home or workplace.
Due to its original smell and wooden surface, hardwood is the first choice for everyone who wants naturalness in their premises.
The floors also offer advantages for the room climate. Wood “breathes,” absorbs moisture, and releases it back into the environment.
12. Lasts forever
Prefinished flooring lasts forever; the harder the wood, the more resistant the surface. Stilettos, chair legs, or claws hardly leave any marks.
If it does, after 15 years, it’s time to finely sand and re-oil or paint. The hardwood dealer or the hardware store around the corner rents out sanding machines.
13. Timelessly modern
Wooden floors have been laid for centuries and always meet the taste of the times. So why replace the floor when it can live up to 150 years anyway with the proper care?
Well-maintained hardwood floor survives a style change in interior design with ease because it is a timeless interior design classic unaffected by passing trends.
The design possibilities of hardwood are diverse and offer numerous advantages. Subtle woods, for example, can be used as a pleasant contrast to unusual furnishing styles and neutralize the room image.
Modern types of wood reinforce the desired ambiance by expressing the current zeitgeist.
14. Perfect floor for allergy sufferers
And why not? After all, hardwood as a floor covering does not contain any allergenic substances and is easy to clean.
Residents with sensitive airways also appreciate the climate-regulating properties.
15. Suitable for pets
Cats’ or dogs’ paws should also feel comfortable where human feet feel comfortable.
If you choose prefinished hardwood flooring (oak, ash), Anti-scratch coating will withstand the usual scratching attacks of your beloved four-legged friend.
16. Natural aroma
There are various tree species used for solid wood flooring, but the scent of each is a naturally derived ingredient that brings comfort and healing to our lives.
Many chemical substances are used in residential building materials. Many building materials are rated to reduce the use of formaldehyde in adhesives.
However, hardwood flooring materials do not have such restrictions in the first place. The “scent” of solid wood often realizes its importance because it is invisible.
Cons of Hardwood Flooring
Nobody is perfect, not even the hardwood flooring, which, in addition to the many qualities previously described, has some defects.
1. Repair complexity
Suppose significant deformations and damages appear in some regions of the floor. In that case, the replacement of the element involves the removal of a sufficiently large area since the average length of a hardwood board is about two meters.
Choosing a suitable color and texture pattern for the wood is pretty challenging. When calculating the amount of material needed for installation, it is necessary to consider several other boards that may be required to restore the coating.
2. Expensive
Hardwood flooring is expensive, and the price starts at $6 to $12 per square foot. The higher quality or rarer the wood and the processing, the more expensive the floor covering.
The labor cost, special tools for installation, exotic woods, and wide range of geometric patterns will make your initial investment much higher.
3. Need professional help
With ready-made hardwood flooring, prepared floorboards come into the house, which you can click into each other yourself.
But not every surface is perfect; you must cut the edges cleanly, and the skirting boards must be attached flawlessly. Calling a professional is better, especially for more complex laying techniques.
The hardwood installer demands 3-5 USD per square ft. for the upfront cost of installation.
4. Vulnerability to moisture
Hardwood flooring is generally said to be vulnerable to water damage. On the contrary, dried wood has the property of quickly absorbing moisture.
People think it is vulnerable to water, easy to get dirty, and stains. Unpainted flooring materials are coniferous trees (cypress, pine) readily absorbing moisture.
It is best to avoid using it in places where it is constantly exposed to water. Most general hardwood flooring materials are coated with urethane resin or natural paint. Laminate wood flooring resists water spills to the extent.
Choose hardwood floor brands, paying attention to the surface coating and the type of wood floor.
5. Formation of gaps
Hardwood flooring materials may have gaps between the flooring after construction. Wood has a natural humidity control function that takes in and discharges humidity by expanding and contracting according to the indoor environment.
Especially in the summer and rainy season, it absorbs the humidity of the outside air and expands. It releases moisture in the dry season, such as winter, and quickly contracts.
It is especially noticeable when coniferous flooring such as cedar and cypress is applied without painting.
It was a particularly likely event before the construction of base plywood and the construction method of using glue nails together. Still, it would help if you understood that gaps might occur as a characteristic of solid wood.
6. Prone to damage and scratch
The small thickness of the valuable wood species limits the number of possible cycles. It is impossible to correct the operational defects of the surface to infinity by this method.
Substantial external loads (sharp heel, heavy chair wheels, furniture legs) will lead to scratches on the surface of the slats. It is enough not to walk on the floor in outdoor shoes and not move furniture to avoid damage.
7. Wood oxidation
Like our skin, wood can also tan; you can notice this by comparing the hardwood floor under the carpet for a few months with the surface exposed to light.
You will immediately notice that under them, the color of the parquet is different, tending to be lighter than the wooden floor in the uncovered and airy areas of the house. It is due to oxidation, a completely harmless and natural phenomenon.
The process is activated with exposure to sunlight, as wood is a photosensitive material with photochromic properties, i.e., it changes color in contact with light due to UV rays.
Not all essences undergo the same level of oxidation. The solid wood of exotic origins, such as iroko and European cherry, will be particularly prone to transform in contact with sunlight.
In the case of environments very exposed to direct sunlight, it is, therefore, advisable to opt for low oxidation essences such as, for example, oak.
Letting the wooden floor breathe for a few months is advisable before spreading rugs or assembling furniture to avoid color unevenness.
8. Limited suitability for underfloor heating
Hardwood is only suitable to a limited extent over underfloor heating. Not only does woodwork, but it is also a poor conductor of heat that is a good shield against cold/heat.
When laying on underfloor heating (compared to tiles, for example), the release of heat from the subsurface is delayed.
The automatic control of the heating only reacts slowly to solar radiation or external heat that is brought in by a larger number of people.
Therefore, you should only lay hardwood over underfloor heating marked as suitable by the manufacturer.
9. Increased requirements for floor preparation
When installing the flooring material, it is necessary to take care of the cleanliness of the base surface. Before installation, the floor is leveled, dried, and undusted.
A slight height difference (2-3 mm) will cause coating deformation.
Laying on an unprepared base, non-compliance with temperature conditions during installation, and using poor-quality glue can lead to delamination and deformation of the structure.
Quick Glance (Pros and Cons of Hardwood Flooring)
| Pros |
|---|
| Retains heat well |
| Absorbs sound |
| Easily restorable |
| Long service life (lifetime) |
| Hypoallergenic |
| Static |
| Eco-friendly and natural floor finishing material |
| Not able to accumulate static electricity Very pleasant to the touch and improves tactile sensation |
| Natural antiseptic for indoor air |
| Versatile use |
| Cons |
|---|
| Requires an Air conditioning system |
| Creaks may appear over time or with heavy objects |
| Easily damaged and scratched |
| Does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature and high humidity |
| High price |
| Not possible to lay in damp rooms: kitchen, bathroom |
| Expensive Can lead to the exploitation of forests |
| Does not allow for figured laying and the formation of artistic patterns and drawings |
| Extreme reaction to temperature changes |
| Not for bathrooms and kitchen use |
Hardwood flooring is natural, elegant, and ages with style. Engineered hardwood flooring can be expensive and may become a complicated floor in your daily life. But with little care and maintenance, it can be an excellent addition to your home.
The flooring choices should not be limited to one or two options. Check out the pros and cons of other types of flooring.
- 19 pros and cons of travertine flooring
- 33 pros and cons of resilient vinyl flooring
- 10 pros and cons of Laminate flooring
- 10 pros and cons of cork flooring
(Last Updated on September 2, 2022)
