As a company that handles hardwood floor refinishing in Long Island, NY, we end up doing a lot of work after the holiday season. This is because the winter brings some pretty big dangers for your flooring.

Here are some good tips that can help you better protect your floors. We would, of course, be happy to handle your hardwood floor refinishing, but would also be pleased to know our clients were able to avoid expensive repairs by following these great suggestions.

This is one of the main cause of issues with hardwood floors over the winter. The holiday season means lots of rain and snow. You need to find a way to make sure this moisture does not end up puddling on your floors. Try having a separate entrance on snowy days that has another kind of flooring. You could also put down an absorbent mat to help keep the moisture away from the hardwood.

No home is quite complete through the holidays without a nice Christmas tree. While the tree might be beautiful, it can also cause major issues with your flooring if it is not handled correctly. You will want to put down a good mat to protect the floor from scratching. The tree should also never be dragged along the floor. Make sure you are always lifting it fully to move from one place to another.

Even if you do not want rugs around all year, it can be very helpful for you to get some to use just during the winter months. In addition to offering protection from scratching, traffic and moisture, they will also help to dampen some of the sound that can come with all of the holiday festivities. Add a nice splash of color to your space with some rugs and you will get a lot of different benefits with the one purchase.

Do you have hardwood floors in your home? Are you planning on installing hardwood floors? If you answered yes to either of those two questions, you should be aware of the following signs that relate to moisture damage in hardwood flooring. Most of these issues arise from improper moisture acclimation upon installation.

Optimal moisture content is extremely important to the durability and strength of hardwood flooring. If your floor is not acclimated properly, it can be exposed to excessive amounts of moisture that can cause structural damage. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with any of these problems, but just in case, you should know what to watch out for.

Hardwood floors add significant value and beauty to your home. They are such a sought-after upgrade in a home because they are easy to clean, sanitary, keep dust, mold and allergens from collecting (unlike carpet), are durable and can be absolutely stunning. For these reasons, and others, many people want to install hardwood floors in their home.

The choices and options currently on the market for hardwood flooring can make choosing the perfect hardwood for your home feel overwhelming and stressful. Make the decision a little easier by learning a bit more about hardwood flooring, especially the difference between solid and engineered wood floors.

One of the fastest growing flooring types on the market is engineered hardwood. This flooring is popular for a variety of reasons. When consumers hear “engineered hardwood” some may immediately shy away, thinking it is a product similar to laminate. This is not the case. The top of the floor that you see and walk on is 100 percent natural hardwood, unlike laminate which has a man-made surface material printed to look like real wood.

Engineered wood floors are made up of layers of composite wood that are glued and pressed together. Then a thin piece of solid hardwood is layered on top of the composite boards. This allows for the beauty and durability of hardwood, with some other advantages.

Engineered hardwood does not expand and contract the way that solid wood floors do, so it can be installed on top of concrete, such as in basements and below-grade rooms. Engineered floors can also be less expensive than solid hardwoods in the same variety because they use less of the actual solid wood. One con of this type of flooring is that it cannot be refinished too many times.

To see examples of what engineered hardwood floors look like, visit our projects page. There you will find many photos of how this type of flooring looks in both residential and commercial spaces.

Traditional hardwood flooring is installed unfinished and then the boards are sanded and finished in your home. Prefinished hardwood floors are finished in the factory and then installed in your home. There are benefits to both types of finishing.

You will want to explore what the pros and cons are for each method before choosing your flooring. There are also some considerations you might want to make beforehand, including what type of wood species you want, what your budget is and if you want any special techniques, like hand scraping, applied.

Hardwood floors have been used for centuries. Traditionally, unfinished wood planks are installed and then they are sanded, stained and sealed. Typical finishes are wax, water-based polyurethane or oil-based polyurethane.

Wax is the most traditional finish, but it takes more upkeep and refinishing. It is not as durable as polyurethane, so it stains and imperfections are more likely. Wax is easy to apply, low odor and not as shiny as polyurethane.

Both water-based and oil-based polyurethane are fairly durable, with oil being slightly more durable than water-based. Benefits of a traditionally finished floor are that existing finishes or flooring are easier to match this way. Custom staining and design are also easier with a floor that is finished on-site. This type of flooring can be sanded and refinished many times, leaving room for change or updating down the road. When comparing solid species to species unfinished and pre-finished boards, unfinished flooring will be less expensive as well.

Factory finished hardwood is becoming increasingly popular for several reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that pre-finished hardwood floor installation is much quicker and easier than traditional on-site finishing. Once the flooring is installed you can immediately walk on it. There is no mess and no odor.

Pre-finished floors can still be sanded and refinished if needed, but they are less likely to need refinishing because the factory finish is harder and more durable than finishes that are put on unfinished boards on-site.