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You have questions, we have answers. Explore the most frequently asked questions about hardwood flooring below. Need assistance or want to know more? Contact Carlisle or call 800-595-9663 today to get all your inquiries answered.
Luxury wood flooring is a surface for a residential or commercial interior that’s fashioned with greater care, finer materials and an emphasis on design. Luxury wood floors may be made with solid hardwoods, engineered floorboards or reclaimed timbers that have been salvaged from old buildings. Additional luxury wood flooring options include wide plank floors, patterned or parquet floors and floors that are distressed or textured to create an antique or vintage appearance. Home and business owners choose luxury wood flooring when they want a floor to be a central design element that adds distinctive character and beauty to a room.
Wide plank floors are made with floorboards that are much wider and longer than standard commercial flooring. While the floorboards in most commercial floors are usually no wider than 3” and about 4’ long, wide plank floors may use floorboards that are anywhere between 5” and 20” wide and up to 16’ long. Wide plank floors add a feeling of luxury and elegance to any room while fewer seams in the floor creates a sense of spaciousness.
Explore and select from our gallery of our most popular finishes, specially categorized by the personalities and traits of the floor designs.
ExploreBecause wide plank floorboards require more labor and must be cut from larger, older trees, wide planks are a more expensive option for wood flooring.
In patterned or parquet flooring, the floorboards are arranged in a pattern rather than laid out in straight parallel lines. Common patterns include Herringbone, Chevron and Versailles. Patterned floors make a strong visual statement and lend an air of sophistication to any room.
Distressed floorboards are treated with a variety of techniques that add texture, re-create imperfections or gently wear down the grain to create a floor that appears to be much older. Hand-scraped edges mimic the look of boards that were once prepared for installation by drawing a knife across the edges to smooth the transition from one board to the next. Craftsmen also use wire brushes to wear away the softer grains in wood, reproducing the appearance of a floorboard that has been worn down by time and foot traffic. Distressing techniques add texture, character and visual interest to a floor.
Engineered wood floors are made with floorboards that are constructed from multiple layers of material rather than from solid hardwood. In an engineered floor, a veneer of solid hardwood is glued to multiple layers of plywood, fiberboard or other material, creating a board with a core will not expand or contract when exposed to higher levels of relative humidity. This construction makes engineered floors ideal for installation over radiant heating systems and concrete slabs, or in basements and other locations below grade. The hardwood veneer makes an engineered floorboard look and feel identical to a board made of solid hardwood. It’s important to remember that engineered wood floors should not be used in areas where the relative humidity drops below 30%.
Reclaimed wood floors are made with planks cut from timbers salvaged from old barns, factories, homes and other buildings slated for demolition. Reclaimed floorboards are intended to retain all the saw marks, discoloration, cracks, splits, wormholes, nail holes and other imperfections to create a floor with a great sense of character and history.
With prefinished wood flooring, the floorboards are cut, sanded, stained and sealed in the factory-controlled conditions of a woodworking facility before they are shipped to a job site for installation. This allows homeowners to enjoy a fast installation and to avoid the mess, smell and inconvenience associated with finishing a floor on site.
Prefinished floors offer several big advantages. To improve the floor’s durability, manufacturers can apply stronger sealants and treat all sides of the floorboards rather than just the top surface. Prefinished floors can be cut, stained and sealed with greater precision and uniform consistency. On the other hand, the seams on a prefinished floor may be more prominent since the floor is not sanded after it is installed within the home.
Luxury wood flooring is no harder to maintain than any other type of wood floor. Sweeping and vacuuming the floor will remove dust, dirt and debris that can cause scratches and scuffs. Cleaning up spills quickly can help to prevent water damage, and avoiding wearing shoes in the house or sliding heavy furniture and objects can help to prevent dents, dings and scratches.
Owners of high-end homes today use a variety of materials for luxury flooring, including marble, bamboo, granite and luxury vinyl planks. Hardwood floors continue to be highly popular in high-end homes, with many owners choosing hand-scraped wood flooring, patterned floors, and reclaimed floors.
Solid wood floors are highly prized by home buyers. As a result, wood floors can add as much as 2.5% in value to a home, according to Realtor.com.[1]
Carlisle Wide Plank Floors offers a wide array of luxury wood flooring options, including solid and engineered hardwood, prefinished and unfinished floors, distressed and reclaimed floors. Our expert design consultants guide customers through the choice of wood species, wood grades, structure, color, pattern, texture, and finishes to create a one-of-a-kind floor that is the perfect reflection of the homeowner’s vision and sense of style and taste.
