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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.
Choosing the best surface for a dining room floor usually comes down to personal preference, style of decor and the realities of home life. Families with small children will likely want a hard surface rather than carpet, making it easier to clean up spills and avoid stains. Ceramic or porcelain tiles are attractive in warmer climates but may feel too cold in northern locations. Many families find that hardwood flooring works well in the dining room – it’s a versatile surface that can match both formal and casual interior styles, and it’s easy to clean and maintain.
The ability to easily clean a dining room floor is paramount since these floors are more likely to see stains from dropped food or spilled beverages. Because dining room floors are among the most used surfaces in the house, durability is important too.
Hardwood dining room flooring offers a great deal of flexibility, as homeowners can choose from various wood species, wood grades, stain colors and other options. Adding an area rug can introduce a softer feel underfoot when desired. Hardwood floors are exceptionally durable and are easy to maintain with sweeping and vacuuming. Hardwood dining room floors can help increase the value of a home, as most buyers prefer homes with hardwood surfaces. The disadvantages of hardwood dining room floors include the cost – installing wood floors costs more than carpet, but wood floors will last much longer. The hard feel of a dining room floor may be less welcoming than other surfaces.
Explore and select from our gallery of our most popular finishes, specially categorized by the personalities and traits of the floor designs.
ExploreWide plank wood flooring uses floorboards that are 5” to 20” in width and up to 12’ long. Compared to floors that use much narrower and shorter commercial floorboards, a wide plank floor has far fewer seams, making the floor seem less “busy” and the room more spacious. Wide planks also allow the natural color, grain and personality of the hardwood to be fully appreciated. When used in a dining room, wide plank floors offer a stunning and distinctive appearance that makes a strong visual statement.
Carpet has sound-dampening qualities that may be helpful when there are lots of people around the dining room table. The softness of carpet provides a sense of warmth and luxury. Carpet is also a highly affordable option. However, dining room carpet will inevitably need to be cleaned more often since these surfaces will experience more spills. And it can be difficult to completely get things like pollen and dander out of a carpeted surface, creating problems for family members with allergies.
Vinyl and laminate are durable, synthetic surfaces that are more resistant to fading, moisture and wear. Both types of surfaces can be manufactured to resemble a hardwood or tiled floor. Laminate and vinyl are generally cheaper than a hardwood floor, but they lack the distinctive beauty and authentic feel of hardwood beneath one’s feet.
Luxury vinyl is a synthetic, waterproof surface that can be fabricated to look like a hardwood floor. A luxury vinyl floor has a backing layer, a design layer that can be imprinted with an image and a wear layer that protects the image layer. Luxury vinyl planks offer an alternative to hardwood floors that is stain-resistant and less expensive on average.
Prefinishing a dining room floor is an excellent option for homeowners who want to avoid the mess and odor of having a floor finished within their residence. Prefinished hardwood flooring is cut, sanded, stained and sealed at the manufacturer’s facility before it is shipped to the home for installation. This process enables the manufacturer to apply stronger sealants and stains that offer greater protection. Prefinished floors are also faster to install, minimizing the cost and inconvenience for homeowners.
Engineered dining room floors are made with floorboards constructed from multiple layers of backing material that are glued together and topped with a veneer of hardwood. This structure creates a floorboard that is more resistant to the kind of changes in moisture and humidity that would cause solid hardwood flooring to warp or crack. While engineered wood flooring can be installed in a dining room, it is often used in bathrooms, mud rooms and sunrooms, in addition to installation in radiant heating systems, on concrete slabs, in basements and in other locations below grade. Engineered flooring should not be installed in climates where the relative humidity drops below 30%.
Textured dining room floors are made with new floorboards that craftsmen have treated to achieve an antique or weathered look. Texturing re-creates the saw marks and hand-scraped edges that were once the hallmarks of boards prepared for flooring in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Homeowners can also opt for various wire brush treatments that gently wear away the grain from new boards to achieve the appearance of floors that have been lived on for generations.
A parquet or patterned floor can add elegance and sophistication to a dining room. In a parquet floor, individual floorboards are arranged in a pattern rather than being laid out side by side. Common patterns include Chevron, Herringbone and Versailles.
Dining room floors should be swept and vacuumed often to remove dust, dirt and any food residue that could cause scratches or cause the floor to wear more quickly. To remove more stubborn grime, homeowners can use a solution of 1 or 2 ounces of white vinegar with 2 gallons of water – a solution that is safe both for floors and for the environment.
Carlisle Wide Plank Floors offers a broad range of options for dining room flooring, including hardwood and pine floors as well as luxury vinyl. Our expert design consultants work closely with customers to explore the options for materials, stain colors, structure, texture and pattern that can help to make a one-of-a-kind surface that perfectly matches the homeowner’s vision.
