Wood and plastic laminate floorings are very durable

When my family moved into our present home, the living room floor was covered with an ancient yellow shag carpet. There were things growing in that carpet that even our dog didn’t like. I replaced the carpeting with a nice, prefinished floor made from bamboo. The cost for the floor, not counting my labor, was less than the cost for a decent carpet.

We have a couple of area rugs that can be taken outside and given a good shaking now and then.

PREFINISHED WOOD FLOORING. In the old

days, wood flooring was installed “in the raw,” one tongue-and-groove strip at a time. Then it was sanded and finished. T he sanding process covered everything with fine sawdust, and the oil-varnish finish filled the air with unpleasant (and often hazardous) fumes. While it’s still possible to install wood floors that way, more and more people are choosing prefinished wood flooring. The installed cost is about the same for both flooring treatments, but you don’t have to deal with dust or fumes. You also don’t have to wait for the multiple coats of

ENGINEERED WOOD FLOORING IS

EASY TO INSTALL. Plied construc­tion, tongue-and-groove joints, and a factory-applied finish make engineered wood flooring easy to install and very durable. Different plank widths and a wide range of wood species are available. [Photo by Scott Phillips, courtesy Fine Homebuilding magazine, E The Taunton Press, Inc.)

finish to be applied. In addition, the factory — applied finishes on better-quality flooring are very durable.

I love wood floors, and it’s great to see such a wide selection of wood flooring available at home-improvement centers and flooring deal­ers. Good instructions are also available from manufacturers and in-store experts for installing prefinished flooring. As with tradi­tional solid wood floors, prefinished flooring is made to fit together with tongue-and — groove joints.

Prefinished hardwood floors come in many styles and woods. Some of the more popular choices are oak, maple, cherry, ash, and fir. You can also select the the stain or clear finish and the edge detail. Most prefin­ished wood flooring is made by gluing wood plies together. Referred to as engineered wood flooring, prefinished wood flooring is manu­factured in strip, plank, and parquet form. Strip flooring can be up to ЗА in. wide; planks are wider; and parquet flooring comes in square pieces. The overall thickness is usually ‘A in. or less. Some prefinished strips and planks have slightly eased or beveled edges to make handling and installation easier. Basic, square-edged flooring is also available.

Wood flooring can be installed with a pneumatic nailer, attached to the subfloor with adhesive, or glued together and allowed to “float” on a resilient pad. Manufacturers have even developed flooring that simply snaps together without glue. If you want to do the installation vourself, check with the manufacturer or with your flooring supplier to determine which type of installation is appropriate.

PLASTIC-LAMINATE FLOORING. Like engi­neered wood flooring, plastic-laminate floor­ing is a plywood construction, but the top, or

“show,” layer is man-made rather than natural. Different colors and patterns are available, including some very realistic wood tones. The surface is extremely durable, though it can’t be sanded and refinished like some types of wood flooring. Shop around and you’ll find plastic laminate flooring for about the same price as good-quality vinyl flooring. It’s easy to install, too. T his type of flooring works well in kitchens and bathrooms. I have it in my writing room. The supplier taught me how to lay it by gluing the edges, and I installed about 100 sq. ft. without driving a single nail.