Although many people do not know about the acclimatisation of wood flooring, it is essential if your brand new wood floor is to settle properly. It is a well known fact that wood expands and contracts when the temperature fluctuates, as can be seen in any tree that is outside and exposed to the elements. It swells when hot and contracts when cold, and wood that is used for your flooring is no different. This could cause serious problems when it comes to laying wooden flooring because it will also expand and contract unless acclimatisation of wood flooring is allowed.

Acclimatisation of wood flooring requires you to place the wood in the room in which it is to go for at least 14 days before it is actually laid. During that period of time, the wood will become used to the temperature and humidity of the room and this will prevent any cracking and splitting when it is laid. The ideal way to acclimatise the wood flooring is to stack it piles with bearers in between the layers to allow the air to circulate around the wood naturally. It is as simple as that!

It is easy to think that a wood floor for a smaller room does not need acclimatisation but that is most definitely not the case. If you are laying a wood floor in any room, from the basement to the lounge to the attic, you need to acclimatise the wood first. Any wood floor can crack or even become uneven, which would ultimately make it look extremely ugly and also make it dangerous and prone to wear and tear. You do not have to do anything other than allow it to sit in the room so for very little effort, you can reap the rewards of having a beautiful and acclimatised wood floor in a fortnight’s time!

Well here’s what Factory Direct Flooring think as we definately beleive Wood Flooring is the best option…..

For a start Wood Flooring is more environmentally friendly that Carpet as most wood flooring comes from trees that are planted where as carpets tend to end up in landfills.  The life of a wood floor is also considerably longer when compared with carpets which also means then it is more cost effective in the long term.

Also Wood Flooring has a wider variety of usage in that it make better flooring than carpet for say a room where the moisture is higher i.e. basement or bathroom.

There are many, many more advantages of Wood Flooring so call Factory Direct Flooring to find out more……..

I am pleased to say that the future of flooring has arrived at Factory Direct Flooring in that we use Click Flooring.  Ok, I hear you say the Click Flooring has been around for ages and you would be right but not Click Flooring for the more expensive floors such as Engineered Wood Flooring and Solid Wood Flooring. 

We at Factory Direct Flooring now sell revolutionary Click Flooring for Engineered and Solid Wood Flooring.  This significany reduces the cost of installing a floor and even makes it possible for a DIY person to install these floors.  This would have be unthinkable even 1 year ago.

Phone Factory Direct Flooring.  The future is already here……

Laminate flooring is actually ‘greener’ than you might imagine.  It leaves a smaller footprint than say hardwood flooring or carpets.  Hardwood flooring requires mature trees to be cut whereas carpets must be replaced often leading to large amounts of carpets ending up in a landfill.  Laminate comes from man-made trees so no non man made tree is actually destroyed.

Laminate is easy to look after and maintain and take minutes to sweep.  This leaves you time to admire the floor and less time looking after it….Laminate Wood Flooring is therefore a lifestyle floor….. 
As flooring goes Laminate Wood Flooring is very easy to install.  The installation is not expensive and is a great choice for any DIYers out there.

Why not call Factory Flooring Direct who will advise you on Laminate Wood Flooring (or any other Wood Floor for that matter.

We at Factory Flooring Direct have a huge range of Engineered Wood Flooring.  Our engineered wood flooring selection includes:

 - Oak Engineered Flooring

 - Black Oak Engineered Flooring

 - Walnut Engineered Flooring

 - Beach Engineered Flooring

 - Cherry Engineered Flooring

 - Jatoba Engineered Flooring

 - Maple Engineered Flooring

 - Merbau Engineered Flooring

 - Ash Engineered Floooring

Should you wish to discuss any thing further then please give us a call.

A question we are often asked at Factory Direct Flooring is: What is Engineered Wood flooring? so we thought we would answer it here with as few words, and as simple a way, as possible.

Essentially Engineered Wood Flooring is a wooden plank that is manufactured and consists of a strong ply with a solid wood veneer coated on top.  The ply essentially supplies extra support to the solid veneer layer so that it does not suffer fro mwarping or cupping.  The benefit of this structures means that engineered wood flooring provide a greater level of flexibility when compared to solid harwood flooring which means it can be used in romms/areas with a higher moisture content.

We hope this makes sense.  To discuss engineered wood flooring or for that matter any thing to do with flooring the please call as at Factory Direct Flooring.  We are passionate about flooring and offer prices that cannot be beaten…….. 

Like our last article on What is Engineered Wood Flooring, we at Factory Direct Flooring are often asked What is Solid Wood Flooring?  Again we would like to answer it, in as simple a way as possible……

Solid Wood Flooring are individual boards of floor which are made from one continuous plank of wood whereas engineered woods have the solid wood veneer coated on top od a ply base.

We at Factory Flooring offer Solid Wood Flooring at prices that cannot be matched…….

Laminate wood flooring was not the first choice of flooring for homeowners up until 2001. It was originally a tile system that had to be glued to the floor, which could end up being extremely messy and very inconvenient as the room could not be used until the glue had set around 24 hours after laying. The cheaper nature of the material was appealing but these two factors unsurprisingly put people off. It did not matter that spillages would not cause any damage or that it was easy to clean. Instead, it only mattered that it was so difficult to install. However, that all changed in 2001.

2001 saw the introduction of the click system and has been synonymous with laminate flooring ever since. Instead of having to glue on the individual tiles, the click system made it possible for homeowners to lay their laminate floor within just a couple of hours without the need for adhesive. Better still, the whole family could walk on the flooring as soon as the final panel was installed!

The click system is basically where each panel is adjoined to the next one via clicking them into place. You lay one, click the next one onto it and then lay tat. You repeat this process until the entire floor is laid, thus making it an easy DIY job. Laminate flooring is now synonymous with the click system because many manufacturers tried the system out on laminate flooring and found it worked so well that they have continued to do it ever since. This has undoubtedly contributed to its popularity.

In truth, the click system revolutionized laminate flooring and made it what it is today. It has enabled companies to come up with more patterns, more looks and more colours, as well as given them the power to imitate wood flooring. This is cheaper and yet achieves the same effect, which means that it is likely to be onwards and upwards for laminate flooring!

Wood flooring is extremely desirable because it can help any homeowner to achieve a number of looks when decorating. Firstly, there is the traditional look, which is achieved by varnishing the wood to show all of its knots and imperfections. This actually gives it character and is reminiscent of years gone by, especially when it is used in a kitchen that features stone or wooden countertops and cupboards. Then there is the rich look, in which he wood is highly varnished and incredibly shiny! This kind of flooring can bring a warm glow to any living room and highlight furniture in warmer colours.

There are so many options when it comes to wooden flooring that you can literally tailor it to suit all of your wants and needs. The deep red-brown woods can make a room feel smaller but cosier, whereas lighter brown woods can make it appear more spacious and capture the light streaming through the windows. If all of this sounds appealing then you would only have to look at one of the rooms with wooden floors to fall in love with it as a decorative but practical feature that is resistant to the stresses and strains of the modern lifestyle.

Wooden floors are easier to keep clean than carpet ever was. Running a vacuum over it, or a brush, will remove all of the grime in no time and so it is much more hygienic! It also fits in well with the busy lifestyles that the majority of us lead these days! It takes no time to maintain at all and will withstand the test of time. It takes a number of years for any wear and tear to become apparent, which keeps the costs low and ensures that relaying the wood does not have to happen for many years to come!

Article Written by Factory Direct Flooring who specialise in all types of flooring including engineered wood flooring.

Engineered wooden flooring is effectively reinforced wood that is designed to stand a number of elements that normal wooden floors are not. For example, engineered wooden flooring may be made of the same material as regular wood floors but it would have been heat treated to make it more resistant to the tests of time. For example, it will not expand and contract when faced with immense heat or cold, which makes it perfect for use in a conservatory or a room that experiences more than its fair share of sun.

Engineered wooden flooring is also so strong that it does not need to be laid on top of another material to stabilise it. Regular flooring is laid on top of plywood or floorboards that are already in place to reinforce it somewhat. This is not necessary with engineered wooden flooring as it is already strong enough and stable enough to be able to stand on its own.

In effect, it is designed to give you peace of mind that you have made a wise investment. It is a little more expensive but it is worth the extra cost. The majority of engineered wooden flooring materials have also been taken from sustainable forests and so are environmentally friendly. This is a big consideration considering the degradation that the forests have undergone worldwide over the last few decades or so.

There is any number of styles, colours and woods available if you are interested in engineered wooden flooring. You will definitely be able to find a style to suit your home and your tastes. No matter what kind of wooden floors you would like, you can definitely find exactly what you are looking for!