When seeking ways to enhance the home’s aesthetic appeal, many homeowners went into a confusing state; the biggest challenge for them is choosing the right flooring type.
No lie; replacing wall paints, furniture, and even adding new accessories can’t make a big impact as redoing the floor does.
Each flooring material type comes with its own set of pros and cons, but Hardwood Floor Installation in Lemont has topped the list as it’s a budget-friendly and low-maintenance flooring option. And, most importantly, nothing can beat the look of marvelous hardwood floors. With such an option, you will have various choices, or you can further customize the look considering your home’s interior.
How to choose the right flooring color?
Colors range from bold, darker tones to warm browns and lighter shades; each style has its impact on your home’s look. Therefore, before making your preference, consider different factors that may help you decide the best color option.
Your Home Decor Pattern
Before we start discussing this point, it’s vital to note that many homeowners don’t give their floors the importance they deserve. Often, they consider other elements, like wall paint and decoration accessories, more to elevate the appeal of their interior, maybe because floor installation requires significant investment cost! But, you must understand that although hardwood floors are a little costly, they last for generations and can potentially transform the drab space into an eye-catching view.
Wooden planks arrive in a broad range of textures and color shades to perfectly blend with your existing decor. If your home’s interior has lighter colors and sleek designs, then a darker floor pattern might look better with it. If you’re unsure about the shades, you can better opt for the unfinished flooring option.
With on-site finishing services, you can get the stain color of your choice. Such floors are raw; it’s first installed in the rooms, and then stains and finishes are applied. First, it would be best to test the stain color on a little area; if it matches or looks great, then apply it to the entire space.
Foot Traffic
If there are so many members residing in your house, especially children and pets, then it’s suggested to install light colored wood as scratches are usually visible more on dark hardwood flooring. It’s always suggested to apply a scratch-resistant finish, use furniture glides (pads) for all movable pieces to prevent scratching. However, it’s really a matter of taste!
Amount of Light Enter
You must consider how much amount of natural light will enter your room as it affects the look of your wood floors. If any of your rooms get an abundance of regular sunlight, then it would be best to pick the color that won’t fade as much.
However, you can take several measures to protect your floors from damaging sun rays. You can put curtains, blinds, or shades on the window to limit the amount of UV rays directly hitting your floors. Also, you can place rugs on the floors, especially on those areas that face direct heat rays too much. It is suggested that you must rotate the furniture several times to prevent marking and imprints around such pieces; this tactic is perfect for maintaining evenness.
Your furniture color
Imagine how awful your home will look if your floorings and other furnishings won’t complement each other. If your only aim is to amplify your home’s interior appeal, you must take a decision considering the color of your walls and furnishings, such as cabinets, sofas, tables, and other wooden pieces.
Cleaning habits
Lastly, the choice of floor color also depends on your cleaning habits. Icky dirt can wreak havoc on your floors. If you have a busy schedule or aren’t particularly assiduous about cleaning, it is preferable to choose such flooring that can hide dirt to make your abode look better.
Well to know, the accumulation of dirt is very easy to see on dark-colored floors; similarly, very light colors are also not for you as stains, mud, and grime are more visible on it as well. So which one you can pick? Your ideal choice would be the flooring whose color lies somewhere between the above-mentioned color spectrum.
While being a little careful, cherry-pick the right shade to ameliorate your home and create a wow impression.
Ready for Hardwood Floor Installation? Here’s what to expect-
A Perplexing State: Type & Finish of Wood Planks
It’s extremely confusing to pick the flooring material for Hardwood Floor Installation in Naperville.
Yes, with several choices in texture, width, finishes, it can be pretty hard to choose the flooring for your home. Being a homeowner, you can either choose an engineered floor or a solid one. Engineered Flooring – a thin layer of hardwood floor bonded over layers of high-quality plywood. Its construction makes it very stable; such floors are less likely to expand or contract with changing temperature and humidity. On the other hand, solid wood is created from one single piece of wood.
Apart from types, you also have to make a choice of finish, like water-based or oil-based. Finishes are applied to provide good protection to the wooden floors. Both polyurethanes are awesome but vary in appearance. Oil-based polyurethanes leave an amber glow but require more time to dry off, whereas water-based finishes offer a clear finish with a low odor. It dries faster; you can apply several coats in a day. We, Big Bro Hardwood, offer low VOC eco-friendly waterborne finishes because they have a long life and are non-hazardous too.
Pre-installation Preparation
Before Installation, the first step is to prepare the room for installation. You should remove all furnishings, rugs, draperies, and other accessories out so that the installation team will begin their work as soon as they visit your place. Also, it helps to minimize the potential damage to your fragile belongings.
Furthermore, it’s suggested to cover your belongings with certain linen to prevent them from becoming covered in sawdust. Plus, it would be best to keep elders (having some kind of allergy) and pets away from the site.
How much pre-installation preparation is needed entirely depends upon your lifestyle status, like the amount of stuff present in the room and the type of finishing needed.
Shifting items is one thing; another thing, ‘sub-floor preparation’, is the part to be carried out by the installation staff. To ensure sturdy installation, it’s crucial to develop an even and structurally sound subfloor so that floorboards can be fixed accurately. Much emphasis is given to leveling up and removing every speck of dust and debris.
Floor Installation can be Messy too!
The actual floor installation is the most disruptive part of the entire procedure. Expect noise, dust, and mess everywhere while the crew is installing planks. We make sure the flooring material will reach your premises at least two to three days before installation so that they can acclimate to the temperature level and fit perfectly well.
During the sanding procedure, Big Bro Hardwood uses state-of-the-art equipment that involves the use of cyclonic vacuum systems to provide your hardwood floor with a dust-free finishing process. It reduces the chance for dust to spread all over your home and ensures a little less mess.
Finally, the finishing is applied to provide your brand-new floors with robust protection. It’s suggested to keep distance from your floors before they get dried properly.
Note: The amount of time needed for drying specifically depends on the type of finishing polyurethane you have chosen.
Odor and Restrictions During and After Staining and Finishing
Once the floors are installed, the staining and finishing process is carried out. Staining gives your floors a bespoke look. Our Bona’s DriFast Stain Collections proffer fresh choices to make your home’s look unique and appealing. Find the right shade or ask us to custom mix different tones for your contemporary home. Our team ensures only the best and durable products are used during the installation so that you get better service for years down the road.
When the stain gets dry, we apply several coats of environmental-friendly, water-based finish. It does not turn yellow, smells minimal, and dries quickly. One can experience an unpleasant odor only if oil-based finishing is applied.
Precautionary Measures:
Before applying finishing products, it is essential to immaculately clean the space to remove dust and sand. Also, you must clear the walls to prevent peeling paint from falling on the newly finished wet floors.
Once the entire installation is completed, you can put your furniture and other stuff back into the room. However, you can take certain precautions to prevent floors from getting dents and scratches. What are they? You can read it here.
Choosing the Right Hardwood Floor Contractor
For many of us, investing in flooring is a costly affair; therefore, if you’ve decided on a new floor installation, it’s suggested to hire the best possible flooring contractor for the job.
To support your decision, you must check certain factors, like experience, insurance, workers’ compensation, warranty offered, and references. Let’s discuss these considerations.
Most people ignore checking the installer’s experience, which is the biggest mistake that homeowners will make. You must check the portfolio (or online gallery) of work done by the team to identify their capabilities. Also, make sure the firm has Full Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance so that if anything goes wrong or an accident occurs, your valuable property is protected, and you won’t be on the hook for the employees’ injuries.
Beyond this, you can read the testimonials present on the firm’s official website as it will help you in decision-making. We, Big Bro Hardwood, offer a variety of services to keep your floors in their pristine condition. Whether you’re looking for an entire installation or need services of Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Lemont and the surrounding areas, we can help!
For refinishing, we have the skills and expertise to restore your discolored and worn out floors using the right tools and knowledge. Here are some signs that tells you it’s time to refinish your hardwood floors-
- Water damage is a serious issue, which may result in warping, buckling, or cupping of the wooden boards. If you find even the smallest amount of standing water on the floors, dry it out immediately.
- Scratches are inevitable; if there are deep and highly visible scratches all over the floor that look terrible, it’s the sign that your floor requires refinishing.
- If there are kids and pets in your home, then Gouges and Chipping are common. Deep Gouges let water seep in and damage your wooden floor. So hire an expert refinisher quickly.
Besides, graying of wood, excess staining, sun damage, and fading and discoloration are all signs that you must call professionals for refinishing.
Our hands-on approach to refinishing ensures outstanding results. Our refinishing process begins with-
Sanding the wood
Floor sanding is done to eliminate scratches and stains. As mentioned earlier, we use the latest equipment to ensure a dust-free finishing process.
Screening the floors
Floor screening helps to level out every unevenness that is leftover from the drum sander and edger.
Thorough Dust Removal
Before heading towards staining and finishing, we thoroughly clean and vacuum the floors to ensure dust-free space.
Staining and applying two coats of water-based finishes
Finally, we put on a stain of your choice. Once it dries down, we apply two coats of water-based polyurethanes to provide your floors with good protection.
You can view our gallery section to identify how marvelously we add life to any dull space. We strive to keep our clients aware of every step of the project and try hard to surpass all their expectations.
Homeowners can directly share their project requirements with one of our competent teammates; we never deal with pushy salespeople and subcontractors.
If you’ve any queries or want to ask any questions related to installation or Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Naperville, feel free to contact us at (630) 418 4139 or email us at bigbrohardwood@gmail.com