Why hardwood floors? Hardwood floors are durable, long lasting and beautiful. The natural colors and patterns found in natural wood create a comfortable and inviting living environment.
Is it true that hardwood floors provide a cleaner home environment? Absolutely. Carpeting attracts and holds many allergenic spores, dust mites, bacteria, fungi, animal dander and other unhealthy microbes. These disturbing irritants are dispersed every time you vacuum.
How long do hardwood floors last? When properly maintained, hardwood floors can last a lifetime. The average carpet needs to be replaced every 10 to 12 years.
What is the most popular hardwood used in flooring? Red Oak is the most preferred hardwood for use in homes. Maple is the number one choice for gymnasiums, basketball courts, dance floors and other commercial applications. Maple is harder than oak, and can stand up better in commercial use.
What is the most durable hardwood floor? Oak is the most widely used, and it is in the middle of both price and hardness scales. You could also use an exotic, higher priced hardwood for strength, but the new pre-finished hardwoods are now being made very durable and are the longest lasting.
Maintenance Questions
I heard humidity levels need to be controlled for hardwood floors, is that true? Humidity in your home should be kept at approximately 45%. An extremely dry house during the heating season will cause flooring to shrink, which will create linear cracks between the flooring slats. On the other hand too much humidity will cause the flooring to swell and could cause the boards to cup or crown.
My hardwood floors are lackluster, and look like they need a face lift. Should I attempt to renovate them myself? We recommend our professional floor refurbishers. We have all the equipment and experience to do the job efficiently and correctly the first time. Plus, we guarantee the results.
Installation Questions
What is the lead time for scheduling a floor refinishing or installation? Generally from 1 to 3 weeks out depending on the job. Consult our office for a more precise time.
How long does a hardwood floor installation take? We generally visit your site to give you an accurate time and cost estimate for hardwood floor installations.
How long does the sanding/finishing process take? Normally sanding & finishing is a three day process, but allow four in case the finish isn't dry from one day to the next, depending upon weather conditions.
How much dust is created by the sanding process? There will be a fine film in the sanded areas. To keep dust from penetrating other areas of your home, we recommend applying plastic to doorways using 3M blue tape and thin plastic film. The plastic and 3M blue tape is available at your local hardware or home supply store.
How long does it take for the floor to dry after each surface coat is applied? A coat of oil base poly takes 8-12 hours to cure - a coat of water base poly takes 4-6 hours to dry.
What temperature should I keep my home during the finishing process? 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal, if your home is too hot or too cold, it could cause the finish to dry incorrectly and delay the job.
When can I move furniture back? Recommended 24 hours after the final coat is applied (with protective felts under all furniture). Large area rugs need to be kept off the floor for the first 30 days. Use a breathable perforated rubber pad under rugs.
Will my floor be shiny? You have a choice of a satin, semi-gloss or high gloss finish for your floor.
Do you move furniture or appliances? No, due to liability concerns that is an option left to the homeowner.
Can I stay in my home during the floor sanding process? Yes, however access to the floors will be restricted because of the need for a certain amount of drying time each day.
What time will the refinishing crews start each day? Generally most installations or refinishing jobs are started between 7:30 AM and 8:30 AM. Smaller jobs are sometimes started in the afternoon. The application of polyurethane varied from day to day depending on the finishing crew's route, and will be decided at that time.
What are the types of hardwood floors? Solid Hardwood Floors are a solid piece of hardwood cut into wood planks that are generally 3/4? thick. (Above ground level areas only, not recommended for concrete slabs.) Engineered Hardwood Floors are several plies of wood that a glued and laminated together to form a wood plank. They range in thickness from 1/4? to just over a half inch. (Can be installed almost anywhere in the home, including over dry concrete slabs.) Parquet Wood Floors are a North American term for geometric, rectangular blocks of wood that are either glues or nailed down depending on the type of parquet construction. Floating Wood Floors are really engineered wood floors that can be floated over various subfloors, such as dry concrete slabs, OSB, and some types of existing flooring. Floating wood floors are never secured directly to the subflooring, just the tongue-and-grooved plank edges are locked together. Many floating wood floors can be installed by either staple-down, glued-down or the floating installation method. These floors give more cushion when walked on. Longstrip Hardwood Floors are really an engineered construction but are much longer and wider. The top layer of a longstrip plank generally has 2-3 rows of thin hardwood strips spliced together to form a solid surface. This gives the appearance of having 2-3 planks locked together, but it is really just one board. Longstrip planks can be glued-down, stapled or floated over a wide variety of sub-floors and installed in almost any area of the home. This includes installing over dry concrete slabs. Exotic Hardwood Floors are used to describe hardwood species from around the World. These wood species are not found in North America and are imported from Australia, Africa, Brazil and the Far East. Exotic hardwoods offer unique wood graining and more uncommon colorations. Most exotic hardwood floors are available in the engineered wood construction and some are available in solid wood planks as well. Handscraped Hardwood Floors these wood floors have each plank scraped by hand to give a worn or ancient visual appeal to the board’s surface. Distressed Hardwood Floors use machines to give the worn or ancient visual appearance. This adds a lot of distinctive character to each board. Also, because handscraped is done by hand no two planks have the exact same visual appearance.
Nothing compares to having custom wood floors in your home. The natural beauty of wood creates a warmth unmatched by other flooring materials. Its seemingly limitless palette of colors and textures can be adapted for any architectural or decorating style. Custom wood flooring adds personality to a room, one of quiet, refined beauty or of bold and extroverted showiness. In fact, a fine wood floor can easily become the predominant element in a home’s design.
Yet all wood floors are not created equal. And in New Jersey, Afford A Floor has set the standard for quality.
Since 2002, the professionals at Afford A Floor have been creating, installing and restoring hardwood floors in the greater Metro area. With award-winning designs and unparalleled customer support, Afford A Floor brings artistic integrity and exceptional performance to every job. You see, at Afford A Floor, fine wood flooring is more than a business, it’s a passion – a passion we’d like to share with you.
We are proud to say that Afford A Floor is widely regarded as the best wood floor company in Northern New Jersey. We work closely with architects, contractors, interior designers, and homeowners to provide a full range of custom design, installation and restoration services. We offer a fine collection of antique, distressed and aged flooring, as well as domestic and exotic woods.
Whether your job is a new installation or a minor repair, our expert craftsmen will treat your home with respect. We take pride in our work and will make sure you are completely satisfied before the project is done.
This web site has been designed not only to provide you with information about our company, but also to offer information about our industry and about the care and maintenance of wood floors. Be sure to review the maintenance tips and data we've compiled about the different characteristics of the various woods available.
In addition to fine wood floors, our clients count on us for restoration services like dustless sanding, and they trust Afford A Floor to provide the highest quality maintenance supplies, as well as dehumidification equipment and floor buffers.
Call or e-mail me today. I look forward to discussing your project.