These days there is a huge range of wood flooring you can have. Not only that, you can choose from different types of flooring, such as real solid wood, or laminates or engineered flooring. So where do you start? Well, unless you are on a very tight budget, don’t think of laminated flooring, as it does no last long if it gets a lot of traffic over it, especially teenagers in boots and sports shoes. Brushed and oiled oak flooring is a good choice. Laminated wood flooring can best be described as cheap and cheerful. It is available in many simulated wood finishes.

Laminated flooring is cheap, so it would also be unwise to install it to make your house look better to sell. You need quality to give a good impression in that situation, and laminated flooring will not send the right signals to people who view the house.

If laminated flooring is not the best choice, what is? Well, you can opt for either oak, walnut, birch or mahogany solid wood floors, or you can buy engineered wood floors. This rather grand term means that the planks have a top layer of solid wood, about 6 mm thick, and the rest is made from recycled wood or chips, bonded together. Many prefer oak parquet flooring, an excellent choice. On the other hand you could choose engineered wood flooring, and the advantage is that the wood is stable, and does not have knots, which can fall out of inferior solid wood flooring.

In fact, these so-called engineered floors, which have nothing to do with engineering, are actually quite expensive, and are definitely not a cheap option. They are an alternative no sold wood floors, though. They are available in the same woods as solid wood floors, but oak is still one of the most popular finishes. Another is American walnut. Even when you have eliminated some floorings you have a wide choice, and need to imagine the wood in your home, and see some installed before you decide.