Walnut Flooring

Selecting Walnut Flooring

Elegance and natural attractiveness are what makes walnut flooring a favorite among households. In fact, its mere sophistication makes it different from other floor types. In a general appearance, the floor panels look like dark brown heartwood, which at times looks lighter. At first, the walnut surfaces will look at a little dull, but, over time it will develop to a lustrous and rich color.

Typically, walnut flooring would belong to the hardwood floor classification. Most home designers are now actually into the natural wood panels instead of lining floors with carpet. The reason behind is the elegance and the ease of maintenance that the board requires. Eventually, homes that have such floorboards will increase its value.

Walnut flooring is made of hardwood that is native to the continent of North America. It is known for its unique and distinctive colors that range from off-white to deep chocolate. Most processing for walnut panels will involve exposure to air, which will evolve the boards to a rich, dark brown color. An added advantage to this type of planks is that it is easy to work with hand and machine tools.

The tree that makes up the walnut flooring belongs to the member of the Juglandeae, which is part tree and part shrub. This tree is specifically known to provide fleshy fruit and hard nuts. Most would describe the species of wood to be aromatic, and, in particular, to give off beautiful timber. Besides being used for floors, it is quite popular for creating gun stocks because of its strength and flexibility.
With such an attractive and appealing timber, the walnut is chosen by many to provide elegant and beautiful floorboards, providing an ambience of intimacy and warmth. However, there are many things to consider before selecting walnut flooring.

Walnut Flooring Types

There are two types of walnut flooring: engineered construction and solid walnut panels. Floors made of solid and single paneled walnut floors is what it simply is, solid. The panels are created from a singular solid piece of material, which is installed nail down. The advantage of solid walnut flooring is it can be refinished a lot of times over its lifetime, however, it cannot be installed over a concrete subfloor.

On the other hand, engineered walnut flooring is made of up to 5 wood layers. The first layer is a surface made of real walnut veneer. The next layers are made of a material just like plywood. This particular design is for an installation called a floating floor or glue down which doesn’t use any nails. The best advantage to this design is it can be installed over concrete. Walnut flooring that is engineered is less expensive than solid walnut flooring, however, it can be refinished only twice during its lifetime, so it offers less value.

For those that want to add a bit of sophistication to their homes, walnut flooring will do wonders. However, the price for the panels and the installation will vary from one provider to another. Therefore, it is quite essential that you do some shopping around before taking a contract for the purchase and installation.