Timber-style flooring has come a long way in recent years. Rebecca Coutts-Smith explores the best options available to renovators…
TIMELESS, stylish and naturally attractive, timber flooring is revered as one of the hallmarks of quality and luxury. But while it is trendy and universally fashionable, traditional hardwood flooring may not be suitable for everyone.
Fortunately, renovators today are spoilt by an abundance of flooring options, which look like timber but come from a variety of different sources.
HARDWOOD OR ENGINEERED TIMBER
The grandfather of flooring, hardwood floors, are often found in older homes and it is a natural, durable flooring option. In WA, the top species of hardwood flooring are jarrah, a stable and hard-wearing timber that comes in a surprising array of colours, and blackbutt, one of the hardest-wearing, light-coloured timbers.
Able to stand the test of time in terms of aesthetic appeal and strength, the downside is their slipperiness and the need for upkeep in busy homes. Combined with higher prices derived from the long growth period required by hardwood trees, hardwood floors are simply not for everyone.
Looking, feeling and sounding exactly like the real thing, engineered timber floors are an affordable, stable option to hardwood. Less prone to temperature-related changes, a top veneer of real wood is placed upon a plywood backing or a substrate created from wood fibre and stone dust. Often supplied in a 'tongue and groove' format for easy installation, renovators can look to install the product themselves.
LAMINATE OR VINYL PLANK
Affordable and versatile, renovators now have the choice of getting the timber look without buying anything actually made of wood. Laminate flooring has a similar backing to engineered timber but instead of a wood top layer it has a photorealistic image, allowing it to look just like a natural product, including those knots and grains. Easy to install and able to be placed over existing flooring or poorly prepared surfaces, laminate planks or tiles are a great option for those looking to get the timber look at an affordable price.
Another option is vinyl, which like laminate, can come in strips or tiles but unlike laminate, it can feel soft underfoot due to a foam layer. Virtually maintenance-free, other than requiring biannual sealing, vinyl floors come in a wide range of colours, patterns and prices, making them suitable for most applications.
BAMBOO FLOORING
While bamboo is often thought of as a wood, it is, in fact, a grass. Created by gluing together strands in a similar process to engineered timber planks, bamboo can have many different patterns, stains and finishes, all of which are tough and durable.
Due to the fast rate of growth, allowing it to be harvested once every five years as opposed to once every 30-50 years with a jarrah tree, bamboo flooring is regarded as a green flooring option.
Much like timber, bamboo can be sanded back and re-polished when dull or scratched and has the same hardness level as jarrah, making it a great option for high-traffic areas.
