Pre-Finished Wood vs. Unfinished Wood

Once you've made the decision to purchase and install hardwood flooring in your home, you'll have to ask yourself - pre-finished wood or unfinished wood? Let's take a look at what you're facing...

Pre-Finished Wood Floors 

Pre-finished wood flooring is becoming the mainstream when it comes to hardwood flooring. It is a favorite among home owners because installation is simple and doesn't require a sanding and finishing process, which can be messy and costly. Pre-finished wood flooring typically costs $2-$7 per sq. ft, not including the cost of preparation, installation, moldings, accents, and any other finishing touches desired.


Unfinished Wood Floors

Unfinished wood flooring is pretty self-explanatory. Once the wood has been installed, it must be finished on site. This process includes sanding, which can create a fair amount of dust around the area. Sanding to finishing can take anywhere from a few days to a week, depending on the size of the floor and the other activities and renovations taking place at the same time. The cost of this type of installation ranges from $2-$4 per sq. ft., which typically includes a three step sanding process and three coats of finish. Additional costs include moldings, prep, furniture removal, etc.

The choice is yours! When you're ready to begin, give Benchmark Contracting a call!


Source: WoodFloorsOnline

Wood Flooring - Why?

Are you considering pulling up your carpet and installing a shiny new wood floor? Take a moment to consider these facts about wood flooring!

Wood flooring is...

1. Affordable - Wood flooring is a lifetime product that adds value to your home when it comes time to sell! Even if you spend a pretty penny on the wood and installation, hardwood flooring is one of the most sought after renovations when it comes to home construction because of it's value over time.

2. Easy to Maintain - Placing area rugs and floor protectors over your new hardwood flooring is a great way to keep your floor looking new. Routine maintenance with hardwood floor cleaner should be implemented from time to time. If you follow those simple rules, making a quick pass with the broom and vacuum will keep your floors healthy for a long time!

3. Ecologically Sound - Wood floors are created from a natural resource that is sustainable. Most timber is cut from forests that are managed to ensure continued production of resources. In fact, the amount of hardwood timber that is produced doubles each year! Today, there is more standing hardwood timer than 50 years ago!

4. Healthy - With indoor air quality being a huge concern with homeowners, it is good to know that hard wood flooring helps to contribute to a health living environment. Hard surfaces do not harbor dust mites or molds, creating better overall air quality within the home.

5. Vast in Variety - Today, there are so many colors, sizes, styles and finishes available that the possibilities with hardwood flooring are virtually endless!

Stay tuned to our blog for more information about wood floor types and visit our website to get started on YOUR next project!


Source: WoodFloorsOnline

Carpet Fibers - Part 2

 Triexta PTT

• Permanent Stain Protection
• Wear Resistant
• Ease of Maintenance
• Luxurious Softness
• Quick Drying 
• Typically used in residential settings.

Olefin or Polypropylene

• Resists fading.
• Inherently stain resistant.
• Limited color selection.
• Generates low levels of static electricity.
• Chemical, moisture, and stain resistant.
• Favorably priced 
• Typically used indoors but can be engineered for outdoor use. 

For more information, visit our website! 

 

 

Source: Mohawk

Carpet Fibers - Part 1

Certain types of carpet fibers perform in different ways. Here is a breakdown of Nylon and PET Polyester carpet fibers and their characteristics:

Nylon

• Durable, resilient.
• Abrasion-resistant.
• Versatile in color.
• Reasonably priced.
• Must be treated to be stain and soil resistant. 
• Used in residential and commercial environments. 

PET Polyester

• Color clarity.
• Colorfastness.
• Resistant to water-soluble stains.
• Noted for luxurious "hand." 
• Can be produced from recycled plastic bottles.
• Used in residential and commercial environments. 

Stay tuned for more on carpet fibers next week and for more information on styles of carpet, visit our website!

Source: Mohawk 

Berber Carpet

Berber is one of the best selling types of carpet on the market today. It provides relatively easy cleanup and limits the appearance of footprints and vacuum tracks.

Before 1985, Berber carpet was constructed of nylon and was typically available in beige colors. These light colors tend to require more frequent cleaning, but the are easy to clean and age well. After 1986, when the DuPont StainMaster was added to Berber carpet, customs began buying light colors Berber carpet in droves, expecting that the StainMaster treatment meant the carpet was incapable of getting dirty. Just to keep the record straight, it never made that promise. It simply meant that cleanup of stains and dirt would be easier!

About the same time as the StainMaster was introduced, Berber carpet underwent a change of materials. Olefin fibers were introduced which added a whole new dynamic to Berber. The great characteristic of olefin is that is resists all stains, with the exception of oil-based stains. Once olefin Berber took over the market, nylon Berber became more difficult to find, which is still the case today.

One of the few difficulties with Berber carpet is the installation. It is typically difficult to match up patterns and seams, so you may end up with some mismatched areas around the room. And always order extra, just to be safe!

For more information Berber carpet, visit our website!


Source: CarpetBuyersHandbook

Cut and Loop Pile Carpet

Cut and loop pile combines cut and looped fibers to create a variety of textures that provide medium durability in regards to foot traffic and lifespan. You can find cut and loop pile in several solid or multicolored patterns that hide foot prints and dirt relatively well.

Multilevel Cut and Loop: This type of cut and loop was very popular for many years and typically formed a textured pattern with color randomly spread throughout the pattern. While this variation had limited appeal today, it can still be found if you look in the right places.

Level Cut and Loop Pile: This type of cut and loop had a leveled texture and has a more enhanced color effect than the multilevel cut. Level cut typically starts out as a multi-layered carpet and is then sheared to become level. The appearance provides a very attractive finish for any room.

For more information, contact us at Benchmark Contracting!


Source: CarpetBuyersHandbook

Frieze Carpet

Frieze carpet is designed for high traffic areas and tends to curl in different directions to hide foot prints, stains, and vacuum marks, making it a great choice for a busy office or home. Likened to shag carpet, frieze resembles the texture of shag, but is not the true shag style as used in the past.

Frieze is available in several colors and patters but because of the nature of the texture, it doesn't come in extravagant designs. Typical frieze carpet is available in solid or flecked color patterns designed to hide the appearance of stains and wear and doesn't need to be vacuumed as often as saxony or velvet carpet.

While frieze carpet may be more expensive than other types of carpet, you do get a much longer lifespan out of it and your money will go a long way.

For more information on this and any other carpet type, contact us!

Source: Home Improvement Guide