Michael Kelly Mort Kondracke Ch. Not only does hardwood flooring bring a unique warmth to a room, but it can also increase a home's resale value and even speed its sale. But solid-wood flooring isn't the only option available to homeowners who want something substantial underfoot. And some can do it at substantial savings. Base your decision on where the floor will go and what it will encounter there.
Prefinished oak is the most popular and readily available kind of solid-wood flooring.
Narrow boards are called strips, and wide ones are called planks. A top finish protects the flooring against spills, stains and wear. Thicker flooring is usually nailed to a plywood subfloor, while thinner flooring is stapled or glued. For nailing, you need special tools, including a manual or pneumatic nailer. Unlike most solid-wood flooring, however, an engineered wood floor can go in a basement or other damp area because of the added dimensional stability of its layered construction.