How to Choose Wood Floor Widths
- Strip. The typical board width used in strip flooring is less than 3 inches. ...
- Plank. Plank wood flooring is constructed from floor boards that typically range from 3 to 8 inches wide. ...
- Parquet. Parquet wood floors can give your home a custom, elegant look. ...
- Other Considerations. Consider your budget when contemplating a board width for new wood flooring. ...
How long should my floorboards be?
Remember, if you go wide, you’ll want to make sure you request long lengths in your floorboards too. Request an average length of 7’ for most hardwoods and 11′ for wider floors including Pine; these proportions will help visually enhance the appearance of your wide planks, and make them an impressive feature of your living area.
How do I choose the right board width for my flooring?
Also, set a budget and refer to professional decorating tips to help guide you in selecting a board width to accommodate your flooring needs. The typical board width used in strip flooring is less than 3 inches. Older homes frequently have original wood-strip floors because that was the only available flooring option.
How wide should hardwood floors be?
Many clients tend to prefer something up to 12” wide, both for aesthetics and for the simple fact that hardwood floors wider than this are exceedingly rare. Wider boards are much more common with Eastern White Pine flooring, commonly used for historic renovation, restoration, or reproduction projects.
What is the standard width of wood strip flooring?
The typical board width used in strip flooring is less than 3 inches. Older homes frequently have original wood-strip floors because that was the only available flooring option. Narrow floor boards in newer homes tend to create a contemporary, linear effect.
What width do floorboards come in?
Generally speaking, hardwood flooring can be found in three different width ranges: narrow, medium and wide. Narrow plank widths can be anywhere from 70mm – 100mm. The narrow planks are usually solid wood, or parquet block flooring. Medium width flooring is anything between 125mm – 200mm.
How thick are traditional floorboards?
Floorboards are always 19mm in thickness. If thinner boards are supplied these are then called 'Overlay' floors. This is because it is designed to lay over a primer on concrete.
How thick are wooden floorboards?
Solid wood flooring comes in a variety of thicknesses: typically 1/2″, 5/8″ and 3/4″. There is very little difference in cost between 1/2″ thick and 3/4″ thick because you start with the same raw material when you make the flooring.
How wide is a normal plank of wood?
Standard Planks Manufacturers often refer to boards around 5 inches wide as being the standard plank size for hardwood flooring these days. This width is popular for achieving various looks in most room sizes, especially the rustic or farmhouse décor styles.
Are floorboards a standard size?
Floorboards are not one standard size, but they do come in a standard range of sizes. This can vary slightly depending on where you buy them. However, they are usually quite close. With that said, old floorboards come in a slightly different range of sizes.
How wide are old floorboards?
By the 1870s and 1880s, planks of about three and four-inch width (something more akin to what we're accustomed to in modern homes) became the new standard, and wider floors got left behind. Why? Look to American history.
How thick are floors UK?
All the figures are based on normal domestic floor loadings where the floor construction is typically 18-25mm floor boards/sheets with up to 12.5mm thick plasterboard and skim underneath.
How thick are old hardwood floors?
As the name implies, solid hardwood flooring is one solid piece of wood sawn from a log. The standard thickness is ¾”, but there are also options 5/16″ and ½” thick. Older homes often have even thicker boards—pre-1850 houses can have floors as thick as 11/8″.
How thick is a floor mm?
There are four standard laminate-flooring plank thicknesses on the market. As you might expect, the thinner the plank the less expensive the laminate floor. Our planks come in the three thickest measurements: 8 millimeter (8 mm), 10 millimeter (10 mm) and 12 millimeter (12 mm).
How wide should my floor planks be?
These days, the standard width in hardwood flooring is the 4- or 5-inch wide plank. Curious minds may know that the standard has grown wider with time. These widths are often the go-to because the boards can fit nicely and effectively in most rooms.
What width plank flooring is best?
Stick with thin widths for a classic wood floor: If you're a traditionalist, planks between 2 ¼ inches and 3 inches are most common in homes and give you that classic hardwood floor appearance. Go wide if you love character: Wider floorboards of 5 to 12 inches reveal a wood's character, including grain and knots.
Are wide floorboards more expensive?
Generally, wider planks will be more expensive than a narrow wood floor. This is because the wider the plank, the less flooring can be cut from the wood. This means more wastage, and therefore higher manufacturing costs.
What is parquet flooring?
Parquet wood floors can give your home a custom, elegant look. Flooring blocks are often created in 1- or 2-foot squares from assorted strips of wood in various widths. Each block is typically held together with a removable paper facing or a linen mesh backing. Parquet flooring offers a variety of geometric design options -- such as standard, herringbone, block, baroque and Marie Antoinette patterns. Solid parquet is constructed from completely solid wood while veneer parquet is make from partial solid wood.
How wide is a plank?
Plank. Plank wood flooring is constructed from floor boards that typically range from 3 to 8 inches wide. The broad width of boards used in plank flooring makes it ideal for use in a rustic, traditional or country decorating style.
Why do older homes have wood flooring?
Older homes frequently have original wood-strip floors because that was the only available flooring option. Narrow floor boards in newer homes tend to create a contemporary, linear effect. The elongated appearance can also help a smaller room appear more spacious and open.
Can you use wood planks in a small room?
Wooden planks that are inundated with knot holes and have been hand scraped convey a more rustic, weathered appearance. Avoid plank flooring in a small room; the wide boards can make the space appear to be even smaller. You can help a large, open room feel cozier by installing broad, plank floors.
Who is Mary Cockrill?
Cockrill has been a top design consultant for a renowned home store and is the owner of Starwood Home & Gifts, LLC, an interior design, decorating and home staging business.
How wide should floorboards be?
Go wide if you love contemporary looks and modern trends: Modern designers love wide floorboards and widths of 10 inches or even more are not uncommon. This is a very versatile look that works with modern décor but also looks current with traditional or historic homes.
How to get expert help with flooring?
To get expert help, make an appointment with 50 Floor experts. Our flooring professionals come right to your home and bring samples so you can review the exact looks which will work in your home. Explore what we have to offer for your home today.
How to make a small room look bigger?
Large rooms look great with wide planks. If you want to make a small room look larger, you can do so with narrow boards. You can also create a dramatic look by choosing wider boards for smaller rooms. Schedule Your In-Home Consultation.
Is 50 floor good for budget?
If budget is a concern, 50 Floor may be able to help. With a price match guarantee and low prices on quality manufacturers, 50 Floor helps you enjoy a beautiful floor at a very competitive price.
What to consider when choosing hardwood flooring?
Keeping in mind any budget concerns may help you determine the right width for your hardwoods. Larger planks are crafted from bigger logs and are often more costly. If you are planning on installing flooring in a kitchen or bathroom, your overall options will be limited to flooring that will maintain its integrity in that space.
How wide is a classic hardwood floor?
Classic hardwood flooring styles are generally 2 to 3 inches wide. The narrower sized planks are a timeless design feature that works in both traditional and modern homes. Narrow planks are also great for achieving patterned designs such as herringbone, chevron, or block parquet. In small or narrow rooms, the right pattern style can make the room feel larger. Accenting with gorgeous borders or medallions is another way our craftsmen at Artisan Hardwood Flooring can add exciting details to narrow hardwoods floors.
What is random width flooring?
This varying sized flooring delivers an authentic look by integrating the natural variety of the tree widths. Because manufacturers don’t have to sort or trim these planks as much, random width flooring can also be less expensive. The versatility of this hardwood flooring option creates a stunning design scheme that adds warmth and character to any space.
Small rooms
All in all, people usually assume that in small interiors narrow board are a must. Yet, that’s not true. If you’re decorating a small room and want to make it look larger, you might try choosing a narrow board, but, on the other hand, a broad board can look very stylish, not only in large, but also in small interiors.
Large rooms
The same principle applies to large interiors. It is a common belief that flooring in large interiors should have wide boards. Yet, that’s not a principle. Think of many castles and stately homes, which have really large interiors – very often you may encounter really narrow wooden floorboards there, which look stunning.
Why did we stop seeing wide floorboards as the 19th century progressed?
One reason we stopped seeing wide floorboards as the 19th century progressed was simply because material was becoming harder to find.
What is Olde New England salvage?
Companies like Olde New England Salvage exist for the purpose of preserving, restoring, and perpetuating antique building materials. "We’ve done everything from replace a single board to move an entire room’s flooring from one house to the next," says owner Glenn Pianka. "We’re trying to provide materials to restore either original houses or add them into new construction as a special and functional feature."
When did wide plank flooring disappear?
More interesting is that this type of flooring—wide-plank boards—disappear from pervasive use in the second half of the 19th century. By the 1870s and 1880s, planks of about three and four-inch width (something more akin to what we’re accustomed to in modern homes) became the new standard, and wider floors got left behind. Why? Look to American history.
What is period dramas?
Welcome back to Period Dramas, a weekly column that alternates between rounding up historic homes on the market and answering questions we’ve always had about older structures.
Is wide plank flooring a status symbol?
Interestingly enough, now, wide-plank floors are seen as a bit of a status symbol and a direct-line connection with America’s heritage. Ironically, a lot of the wood that makes up flooring today is ill-suited for wide planks. "Wood is farmed today to grow really fast," says Wilson. "That fast growth results in large spaces between the rings of the tree, which creates very unstable wood that differs greatly from the tight rings of naturally growing older trees. Many people turn to reclaimed wood for just this reason."
Did all 18th century houses have wide plank floors?
Now, we’ll be honest and say that not all 18th-and-19th century houses had wide-plank floors. This is definitely not a hard-and-fast rule, but more a general observation. With the absence of industrialized tools, though, cutting down trunks into narrow strips of wood was much more labor intensive—and therefore more expensive. Examples of more intricate flooring tend to exist only in grander properties.
Can you sand reclaimed wood floors?
If you’re lucky enough to snag a bundle of reclaimed wood—or if your house naturally has wide-plank floors—there’s one tip that was widely recommended to us. "We’ve come across floors have have been sanded so profusely that they’re too thin to be used anymore," says Pianka. "Definitely avoid over-sanding your floors."
