Woodboys Blog

Let’s talk “bevels”

woodboys — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:50:06 +0000

While bevels in prefinished wood flooring can seem more of a decorative element to the floor, they also serve a purpose. In prefinished flooring, they are intended to form a smooth transition between each plank. They can also be more forgiving by hiding any inconsistencies in your subfloor or the material itself.

There are different types of bevels found in wood flooring. Micro bevels, also referred to as eased edge, which show only a slight notch between the boards. A full bevel has a deep “V” shape between the boards. Distressed or chiseled edged is usually more shallow or wide and is found on textured and handscraped floors to give a more time worn look. A squared edge, more often found in site finished floor installation, is when all planks meet squarely for a smooth uniform surface.

The bevel on your wood flooring depends upon what kind of plank you choose. The majority of smooth finished floors have a micro or full bevel. Micro bevels give a more formal look depending on the species and the coloration of the wood. Handscraped and textured floors have a chiseled edge and give a more casual and less formal look to a home. So once you decide on the look you are going for and what best suits your lifestyle, then you can further choose the type of wood you want and the bevel you like to go along with the look you want to achieve.

Care and Cleaning of Wood Floors

woodboys — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:36:54 +0000

Installing wood flooring in your home is a great investment. But in order to make that investment last, proper maintenance of your flooring is key. For starters, be sure that you apply felt pads under all of your furniture, even large pieces that do not get moved often. If you have wood flooring in a dining room or eat in kitchen, check the pads periodically to make sure they are not worn or have fallen off. Since chairs at dining tables are pulled out and slid in on a daily basis, these pads may need to be replaced more frequently than pads on a sofa.

Another way to protect your floors is to place door mats at each entry point of your home. Shoes can collect sand and grit that, once walked on throughout your home, can cause surface scratches on your floors. If sand is tracked into your home you should sweep with a soft bristled broom as soon as possible to eliminate any chance of scratching the floors. You may even want to consider placing a rug in a high traffic area.

If you have pets, particularly dogs, you want to keep their nails trimmed and filed smooth on a regular basis. This will assist in lengthening the life of you wood flooring. If any accidents or spills occur, clean immediately.

In cleaning your wood flooring, always follow and use manufacturers suggested products and procedures. Stay away from oil based cleaning products because they can cloud your finish and leave a sticky film on your floors. Also, steam mops are not recommended in cleaning wood flooring. Steam is another form of water and will add moisture to your floors which may cause cupping and could possibly cloud the finish. Woodboys recommends that our customers use the Bona Hardwood Floor Care System for routine cleaning and care of their wood flooring.

Always follow manufacturers recommendations, and if in doubt, check with a local professional wood floor contractor. This will help in extending the life and the look of your beautiful wood floors.

Choosing A Wood Flooring Color

woodboys — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:30:13 +0000

Deciding on what shade or color of wood flooring should be installed in your home can be a bit overwhelming. Dark or light? Oak or Maple? Brown or gold? These are dilemmas that make wood floor shopping challenging. But there are a few good tips that may help in your decision making process.

First, you may want to take a few things into consideration. While dark floors bring warmth and create a more formal look, dust is a lot more visible as well as light surface scratches. If you like darker toned floors then you may want to consider one of the many handscraped or distressed floors available now. They will give the warmth you are looking for without the worry of dings, dents or scratches. Another option to consider is a lighter color floor. Oak, Maple, Hickory or Beech are just a few domestic woods that, with a natural finish, help conceal dust, scratches and daily wear. There are also several exotic woods on the lighter side that will be suitable such as Amendoim and Acacia.

When deciding on wood flooring, you may also want to consider the wall color, furniture tones and ceiling height as well as the overall size of the room. Darker flooring with dark walls may work well if there are cathedral ceilings so the room will not feel so cave like. If you have lower 8’ or 9’ ceilings, you may want to either lighten the floor choice or the wall color. You also do not want to match flooring to furniture pieces, there should be a contrast between the two. Natural light also plays a roll in choosing the right wood floor. If there are a lot of windows, that can help brighten the area and make it more inviting.

There is no right or wrong choice in the color of your wood floors. It’s all a matter of personal preference. Just be sure that you choose what you like so you will enjoy your wood floors for many years to come.

“Real” Wood Floors

woodboys — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:14:08 +0000

One of the most common misconceptions with engineered wood floors is that they are not “real” wood flooring. And most people confuse laminate flooring with engineered not knowing the difference. Here at Woodboys, we only sell wood flooring, solid and engineered. Laminate is melamine-infused paper on top with a wood chip composite on bottom. Solid hardwood is one single piece of real wood, from top to bottom. Engineered wood is also real wood. It is layers of unfinished plywood on the bottom with a layer of finished wood on top. So, what you’re looking at is 100% genuine wood all the way through. These layers also make engineered wood a more stable flooring product that will be less susceptible to movement. Whatever species of solid wood flooring, there is an engineered equivalent. From domestic woods like Oak and Hickory, to the more exotic Tigerwood or Acacia, your options are limitless.

The advantage of engineered wood flooring versus laminate is that many engineered wood products can be sanded after scratches and dents have developed. The number of sandings of an engineered wood floor depends on the thickness of the wear or finish layer. Manufacturers like Kahrs have a very significant wear layer that allows for at least 2 full sandings.

Unlike solid wood flooring, engineered wood has a range of installation methods. You can nail down engineered floors to a plywood or OSB sub floor with ease. They also can be glued down to a cement slab where nailing is not an option. And finally, most engineered wood floors can be floated. The final option is a great installation method for the novice.

Bamboo

woodboys — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:11:13 +0000

Woodboys specializes in wood floors, but there is one type of flooring that we sell that is not technically hardwood. That would be Bamboo. Bamboo is actually a fast-growing grass. Bamboo regrows to full maturity in 5 1/2 to 6 years and can be harvested multiple times. By comparison, hardwood trees take 60 to 80 years to mature and can only be harvested once. Just because it grows fast doesn’t mean you are losing any quality. Fully-matured Standard Bamboo is actually 25% harder than Red Oak, and Strand Bamboo is actually twice as dense (more on the different varieties in a minute.) Fully-matured is the key. If you have ever heard someone complain about their Bamboo flooring being soft and denting easily, there is a high probability that they purchased an inferior prematurely-harvested Bamboo floor. Woodboys only carries top quality brands of Bamboo from trusted brands such as Teragren.

Standard Bamboo comes in four varieties: Natural Horizontal, Natural Vertical, Carbonized Horizontal, and Carbonized Vertical. Natural is very light in shade, whereas Carbonized is darker. The darkness comes from a process wherein the bamboo is heated and the natural sugars within the Bamboo caramelize. Horizontal Bamboo is constructed with its layers stacked horizontally, creating a wide grain look. Conversely, Vertical Bamboo is constructed vertically, creating a tighter grain.

Strand Bamboo is a relatively new variety of Bamboo. It is constructed by weaving bamboo and adhesive together and putting them through extreme pressurization. It comes in Natural, Carbonized, and Mixed varities. Strand Bamboo is one of the hardest floors that you can get (not to mention unique looking.)

30th Anniversary Sales Event!

woodboys — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:05:17 +0000

Woodboys has been around in one form or another since 1978. In celebration of our 30th anniversary, we are currently having an extensive sale on several of our floors. We have some beautiful hand scraped floors from Anderson that are priced so low that I literally am not allowed to advertise the price. We also have amazing deals on traditional engineered Oak floors as well as some hand scraped floors from LM. In addition, we have thousands of other floors for you to choose from at our already low prices. Give us a call or stop by today!

To commemorate our 30th anniversary I thought that I would share some pictures of Woodboys’ evolution over the decades.

Grand Opening

Simpson’s Supply becomes Woodboys

Woodboys Founder & CEO Jim Simpson declaring himself the Mayor of Downtown Ladson
The original Woodboys Mobile Showroom

The new & improved current Woodboys Mobile Showroom

Wood floors…Woodboys…Woodblog

woodboys — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:17:25 +0000

Welcome to the official Woodboys blog. If you are looking for updated information on wood flooring products, wood flooring knowledge, or Woodboys sales and events then you have come to the right place. The blog is pretty sparse right now, but eventually the goal is for this blog to be the ultimate resource for wood flooring and Woodboys knowledge. If you have any particular questions that you would like to have discussed just leave us a comment, and we will answer it for you in detailed blog post.