For home builders and renovators, is it cost-effective to select wood flooring over less costly materials?
Yes! According to a recent nationwide survey commissioned by the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), residential real estate agents say homes with wood floors hold their value better, sell faster, and fetch higher prices,. By a three-to-one margin, real estate agents said that a house with wood floors would sell faster than a carpeted house.
Some 58 percent said a house with wood floors would bring a higher price. "There is a perception today that they don't build homes like they used to," according to one Pennsylvania agent. "So when people see hardwood floors instead of carpet-covered plywood, they feel the entire house was built with superior building materials."

Does wood flooring go well with most design styles?
Yes. In a recent survey commissioned by the NWFA, more than three-quarters of interior designers find that wood flooring works well with many decorating styles. "It's the most versatile floor covering there is," says one designer. "Wood goes with contemporary and traditional and everything in between." Designers rated natural materials as superior to man-made materials in beauty, prestige, style, maintenance, and durability. A variety of woods and finishes are available to complement the decor and style of any room. Oak and maple are the most popular woods, but some homeowners are investing in exotics such as Brazilian cherry.

So many species of wood, how to select one?
Choosing a species of wood involves more than selecting a color to match décor. Both decorators and installers should be aware of the basic facts about wood species. Other appearance-related attributes are important for designers too, such as texture, grain, and color. Installers will want to consider mechanical properties like dimensional stability, machinability. And any specifier will need to consider availability and cost.

Why do most gymnasiums use wood flooring?
For the same reason many homes and businesses do: durability and comfort. Indeed, wood flooring commands more than 70 percent of the highly demanding sports floor market. Wood floors are softer and more supple than other surfaces. Wood flooring provides greater resilience, improved shock absorption, and increased energy return, all of which help to reduce injury and body fatigue for athletes.

Is it durable enough for a kitchen, bathroom, or work space? I've always used wood flooring in low-traffic areas like formal living rooms or conference rooms.
Yes. Specifiers and clients are discovering what basketball players have always known: wood flooring can take a pounding and still look beautiful. The urethane finishes on most new wood floors stand up to water and traffic, bringing wood flooring into bathrooms, kitchens, and other higher-stress areas. These finishes resist wear and stains better than other finishes and require no stripping, no buffing and no waxing.

Good acoustics?
Churches, synagogues, and other clients with auditorium projects increasingly request wood floors for its warmth and acoustic contributions. Ask your wood flooring professional about special installation techniques that can increase acoustic abilities.

Preventing scratches on wood flooring?
Place mats and throw rugs at doorways to help protect wood floors from grit, dirt and sand. Place felt pads under furniture legs and vacuum/dust your wood floor regularly.

Does wood flooring promote a healthy indoor environment?
Yes! Bacteria, dust and dirt do not embed themselves in wood flooring, as they do in other flooring options. Simple regular maintenance—such as dust mopping, sweeping, or vacuuming—keeps wood floors sanitary.

Natural environment: Is it protected during the harvesting and manufacturing of wood flooring?
Oh, yes. Far from a depleting resource, hardwood is sustainable and commercially more available now than ever before. Substantially, more wood is added in new growth each year than is harvested. (For hardwood species, around 86 % more wood is added annually in net growth than is removed through harvest)

For how long wood floor will last or how often must wood flooring be replaced?
Every hundred years or so. Simple care and maintenance keeps wood floors looking beautiful for a lifetime. Instead of laying an entirely new floor when the original is worn, wood floors can be rejuvenated with sanding and refinishing. When done by a wood flooring professional, wood floors need only to be refinished every 10 - 15 years or 10 - 12 times during a floor's life. When a wood floor's useful life is over, it's completely biodegradable.