Hardwood Trims, Edging and Mouldings

When you are looking for a complete and professional finish to your newly laid hardwood flooring there is no better way than to include some beautiful trims. Edging or real wood mouldings blend perfectly with the skirting board, or depending upon the look you are creating, instead of skirting, why not have them lying flush with the wall?

Hide a multitude of sins

In addition to concealing the wood ends and patches of rough stuff better left unseen, the right choice of trim enhances any style of wood flooring and looks great against the polished boards. An extra advantage of using trim is that it adds a touch of originality to your floor. Remember too that your edging can be stained to match or cross-coordinate with the colour of your floor.

Bring on the hardwood bling!

When you want your room to sparkle try adding T-style edgings cut especially to fit around door frames, borders and vents. For hardwood stairs too there is a super selection of stair finishings products out there, including quarter round and stair nose floor mouldings. If you are unsure of how to install these decorative additions to your floor then seek the advice of an expert, as it is imperative that the mouldings and fixings should be correctly installed. That being said, most trims nowadays are precisely constructed for ease of installation and are built to last at least as long as your floor. However, it is always good to know professional advice can be obtained if required.

Flooring finishings – finished to perfection

After spending money and time on getting the perfect real wood floor you will no doubt consider a professional looking finishing to be the best way to bring out the real beauty of your hardwood flooring. If this is the case, it is always better to leave the finishing (whether you choose lacquer, stain or varnishing) until the trims and edgings are in place. This way you can give the whole flooring a flawless looking finish and avoid any ‘patchy’ results.

However, if you are adding trims to an already established floor then you may wish to purchase distressed style additions or better yet distress them yourself if you feel you can. If you want to add a live-in look to your trims then select unfinished wood.

Adding uniqueness to any floor

Trims, edgings and mouldings bring a tailor made quality to any wood floor and the value lies in their ability to change the appearance of your wood floor and make it unique. Recognising this, interior flooring professionals often use trims in their bespoke room design to give the final result its own, unique flair and flourish.

Corner trims can easily be added to floating and laminate flooring and parquet flooring benefits greatly from a complimentary trim in accord with the tile pattern.

Trims are readily available from UK professional hardwood suppliers in red oak, walnut, teak, cherry, mahogany as well as a selection of unfinished hardwoods if you wish to add the finishing yourself. Flush finishings, t-shapes, overlaps, door trims, threshold dividers, reducers and quarters rounds all help to bring a personalised finish to your floor.

If you are unsure on any aspect of floor finishings or how to incorporate them into your overall plan, find out more from your friendly wood flooring professional. Alternatively if you have a more than rudimentary knowledge of carpentry and have laid your wood floor yourself then you can confidently have a go yourself!

All types of real wood flooring is enhanced by the right style and application of trims, edging and mouldings, so before you apply the lacquer or even open that tin of varnish, check out the trim options to make your floor stand out from the rest.

Eco Friendly Flooring Solutions

Bamboo

For sustainable, non toxic wood flooring with no harmful emissions bamboo is one of the most popular green flooring choice that ticks every box. Because bamboo is grass not wood it is fast growing, and there is no need to permanently destroy the plant itself to harvest the crop, thus making it one of the most sustainable forms of flooring available. Once laid bamboo feels and looks like real wood flooring and is tough and durable too. Bamboo is quick growing too and one plant can be re-harvested in as little as five years.

Cork

The material used for making cork flooring is taken from the bark of the tree in strip pieces, which like bamboo means that the tree is not cut down. This makes it sustainable, eco friendly and one of the best green flooring solutions around. Cork flooring comes in both plank and tile form and is a very good addition to bathrooms and kitchens. Its structure means that it retains more heat and is often warm enough to walk on with bare feet.

Oak and Other Hardwoods

You should be aware that English oak is in very short supply, especially in the UK. Therefore, if you have set your heart on an oak floor but don’t want to contribute to the depletion of natural resources then consider an eco-friendly method of obtaining the oak floor you want.

Whatever type of hardwood floor sanding you love, whether burnished gold mahogany, rich dark teak or majestic oak you can have the hardwood floor of your dreams by purchasing your hardwood via a UK flooring company that uses wood cut only from sustainable forests. Never buy wood that comes from rain forest regions and choose your company carefully. Flooring companies with a conscience are proud to inform customers that they use materials from countries that plant more trees than are harvested.

Recycled hardwood

Another option is to create a new floor from completely recycled wood planks. This, whilst by far being the best option, is also one of the most difficult unless of course you have access to a real oak floor that the original owner no longer wants!

To help you navigate what may appear to be a rather woolly, or should that be woody, environmental nightmare, enlist the expert advice of a professional wood flooring company who know the best sustainability options and how to get the best from recycled real wood flooring.

Eco-friendly wood stain finishing

There are a wide selection of non-toxic oils, lacquers, wood stains and varnishes to help revitalise an old floor or bring character to a new one. Any type of finishing should only be applied after sanding and vacuuming. Even the smallest particles of residual grit and dust will mar the final appearance of your floor.

Once the finishing has been down overnight then it is a good idea to lightly dust the floor the next day with a dry duster. Eco-friendly wood stains can be re-done after 24 hours if necessary. Avoid replacing furniture too soon after coating as these stains will take 72 hours to attain maximum hardness. In a normal home with moderate traffic an eco-friendly floor finishing product will normally last around two years.

If you feel like being bold with coloured stain remember that wood stain colours can be both mixed together and diluted. Dilution will weaken both colour and consistency so never dilute with more than 1/5 part of water or the stain will be too thin and be rendered useless.

If you require exterior eco-friendly wood stain then be sure to check the tin, as many products are for interior use only. If you require advice on this or any aspect of real eco-friendly flooring solutions, contact your friendly flooring team who will be pleased to help.

Distressed Wood Flooring

When your goal is authentic looking rustic flooring, the best method is to opt for distressed hardwood. This exacting technique brings any wood floor to life and speaks of timelessness, unique appeal and of a floor that is well loved. Distressed wood flooring is especially popular in kitchens and in cottage-style conservatories, where the accent is on family living. Distressed floor can be matched with distressed wood units, dressers and kitchen tables for the complete rustic look.

Period-style wood flooring is also well represented by this technique. For example a professional wood scraping technique can successfully replicate 17^th Century flooring.

Hardwoods to choose

Woods popularly chosen to receive the distressed treatment are hardwoods such as teak, mahogany and oak. However, light pine and balsa are good choices too, especially in bedrooms where a farmhouse look is required. Distressed pine brings immediate cosiness and warmth to any room, turning your house into a home.

Because the distressed wood technique can best be attained by professional flooring experts it is, in 99.9% of cases, best left to them if you want to avoid a botched job! However if you feel confident enough to try your hand at turning your wood flooring into a historical masterpiece then it is always best if you have more than a rudimentary knowledge of Wood Floor Sanding methods and carpentry.

If you are laying a distressed floor from scratch rather than having an existing floor treated, you can be assured that any Floor Sanding Company in the UK worth their salt will use reclaimed wood. This works not only on the ecological front but reclaimed wood, in addition to causing no harm to the planet, also brings the intrinsic character and personality you are looking for.

Ideal for busy families

Distressed wood flooring is ideal for busy family homes with children and pets buzzing around, thus saving mum and dad from being forever on the alert for scratches and gouges made by toys and pet claws. Distressed wood is fast becoming popular in themed restaurants and trendy wine bars where the accent is on style and authenticity. You can also see some fine examples of distressed wood flooring in some of the city museums and in eco-friendly shops in particular.

In a nutshell, a distressed floor is created by giving the floor a sound thrashing with various implements including wood flooring tools, hammers, axes and even blow torches are used to create that light/dark image which naturally comes with age. If this sounds a tad violent (or even fun and rather therapeutic!) – it is also very easy to get wrong so think once, twice and then think again before attacking your floor with random implements. The process of distressing wood is actually very methodical and most definitely non-violent!

The professional touch

Professional wood flooring people have the intrinsic knowledge of how wood naturally ages, and how the various uses for a floor over time give it a certain character. For example if a floor has heavy traffic it will age differently from a floor which is constantly played on by children. A kitchen floor subject to stove heat and spillages over the years will react differently to a cellar floor that sees very little daylight.

Distressing any type of wood is labour intensive so if you are going it alone then don’t rush the process. Tell yourself it will take as long as it takes, read every book you can on the subject, visit every distressed floor you can, check out markets, inspect old wooden furniture and above all take some professional advice.

Distressing, or artificially aging, a floor is deservedly described as an art form as it involves both skill and artistic design if the finished effect is to look authentic.

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