Wood Selections

First of all, why real wood floors? Real wood floors made of Maple, Red Oak, Hickory, Birch and Walnut should be familiar to you as the countless city streets that are named after these trees. Now the choices available to us can include environmentally friendly Bamboo floors or Cork Flooring to Exotic Hardwoods such as Brazilian woods and almost everything in between which can be sourced from all over the world. Hardwood floors Calgary: Wow! We have seen the number of products available to us increase exponentially over the years and at Atlas Hardwood Floors, we can help you make an informed decision based on decor, type of use and personal preference. Their rich natural colors and handcrafted quality are what we have come to expect in today’s homes. Over the last few years wood flooring technology has improved to a place it has never gone before.

Some quick reasons why you should choose real wood:

  • Natural, warm, authentic color
  • Simple, yet decorative for any room in the house
  • Durable, yet easy to take care of
  • Beauty that’s hard to tire of
  • Lifetime guarantee
  • Adds real value to your home

Where do I start? There seems to be an endless amount of flooring products these days to choose from and may seem overwhelming at times.

Step 1: Choose your type of flooring

There are 3 main types of hardwood products to choose from, each, which have both their pros and cons.

Sand On Site Floors: This particular option is still our most popular choice for hardwood flooring. You are able to get almost any species of wood in almost any size and then stain and finish it according to your décor. And with our DCS® (Dust Containment Systems) for sanding, your house will be virtually dust free during the process. What you cannot expect, however by choosing this option is a table top finish because each piece of flooring sands differently depending on the grain type. Even though we pay special attention to minimizing any dust in the air and on the floor, we cannot create a completely dust free environment. Refinishing hardwood floors in the Calgary area has been a large part of our business as new homes are almost always upgraded with hardwood floors, yet need refinishing after years of use.

Click the samples on the left to view Sand On Site Floors.

Prefinished Floors: This has become an increasingly popular product over the years. One, because once it is installed, there is no need to go through the process of sanding the floor. It seems as though everyone is making a prefinished wood floor of some sort these days. While all things may appear equal, there are several caveats to be aware of when choosing these products. We prefer to stay with North American made products which have a good track record. With this, you get warranties backed by established companies, properly milled and kiln dried products, as well as superior finishes and final results. Now for some of the cons with prefinished floors: You typically only have 6-10 colors to choose from within a brand. Therefore, the colors are limited and must work with your existing décor. Also, because the floors are not being sanded after installation, the manufacturers have bevels on all four sides of the board. If not, you would have a sharp edge wherever there are inconsistencies in the subfloor. Some people do not care for this look compared to the sand on site floors that are sanded smooth with no bevels. This is simply an aesthetic question that you need to answer for yourself.  One frequently asked question with prefinished floors is if they can be refinished the same as a sand on site floor when they are badly scratched or damaged by heavy use.  The answer is yes, yet does require additional sanding to get rid of the bevels in the floor.

To view samples of Prefinished Floors, click here.

Engineered Wood: It is a well known fact that within the flooring industry that engineered wood flooring is much more stable than solid wood flooring in environments where moisture (or lack of in Calgary’s case) is a concern. Engineered flooring has a layer of real wood on the surface with 3 to 5 layers running in opposite and alternating directions. Using these products can increase the stability of your floor substantially minimizing expansion and contraction. There are several choices available with this option including a variety of species of wood and even cork floors. Typically, however, they can be one of the most expensive types of floors and because of the thin layer of wood, they can only be refinished once or twice compared to the solid wood floors which you can sand 6-7 times (usually will outlive the house itself).  

To view samples of Engineered Wood, click here.

Step 2: Choose your grade

The appearance of the wood (variation of color, knots, and other imperfections) affects its grading and is not related to its structural stability.

Clear: Clear wood is free from defects though it may have minor imperfections. The color variation is minimal between boards.

Select: Select wood is almost clear, but will contain natural characteristics as color variation.

Common: Common wood (No. 1 and No. 2) has more natural characteristics such as knots and color variation but are chosen often due to the character that they bring to a room.

Note: you will see both the grading above and below applied to different species of wood and refer to the same general characteristics.

1st grade: 1st grade has the best appearance w/ limited color variation and character marks.

2nd grade: 2nd grade has varied appearance in color and more character than 1st grade.

3rd grade: 3rd grades rustic in appearance allowing all the wood characteristics of the species.

To view samples of Grades, click here.