Vikki  on December 24th, 2008

What are the different types and costs of wood floors?
I’m interested in buying a hardwood floor for my bedroom. I love glossy wood. I’m interested in darker wood colors.. I don’t like the light yellowish colored floors..more like these:
http://www.trendir.com/archives/br111-brazilian-walnut-hardwood-flooring.jpg
http://www.bruce.com/htmlassets/flash/bruce/en/bruce_home_american_originals.jpg
to this dark:
http://countyfloors.net/store/product_image.php?imageid=4146

Does anyone have any recommendations?

rob s  on December 24th, 2008

Your common species such as oak can be stained dark. This cost is cheaper. Ballpark $3.- 3.50 a s/f..Now to get some woods that stain even darker, such a brazilian cherry ,mahoganies etc The price will jump way up. The square footage of a normal room isn t that great so you may only be looking at a 2/3 hundred dollar difference. Labor will remain a constant so that won t effect your decision , unless your doing it and then you ll save big time.Any questions you can e mail me GL
References :
20 years in flooring as store owner/installer

Gary - www.builtinstudio.com  on December 24th, 2008

I would suggest a wide plank Brazilian walnut. I have never seen a disappointing installation, but it is a pricey species. If you wanted to save money you could use a carbonized solid bamboo floor or a stained white oak. Engineered wood flooring tends to be less expensive and is more stable in most situations.

This is a good guide for pricing
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwoodinstaller/price.htm

And I have listed some additional info/advice below:

There are a lot of different ways to achieve a certain color wood. A lot of the yellowish colored woods are less expensive than dark woods so a lot of times people will stain a white oak to get the color they want. White Oak is one of the most stable species of wood. It is important to remember wood flooring (engineered or solid) is a natural/organic product and it will expand and contract and move and most wood become darker as they age.

From the images, it look like you would really like a Brazilian Walnut floor, which is very popular and quite beautiful. Wenge is even darker and also quite nice. These are expensive species as they are considered exotic. Price also depends on whether it is a solid wood floor or engineered, the thickness of your solid wood layer and the width of the plank. Basically the more “wood” in each plank of flooring, the more money it will be. Most suppliers can offer a range of finishes including glossy.

If you were interested in staying “green”, a lot of suppliers offer solid bamboo flooring which can be stained a wide range of colors.

Difference between Solid Wood Flooring and Engineered Wood Flooring: Engineered wood flooring is composed of a layer of solid wood laminated to a layer of plywood. The solid wood layer comes in a range of thickness, from 3mm-7 or 9mm. The plywood layer is cross grained to add stability to the floor.

Another type of floor is laminated but i would not recommend this at all because it is quite likely to scratch and it cannot be refinished.

Remember also, you get what you pay for. You can spend anywhere from $3 to $50 a sq ft on hardwood flooring. I would just stay away from laminate flooring, go with an engineered or solid and you should be able to get a decent floor for $8-$15 sq/ft (material cost).

This company makes a great product that I have used many times.
http://www.listonegiordano.com/usa/interna.asp?ln=7&sez=1183&info=3916

Less expensive source is
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/home.jsp

References :