How To Choose Quality Hardwood Flooring: 7 Questions to Ask Before Buying

I have been in the flooring business for over 50 years now. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that choosing the right wood floor is about more than just picking a color you like. Finding the perfect floor depends entirely on your home's foundation, your local climate, and the daily "traffic" (kids, pets, and boots) of the family living there.

Because buying flooring is a major investment, I want to make sure you get it right the first time. Whether you're hunting for premium planks or the best deals on Really Cheap Floors, answering a few simple questions will guide you to the perfect match.

There isn't a single "perfect" floor, but there is a perfect floor for your project. Let's break down the 7 questions you need to ask before buying hardwood floors so you can shop with confidence.

1. Will You Choose Solid Or Engineered?

Your first decision is whether to use solid or engineered hardwood flooring.

Solid is the go-to product for most hardwood that is installed over a plywood or OSB (oriented strand board) subfloor. Almost all installations of wood flooring over a concrete subfloor will use an engineered wood. That is because when you have a wood subfloor it is relatively easy to control the moisture that is present, either in the air from relative humidity, or from moisture traveling up from underneath.

Moisture when added to wood will cause the wood to expand, which in turn can cause warping, buckling, and cupping. This is bad. We don't want that. If we are installing over a concrete slab we have a more difficult time controlling the moisture so we use the engineered floor.

Engineered hardwood flooring is made by stacking multiple plys or layers of wood on top of each other. Each ply is rotated 90 degrees from the previous ply. This makes the finished plywood core much more stable and less susceptible to expansion. A final layer of veneer, or lamelo, is added to the top. It is this wear layer that determines what species the floor is listed under.

The quality of an engineered floor is determined by a couple of different attributes:

• Number of Plys. More is better.
• Density of a wood species used in the core. The denser a floor is, the less it will dent from usage.
• Overall thickness. Thicker is better, if all other specifications are equal.

Solid hardwood floors are milled from a solid piece of lumber. Domestic hardwoods tend to be much harder than imported products. Other than the quality that may be associated with grading, there are no measurable quality specifications about solid wood, unless you count species.

2. What Wood Species is Right for Your Home?

Here is the fun part! When choosing the other attributes we have to be rational. When it comes time to pick out a species we can be a little emotional. What do you like? Maybe the even coloration and straight grain of a Hard Maple? Or the unpredictable peaks and valleys of a Red Oak? The neutral color of a White Oak? Or maybe you wanna throw discretion to the winds and install a Hickory floor? Each species has its own characteristics. Finding the one that makes you happy is your job!

• Hard Maple: Straight grain and consistent color. Perfect for modern looks. Maple Info link
• Red Oak: The gold standard for value and versatility. Red Oak Info link
• White Oak: Highly popular and neutral-toned. White Oak Info link
• Hickory: Hickory is the hardest domestic species commonly used. If you have a busy house, you might be asking, is hickory good for flooring? It is incredibly durable, but because it is so dense, it is sensitive to moisture. We don't recommend 5" wide Hickory planks unless you keep your home's humidity under 60%. Hickory Info link

3. What About Durability and the Janka Rating?

You can't talk about species without talking about durability, and in the flooring world, durability is measured by the Janka Hardness Scale. This rating tests how much force it takes to embed a small steel ball halfway into the wood. The higher the number, the harder the wood, and the more resistant it will be to scratches, dropped pans, and dog claws.

Here are the Janka scores for the most common domestic species:

• Hickory: 1820 (Incredibly tough, great for high traffic)
• Hard Maple: 1450 (Very durable)
• White Oak: 1320 (Excellent balance of stability and hardness)
• Red Oak: 1260 (The industry standard baseline)

4. Pre-finished or Site-finished?

Years ago, most floors were installed unfinished, sanded down in your living room, and stained on-site. Today, pre-finished hardwood dominates the market, and for good reason. Pre-finished floors are finished in a factory with aluminum oxide coatings that are cured under UV lights. This makes the finish vastly harder and more scratch-resistant than anything a contractor can roll on in your home.

Plus, pre-finished means no sanding dust coating your kitchen cabinets, no harsh chemical smells, and you can walk on the floor the minute the installer leaves. Site-finished floors are generally only recommended if you are trying to perfectly match an existing historical floor or if you want custom, highly specific stain colors.

5. Which Installation Method is Best?

Your installation method is dictated by the subfloor you have and the type of wood you choose:

• Nail/Staple Down: The traditional method. Used exclusively for solid hardwood and thick engineered wood going over a wooden plywood or OSB subfloor.
• Glue Down: The standard method for installing engineered hardwood directly over a concrete slab. You must use a high-quality flooring adhesive, often with a built-in moisture barrier.
• Floating: Some engineered floors are designed to click or be glued at the edges and "float" over a padded underlayment. This is great for DIYers and can go over various subfloors, but it can sometimes sound a bit hollow underfoot compared to a nailed or glued floor.

6. Budget and Total Costs? (Understanding Grades)

You want to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to affordable hardwood floors, and the biggest secret to controlling your budget is understanding Hardwood Lumber Grades. Hardwood grading can get very technical. (Read my full blog about hardwood grading here or my guide on unfinished grading rules for a deep dive).

When we talk about prefinished hardwood flooring there are 4 common grades: Standard, Builder, Cabin, and Utility. Standard grades will have the longest average board length and no manufacturing defects. Builder grade is usually a standard batch of flooring that was downgraded due to an aesthetic issue (like missing a gloss level). I think our Builder grade floors are the best value in the store, as they are the same as Standard but at half the price.

Cabin grade floors will contain more natural defects and have a shorter average board length, but they are incredibly budget-friendly. Stained cabin grades look much cleaner than natural finishes because the stain hides color contrast. Finally, Utility grade is the lowest and can contain defects, but it has to be 90% usable. It's a great value, but be prepared to buy extra for waste.

7. Is 1/2", 3/4", or 5/8" Thickness Best?

When you look at solid hardwood, 3/4" is the industry standard. It's thick, heavy, and can be sanded down multiple times over a lifetime. However, when looking at engineered flooring, you will see a variety of thicknesses.

• 1/2" Thick: A highly popular and budget-friendly choice for engineered wood. It provides great stability over concrete and usually has enough wear layer to last for decades under normal use.
• 5/8" Thick: A premium engineered option. It feels very solid underfoot and usually carries a thicker top veneer.
• 3/4" Thick: When you buy a 3/4" engineered floor, you are getting the absolute peak of structural stability. It matches the height of solid wood (great if you are matching up to existing solid floors) and provides maximum dent resistance.

You want the look you are envisioning, at the price you can afford, when you pick hardwood floors. We get that, and we want to help you get the perfect look for your house! All of our hardwoods are made locally in the United States which cuts down on shipping costs so that we can give you a better deal. To get started, check out our inventory of hardwood floors. We can’t wait to help you make your home look even better!