Reclaimed vs New Wood
The New & Reclaimed Flooring Company
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Reclaimed wood refers to recycled wood which is a fantastic
eco-friendly choice. It can be salvaged from abandoned structures, old homes, commercial buildings, barns, and railroad ties among others.
On the contrary, new wood is sourced directly from the trees.
We ask the Houzz community to share with us which one you prefer and why?
Any comments are appreciated.
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luxury vinyl Vs engineered wood???
Comments (3)You can get very good fake laminate now but personally I don't think it ever looks or feel as good as real wood. With engineered wood there's lots of upsides, the main ones being they can go over underfloor heating and have very little movement or warping with changes in temperature (unlike solid wood planks). The range and choices can be very confusing however. When I was picking ours for upstairs I had a very helpful local flooring specialist explain it to me so I'll try and detail it for you too should you choose to go down this route! The wear layer is the thickness of real wood on the top of the substrate of laminated cheaper wood. Cheaper options have 2-3mm wear layers, whilst others (usually more expensive) have 4-7mm. The advantage of thicker layers is of course the number of times you can have the floors sanded and re-finished. Realistically a thicker 6mm layer should last at least a 100 years and numerous sandings (it would be very easy to accidentally go through a 2mm top layer accidentally if sanding). Finish options tend to be lacquer/varnish or oil. Lacquer/varnish sits on the surface of the wood, it is harder wearing than oil but will scratch and in order to re-finish you have to sand everything back. Oil absorbs into the wood and is usually applied in several coats to build up protection. If you scratch it, or a busy area gets worn you can lightly sand it and just re-apply oil to that individual area. You can also buy unfinished engineered boards meaning you can stain and oil/varnish it yourself however you like but of course means much more work. Both lacquer and oil come in the usual range of gloss, semi gloss, satin and matt. Matt is popular now as it looks the most natural and changes the look of the wood the least. Colours - you can get a myriad of colours from two main finishes - stained or smoked. Stain is only absorbed in the top layers of wood so if you scratch it deeply the natural wood colour will show through. Same goes if you sand and re-finish it. Smoking is a slow process but basically the smoke gets all the way into the wood. This means even if you sand or scratch it the colour shouldn't change. You can get 'semi smoked' which just means its been left to smoke for less time resulting in a lighter finish. You can get 'brushed' finishes which is where the boards are literally brushed with stiff bristles that remove the softer wood grains resulting in a more textured feel. Similarly 'hand scraped' gives a soft undulation to the surface as if 'scraped' by hand tools as very old floorboards were. Bevelled or micro-beveled edges are what you'd expect and result in a 'v' between boards when they meet. They will still butt up neatly but does help give the boards more definition and in my opinion makes them look much more authentic (one of the big tell tail signs of laminate is the lack of v grooves). Only downside is that dirt can gather in these so the micro-bevel option can be the best of both worlds. Wood species is entirely a personal choice but do speak to supplies to check what you have in mind is suitable for the location in question. Different types of wood vary greatly in hardness, colour, environmental credentials and of course price! Finally (at last!) you get different grades or qualities of wood. 'Prime' or 'select' is often used to describe the best grades with the least filled knot holes or large variations within the wood. You then go down to 'natural' which will have some featuring but not much with 'rustic' having the most character and knot holes. None of these are necessarily bad choices. A prime standard would look silly in a very old tudor property whilst a 'rustic' finish in a sleek modern build could equally look strange. Anyway. Sorry for the mammoth post, I just know I was getting quite frustrated trying to not only understand all the options but also get a feeling for what was right for me. Hopefully this help you avoid the same problems!...See MoreAluminium Frames vs Wooden vs UPVC Patio Door Frame Showdown
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Comments (1)Hi Siobhan, There are so many dilemmas when renovating / extending. Floor transitions are notoriously tricky when trying to create a flow within an interior and particularly from old to new.... Engineered wood flooring is warm to the touch (underfoot) and a natural insulator . All of our engineered wooden floors are designed to work over / in conjunction with underfloor heating systems...here are our trending floors for inspiration... Douglas Fir - Saatchi - White Lye & Soap effect stain Douglas fir has been dubbed the world's most beautiful floor and gained in popularity since being installed in the Saatchi gallery.... white wide and very long floorboards really open up a space and used widely in Scandinavian style interiors. This is the only softwood engineered floor we produce however and I would advise against putting it in a high traffic area as it will dent easily. American White Ash - Saatchi - White Stain & Low-Lustre UV Oiled In response to the popularity of white washed Douglas fir (above) we created a very similar floor but in American White Ash - an incredibly hard, hardwood. Our Ash - Saatchi is inherently durable and low-maintenance, produced in equally wide and long floorboards with a permanent white stain and commercial grade low sheen topcoat. Natural Wide Plank Oak Flooring The raw, natural beauty of Oak is enhanced by a natural finish and a fond farewell to the 'honey pine' yellowing that has become synonymous with Oak flooring until recently. Oak is a naturally beautiful shade of grey & beige / greige. A clear oil / lacquer brings out warm tones within Oak and over time + exposure to sunlight this golden patina will deepen. Our Nature Oil finish retains these greige / grey biscuity hues and prevents the honey pine / golden patina . As far as style is concerned, a natural grey is the new neutral within Interior Design themes ...contemporary, coastal, minimalist etc Hope the above helps and if you have any questions or need further advice please give me a shout. Bestest, Charlotte...See Morelaying reclaimed wooden floors on concrete?
Comments (1)Hi Craig, I think your guy is correct. Solid pine floorboards have to be nailed onto something. It's either thick plywood glued onto concrete screed or joists screwed/nailed onto the concrete screed. The only other way around it is to glue new engineered floorboards onto the concrete screed (after screed preparation if required). Let me know if you need more info. Best Regards...See More
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