Q: Can I glue the flooring to the substrate?
A: Yes, your wood floor may be either glued or nailed or stapled to the sub floor.

Q: What sub floor do I need to install my Hardwood Flooring?
A: We recommend the use of either CDX Fir, Pine Plywood or O.S.B. Certified Particle board

Q: How thick does my sub floor have to be?
A: Should be 3/4 inch, but 5/8” as stated by the N.W.F.A.

Q: Can I install Wood Flooring in my basement?
A: It is not recommended to install solid hardwood flooring in a basement. There is too much humidity. You can however install engineered flooring in your basement.

Q: Can I switch off my heating or air conditioning when I go away on vacation?
A: Absolutely not, you must maintain a relative humidity of 40%-60%, and a temperature of 65-75 degrees.

Q: Do I have to acclimate the flooring before installation?
A: It is absolutely necessary to acclimate solid wood flooring 72 hours prior to installing the flooring. The flooring has to acclimate in the room the flooring will be installed. Boen Engineered flooring requires NO ACCLAMATION PERIOD.

Q: How long, after installation, do I have to wait before I can walk on the floor?
A: If you’re installing prefinished flooring, you can walk on it as soon as it has been installed. For Unfinished flooring check with your installer.

Q: What will happen to my floor if I allow my dogs to run on them?
A: Hardwood Flooring is very scratch resistant. However, it should be noted that no hardwood flooring will resist pets’ claws.

Q: How do I protect my floors from furniture?
A: Use felt protectors under the legs of the furniture to protect your flooring.

Q: Does wood flooring promote a healthy indoor environment?
A: Yes! Bacteria, dust and dirt do not embed themselves in wood flooring, as they do in other flooring options. Simple regular maintenance—such as dust mopping, sweeping, or vacuuming—keeps wood floors sanitary.

Q: My client suffers from allergies. Is wood flooring hypoallergenic?
A: Millions of people suffer from sensitivity to chemicals and toxins. Tests by leading allergists have proven that wood flooring provides a healthier environment for these allergy sufferers. Wood doesn't harbor irritating dust and microorganisms.

Q: Is the natural environment protected during the harvesting and manufacturing of wood flooring?
A: Yes. Far from a depleting resource, hardwood is sustainable and commercially more available now than ever before. On the 486 million acres of forestland in the United States classified as commercial, substantially more wood is added in new growth each year than is harvested. For hardwood species, 86 percent more wood is added annually in net growth than is removed through harvest. Manufacturers of glue-down wood flooring meet Clean Air Act standards for construction adhesives. A national environmental standard for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is anticipated in the next few years, but manufacturers are already offering VOC-compliant wood flooring products.

Q: Once installed, how often must wood flooring be replaced?
A: Every hundred years or so. In fact, the heart pine floors in historic Bacon's Castle in Virginia are more than three centuries old and counting. Simple care and maintenance keeps wood floors looking beautiful for a lifetime. Instead of laying an entirely new floor when the original is worn, wood floors can be rejuvenated with sanding and refinishing. When done by a wood flooring professional, wood floors need only to be refinished every 10 - 15 years or 10 - 12 times during a floor's life. When a wood floor's useful life is over, it's completely biodegradable.

Q: Is recycled wood flooring available?
A: Yes. Wood salvaged from a variety of sources, including old barns and factories, is a popular high-end design trend. Wood recovered from riverbeds is another growing segment of the wood flooring industry. Logs that sank during logging operations years ago are being recovered by a number of companies and used to create truly unique flooring. Today's only significant source for heartwood from long-leaf pine is through reclaimed timbers from warehouses and factories constructed during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Chestnut, hemlock, poplar, walnut, and cypress are other options.

Where can I learn more about the environmental benefits of wood flooring?

To order a free video on wood flooring and the environment, call the NWFA at (800) 422-4556.