One of the most enjoyable and fulfilling tasks is the designing of a house or office. When you finally have the budget or means to build one, being able to get the design that you have dreamed for is very important. However, with enjoyment also comes the daunting task of choosing which types of materials would fit your design. The construction of a house or office space comes with a number of parts and factors that have to be considered. One of these parts is the type of material to be used as the flooring for the place.

The cost of the materials should not be overlooked and compromises must be made for everything to fit well with each other. Throughout the years, various types of flooring have been developed that have answered longevity and concerns. Some options use synthetic and plastic to make cheap but strong flooring materials. However, there are cases that such materials may not be fit for a specific location or region where the house or office is being built. It may be that due to the external factors that the flooring is exposed to.

Houses in these locations may need to be installed with wood flooring. Even this type of flooring has its own multiple kinds to choose from. In this article, the focus is on one of the wooden flooring options that more and more people are choosing to install in their houses. We are talking about French oak hardwood flooring.

Common Types Of Wood Flooring

Before going straight to French oak flooring, it is important for people to understand the common types of wood flooring. It has to be remembered that the installation of the flooring of a house should not only be focused on the cost. There are certain factors that would make other types of flooring materials more cost-effective than others. In relation to wood flooring, you may refer below to some of its common types:

Softwood flooring

Softwood flooring refers to flooring materials that use lumber from evergreen or coniferous trees. These trees are known to develop at a quicker pace, which leads them to become less dense than hardwood trees. Softwood flooring is readily available due to this quick pace of development and growth. The most common softwood trees made into softwood flooring planks are pine, fir, and spruce. These trees are lighter in color as compared to their hardwood counterparts. The grains in softwood trees are more loose which make them relatively weaker than hardwood trees. This would make the flooring planks manufactured from these softwood trees weaker than hardwood flooring planks.

Plywood flooring

This type of flooring is manufactured by bonding multiple layers of wood veneer with a strong adhesive. The wood veneers used may be made from materials from softwood or hardwood trees. Manufacturers stack the wood veneers by running the grains of each veneer in opposite directions. The most common adhesive used to bond the different layers of wood veneer is urea formaldehyde. This framework ensures that plywood flooring is stronger and more durable than many of the different types of flooring materials. One of the biggest advantages that plywood has over other materials is that it is normally manufactured with a dimension of 8’x4’. This gives the homeowners the freedom to cut flooring planks with larger areas. Doing this also helps the flooring installation process finish faster.

Hardwood flooring

This is one of the most sought-after types of flooring materials. Hardwood flooring planks use timber from deciduous trees. This means that these trees take longer time to grow and develop. This slow rate of growth helps the tree become denser. Flooring planks made from these trees are known to be more durable and stronger than most types of flooring materials. Hardwood flooring planks have grains that are closer to each other, which make their structures stronger than softwood flooring planks.

There are some types of hardwood flooring planks that cost more than others. These hardwood flooring planks are usually the ones made with material from hardwood that is not abundant and are found in forests of Europe. French oak flooring planks are known to be one of the best and also may be one of the costly kinds of hardwood flooring.

Factors That Affect The Price Of French Oak Flooring

Oak flooring planks manufactured with materials that come from the different forests all over America are known to be among the cheap kinds of hardwood flooring materials. However, French oak is a kind of hardwood tree that is only grown in France. There are certain factors that have to be considered to understand why French oak flooring planks have higher costs. You can find below the different factors that affect the price of French oak flooring planks:

Availability and authenticity

One of the reasons why French oak flooring planks are relatively more expensive is due to the fact that the stocks are not as abundant as other kinds of hardwood flooring materials. People need to consider that manufacturers have to ship all the authentic French oak planks from France. These trees only grow in 6 forests in France that include Tronçais, Allier, Limousin, Bertranges, Nevers, and Vosges. Manufacturers in France have determined the optimal growth patterns for the French oak trees. They only cut the trees based on the best timings possible. Authentic French oak flooring planks are known to be among the most durable and strongest kinds of hardwood flooring.

Costs in production

Seeing that manufacturers have to ship all the flooring planks from France, there is a need to factor in all the expenses incurred during the shipment of the items. There are many homeowners who are willing to spend more because they know the quality of the planks that come from authentic French oak timber.

Hardness rating

Among the different kinds of oak-based hardwood flooring, the wood coming from a French oak tree is known for yielding one of the higher Janka ratings for this kind of hardwood. The Janka rating is used to measure the strength of wood. This is done by testing forcing a metal ball to embed itself on a piece of wood. The amount of force needed to embed the ball halfway into the wood is what the Janka rating uses. With French oak flooring planks, its French oak timber has a Janka rating of 6.5kN.

Type of hardwood material

Just like any other kind of hardwood flooring planks, there is a need to consider the type of hardwood material that is used. Hardwood flooring planks come in 3 common types that include solid unfinished planks, solid prefinished planks, and engineered flooring planks. Solid planks are known to use only the solid timber coming from hardwood trees. This means that the timber cut from the hardwood trees are cut and shaped into the flooring planks as needed.

The difference between unfinished and prefinished planks is that unfinished planks are sold after they have been shaped into flooring planks. Prefinished planks undergo certain processes before they are sent out to be sold. These planks are sanded and applied with protective coatings to add to their durability and strength. Solid hardwood flooring planks are known to be more costly than engineered hardwood flooring planks.

This is mainly because manufacturers create engineered hardwood flooring planks by bonding together multiple plies of wood veneer like hardwood, softwood, or plywood. They only use hardwood timber as their topmost layers since this layer needs to have the characteristics of the hardwood tree that was used. These plies of wood veneer are bonded by strong adhesives and applied with protective coatings.

French Oak Flooring Prices

It is important to inquire first with reputable flooring experts with regards to the type of hardwood material that should be used on your property. There are certain conditions that engineered French oak flooring would be more cost-effective than using solid French oak flooring. If you live in an area that is exposed to extreme climate changes, it is highly advised that you use the engineered hardwood flooring type. This is because solid wood is reactive to hot and cold weather. It may shrink or expand depending on the weather, which may cause damages to your flooring. The adhesives and protective coatings applied on engineered hardwood flooring planks ensure that the different plies of wood veneer are not exposed to these weather conditions. In relation to the current market prices for these different types of French oak flooring planks, you may refer to them below:

• Unfinished solid French oak hardwood flooring: CAD 6.30 per sq.ft.
• Prefinished solid French oak hardwood flooring: CAD 6.50 per sq.ft.
• Engineered French oak flooring: CAD 5.99 per sq.ft.

Choose The Correct Type Of French Oak Flooring

Looking at the current prices of French oak flooring, it is important that you choose the correct type that would be a good fit to your house conditions. This is highly recommended since one of the reasons why you choose this kind of flooring is because you want it to last as long as possible. You can contact Three Trees Flooring if you have more questions about French oak flooring. You may call us at (416) 665-2624.