Advantage Flooring usually recommends their clients go with a domestic wood as they are grown in Canada or the US. Being grown here they don't have to travel far and that keeps shipping costs low. The following species are some of the more popular domestically grown and processed: White Ash, Beech, Birch, Black Cherry (aka American Cherry), Hickory-Pecan, Sugar Maple, Mesquite, Red Oak, White Oak, Pine, and American Black Walnut.
Advantage usually does not recommend the exotics to the unexperienced hardwood buyer. Usually in Ottawa customers choose a domestic brand as the style and fit usually make your Ottawa area home beautiful. Not only do they look better in your home but they look better in your bank account as they are much better priced. The following species are some of the more popular exotics, imported from other countries: Bamboo, Brazilian Cherry, Bubinga, Cork, Cumaru, Spotted Gum, Sydney Blue Gum, Iroko, Jarrah, Mahogany, Brazilian Maple, Merbau, Tasmanian Oak, Padauk, Purpleheart, Brazilian Teak, Thai Burmese Teak, Brazilian Walnut, and Wenge.
To learn more about species, go to our species page.
You can divide hardwood into installation categories and you might want to select your hardwood this way, ensuring you pick a floor with the kind of installation you prefer:
- Nail/Staple down: Nail down uses nails to attach the wood to the subflooring, and staple down uses staples to attach the wood. Staple down is simpler than nail down. Neither nail nor staple down is suggested for novice installers. Solid hardwood is often installed using this method.
- Glue down: If the flooring is engineered hardwood, it can be glued to the subflooring with a strong adhesive. This method is rarely used on solid hardwood floors, except for some thin profile solids.
- Float: Available in the following two options, made for an easier do-it-yourself installation. These floors are not attached to the subfloor and therefore can be installed over just about any surface. Usually, a moisture barrier and/or underpad is placed between the subfloor and the engineered wood floor.
- Glue-Seam: These floors use an adhesive to glue the pieces together.
- Glueless-Click: These floors snap together and require no glue.