A great hardwood floor can leave create a classic and timeless look for any home. There is just something about a solid hardwood floor that gets us excited. It's great to know that so much care and thought went into something like a hardwood floor because it is going to last for years if treated properly. It is a reflection of the care the owner put into their home. That same level of care should be applied to every part of the job. We can cover the labor aspect to ensure that your floors are installed properly. There are a couple aspects of the installation that you should look into and consider before moving forward. They have to do with "on-grade", "below-grade", and "above-grade" installation. If these words mean nothing to you, read on to understand why it is important to understand these terms. 

Above-grade installation is going to involve a scenario in which you're going to be installing hardwood floor above ground level. A second story of a house would fall into this category. You need to make sure that the rigidity of the substrate is substantial enough to support the entire floor on the level that the installation is going to take place.

"A lackluster subfloor is going to hurt hardwood floors in the long run..."

On-grade installation refers to the situation in which the install is going to be taking place on the same plane os the ground outside the house. It is very important to measure moisture levels in the basement or any crawl spaces as the moisture in these areas can travel upwards. A lackluster subfloor is going to hurt hardwood floors in the long run by allowing moisture to travel from spaces in a home such as a basement or crawl space.

Below-grade installation is, you guessed it, an installation of hardwood floors that takes place below the outside ground level. These areas in a home are basements, and they are almost always very moist. Moisture can wreak havoc on a hardwood floor with enough time. You can begin to start seeing swaying and coupling in the floors with enough time, and that's not something a simple refinish is going to fix. These types of situations call for alternate methods such as engineered wood. We'd be happy to answer any questions you have on that topic specifically. 

These three different scenarios require different methods of approaching the same problems. A lot of our job is problem solving, and we'd be more than happy to help you solve your problems. Until next time.