Spot anything weird in the image? Look at the floor, what do you see? Why in the world are there big pieces of jigsaw puzzle in that room? Quite unique really, thats what you call a “Puzzle Floor” from puzzlefloor.com Made of 5/8″ thick solid hardwood (I swear it looks like laminated flooring at first glance) this wood flooring is very suitable for children’s and teen’s bedroom, game rooms or play areas, entertainment room or wherever room you would like this to be installed.

Just like laminated wood flooring, they are installed “floating” atop a subfloor, with an expansion gap of 1/2″ all around along the wall edges. There are two standard designs for this floor, a “male” and “female” piece that will interlock much like your standard interlocking wood floors. Cost: 15$ per square foot

The most difficult part of wood flooring is simply deciding on the right type of wood floor for your home. You will obviously want a floor that looks good and matches the style for your home but you also need to consider a material’s durability, comfort, and ease of installation, as well as how easy it is to clean.

There is a wide range of wood flooring available, and each type of wood has its own individual plus and minus points. For example, real wood floors are a fantastic choice for an authentic look and feel - but they are really expensive plus the log ban in effect now makes solid hardwood a hard find. On the other hand, laminate wood flooring will work well in a contemporary room but, at times, can look shiny or fake.

The best thing to do is to decide on the look that you want for the wood flooring and how much you have to spend on it. Don’t worry if you have a small budget, as all wood floors come in a wide variety of different protective finishes and varnishes, which means you still have tons of choice for the finished result.

It is always a good idea to take samples of the wood home first, to see what would best match your furniture and walls.

The Types

Real Wood Floors

is also known as Solid Hardwood and there is very little substitute for this traditional hardwood style of flooring. If money and time were no object then real wood flooring would win hands down!

if you choose real wood planks, the main thing to remember is real wood flooring hates moisture, so you should never lay it in any areas where a lot of humidity is present. This is because the planks are a completely natural product - the wood tends to swell and contract depending on the moisture in the air. The lack of humidity can cause solid wood floors to contract, leaving unsightly gaps between each plank. When the humidity is higher, the wood planks could expand and cause bulging in parts of your floor.

If you are laying your real wood floor, all rooms in the house will need a small gap (1/2″) alongside all the walls for some small natural swelling and contraction.

Engineered wood Floors

consists of a plank that is made up of several layers of different woods, which are topped off by a veneer top layer of your selected wood type. The top veneer of an engineered wood plank can be any wood you like - which means you can get an expensive wood finish for a competitive price. It’s environmentally friendly also, as it doesn’t require as much of a particular tree to be cut down. Engineered wood floors are just as durable as real wood, which makes them a popular - and cheaper - alternative.

Although they do not have the ‘feel’ of real wood, engineered wood planks are treated specially so that they do not swell and contract like real wood. This means you can lay engineered wood almost anywhere in your home.

Laminate Floors

they are becoming increasingly popular in the Philippines. Mainly because the technology surround laminate floors has improved, meaning better quality, durability and a low-cost, easy installation process.

Laminate flooring looks just like traditional wood flooring but is, in fact, a thin layer of decor paper placed under a tough-as-nails protective film. Decor paper is actually a photographic image of a certain type of wood. This picture is then glued and pressed to a high-density backing board. Despite appearances there is no real wood in a laminate board at all!

The main benefits of laminate flooring are its lasting durability and the ease of installation. Some laminate flooring is simply glued down to the sub-floor, but others sit on top of an underlay grid which lifts them off the surface beneath. Planks of laminate flooring simply click together, which enables the floor to be fitted fast, with no real mess, and you can walk on your floor straightaway. You don’t have to compromise on style either, as laminate flooring comes in a massive array of different wood effects and finishes.

Observe the pictures above and try to see any difference. Looks can be deceiving