There's not very much that can beat the feel and look of hardwood flooring for many householders. There are many different wood and faux-wood options that are available for home flooring projects, and some are better than others. Every product has it's advantages and uses in today's market. No matter what kind of flooring you choose, always get the very finest flooring you can afford from a credible dealer and have it correctly installed on a good strong sub floor. Any flooring is only as good as its base and quality of installation.
Wood floor fans agree a solid hardwood flooring installed on a good sub floor is the best wood floor. You can get some very gorgeous woods like oak, cherry, maple, pine, hickory, bamboo and the colorful woods from all over the world. The sole limit is your position. It is vital to get a top grade of wood without defects or crooked boards.
Next, get an installer who comes suggested by the supplier or builder, and get a guarantee of satisfaction from him. Make sure the supplier stands behind their product and the installer. That said, a solid hardwood floor installed in your house and finished on site should last for the life of the house. If the finish becomes damaged or worn, a solid wood floor can be screened and refinished to appear like new again.
The second best hardwood flooring is one that is pre-finished and installed over a good sub floor. You have less decisions in finishes, and the flooring is often not as thick as half finished wooden flooring, but that helps when you're installing it in an existing home where the thicker flooring won't work. This flooring - as well as the unfinished wood flooring - is installed with nails and is an everlasting floor. You get real wood and can potentially refinish it once if you need to. The woods and finishes available give you a wide range of decisions and save time and money on installation.
Next in line is the engineered wood flooring that has a layer of real wood on top of a plywood or manufactured wood substrate. You're still having a look at real wood, but in a thinner layer that's pre-finished. This type of wooden floors can not be sanded and refinished if it is getting that worn look, in which case you may end up wanting to cover it with area rugs or a bound piece of carpet.
Finally, in terms of wooden floors, there is laminate wooden floors. This gives you the outward appearance of wood flooring, but is a picture of wood layered on top of a made wood substrate and covered by a thick, clear protecting layer. The layers are laminated along with adhesive, heat and pressure to give a robust product that looks and even feels like wood.
These laminate floors are built to be put together without nails in what is called a floating floor. This flooring is the one which is simplest for homeowners to install themselves. It's also the cheapest to get next to carpet.