timber special flooring imber isa tried and trusted flooring option for homeowners looking for a beautiful and durable finish. But how do you choose the right style and type for your home? Explore the different options in our handy guide. YOUR CHOiCES: Solid wood Solid timber boards tend to be the most expensive wood flooring option, but well worth the spend as it’s difficult to match its warmth and beauty with anything else. It’s durable and suited to most areas of the home, except the bathroom, where changes in heat and moisture can make the boards swell or shrink. Solid wood can be separated into two categories: hardwood, such as oak or teak, and softwoods, such as pine. Softwood is less resilient to damage, whereas hardwood is stronger and tougher. According to Jason Ashby at UK Flooring Direct you’re looking at prices ranging from £16 to €40 per m2 for solid wood. Generally, timber is graded by the clarity of grain. A knotted and pronounced appearance is classified as rustic and a more refined grain is considered to be classic. Although according to Jason this is more a mark of style, rather than quality. “Rustic grade floors provide a traditional country appeal, whereas premium grades offer a contemporary alternative,” he says. Engineered wood “Engineered flooring is an ideal option for most homes,’ says Jason. “It’s more stable than solid wood and with a natural appeal to rival it, it’s a good-looking solution for the home and certainly less complex to fit than solid wood. What’s more, because it’s more stable you can get longer and wider boards, so there is more variety in the different looks you can achieve,” The difference is their ‘sandwich’ construction. This consists of a top layer of quality wood, which is generally 2-4mm thick, which is glued to bottom layers of softwood or ply laid tangentially to each other. It possesses a natural quality, because of the real wood grain, but tends to be cheaper than solid wood boards. Prices vary from €12 to €30 per m2. Reclaimed wood Using reclaimed wood, essentially recycling, is thought to be an eco friendly option. What’s more, the boards will have already acquired lots of character over the years — so they can be a really beaut fu option, too. However, it may take a bit of hard graft to restore them. If you select reclaimed, always buy extra. It’ll be hard to find something to match if you need to replace any of the boards at a later date. Bamboo It’s available in both solid and engineered constructions. As bamboo is a fast growing grass, it can be sustainably harvested Th s strand-woven design is twice as hard as normal bamboo flooring. White wash solId strand woven uniclic bamboo, from £29J2 per m’, The Bamboo FloorIng Company 4 ft Your guide to wood floor ng It’s practical, stylish and durable, but what type of wood flooring is right for you? Sophie Hoyland uncovers the options - ~ ≤~: The tactile brushed finish has been achieved by.using’a special hard brush pg technique to remove the softer wood from the surface of the plank. Mountain silver textured oak floor, £166 per mz, Junckers 94 BUILDrrIJANUARY2O12