1. How is a solid wood floor different from laminate flooring?

Solid wood flooring is highly durable, and has a long life. Solid wood floors are made out of hardwood and it is 100% wood. Laminate floors are made out of wood pulp and are not real wood. Laminated wood floors are artificial wooden floors where the wood designs on the face of the flooring board are printed through a melamine paper coating.

2. What are the advantages of Solid wood floor when compared to laminate wood floors?

Solid wood floors, being made of 100% timber are very durable and can be used for generations. Being a natural material, solid wood floors age very nicely and the beauty of the floor increases over time. Further, solid wood floors can be re-sanded and re-finished many times during the life of the floor. A sanding and re-finishing will restore the floor to its original beauty even decades after installation.
Laminate floors, made out of wood pulp are normally used as a temporary flooring with a life span of 5 to 10 years. Laminate floors cannot be re-sanded or re-finished even once. Being made out of wood pulp, laminate floors are very sensitive to changes in the humidity and moisture.

3. How are solid wood floors different from engineered wooden flooring?

As mentioned earlier, solid wood floors are 100% timber of the same species through out. In the case of engineered wood flooring, the flooring is made out of multiple layers of wood glued together. Typically the top layer of the wood will be the decorative wood species and the inner and bottom layers are cheaper and soft woods.

4. How is a site finished solid wood floor different from prefinished (factory finished) flooring?

Site finished solid wood floors are finished (sanded and polished) after installation on site. Timbspreads floors are typically finished at site. This way of installing and finishing the wooden floor ensures that the flooring boards are installed seamlessly and there are no gaps between the planks.
In the case of pre-finished floors, the floors are finished at factory and the flooring boards will have a micro beveled edge at the sides to hide small imperfections. These micro beveled edges make floor maintenance difficult because dirt and small particles like hair will accumulate in these gaps. Further, factory finished floors are more difficult to re-sand and re-finish.

5. What are the advantages of Timbspreads solid wood floors?

The timber species selected for flooring is always hard wood and suited for the humid conditions of India. We use a wide variety of wood species to suit all needs and tastes. High end German machines are used for manufacturing the flooring strips and the specifications match world standards.

Further, Timbspreads through it's approved installers use the right components for the installation of wooden floors. Thus Timbspreads floors are more durable, finished better, are aesthetically more pleasing and can be maintained to last for a lifetime.

6. What is the difference between Tongue & Groove plank floor and Parquet?

Tongue & Groove flooring has been in the trade for more than 115 years. These are longer section of planks laid randomly / parallelly to each other to give you a conventional look. Parquet flooring is made from smaller sections of timber at all lengths / widths are maintained equally. They can be laid in numerous designs like Herring Bone, Basket weave, Haddon Halls, etc. This flooring is very popular and it is an economic way of owning a timber floor.

7. Can I stain my wooden floor?

We also do not recommend staining of timber, staining hides the grains of the timber up to a great extent. This kills the character of the natural wooden floor and stains always wear of after a period of time.

8. What are the components used by approved installers of Timbspreads?

Timbspreads approved installers always use the best available products for installing the wooden floors. The following are some of the specialized components used by our installers for installing the wooden floors:

• Adhesives - Specialized wooden floor adhesive from Bona AB, Germany (to know more, go to http://www.bona.com/en-gb/Global/TopMenu/BonaSystem/Fastening )
• L Cleats - Our installers use special L Cleats with serrated sides for installing the wooden floors. These L cleats are imported from Canada.
• Machines for sanding wooden floors - Our installers use the state of art, dust free sanding technology from Bona AB for sanding the wooden floors. These machines help us to deliver a perfectly level floor. (to know more, go to http://www.bona.com/en-gb/Global/TopMenu/BonaSystem/Sanding )
• Finishes - Our installers always use the right finish for finishing the wooden floors. The finishes we use are the latest available globally for finishing wooden floors. Since we are the India distributors of Bona AB (the world's largest manufacturer of specialty materials for wooden floors) the adhesives, machines, abrasives, finishes and maintenance products we have access to, incorporate the latest technology in the world. (to know more, go to http://www.bona.com/en-gb/Global/TopMenu/BonaSystem/Coatings/Finishes)

9. What is the technical expertise of Timbspreads installers in installing and finishing wooden floors?

Our installation team has highly skilled professionals with more than two decade of experience in installing and finishing wooden floors. This team is led by experienced project coordinators who know all technical aspects of wooden floor installation. Our team is equipped with the latest equipments for assessing the site conditions like non-intrusive moisture meters for measuring the moisture in the concrete and wood & the latest site assessment methodologies as recommended by National Wood Flooring Association of U.S.A (NWFA).

1. Is the natural environment protected during the harvesting and manufacturing of wood flooring?

Yes. Far from a depleting resource, hardwood is sustainable and commercially more available now than ever before. On the more than 486 million acres of forestland as commercial, substantially more wood is added in new growth each year than is harvested. For hardwood species, 90 percent more wood is added annually in net growth than is removed through harvest.

2. What are the Environmental facts about Wood Floor?

Wood flooring is the most abundantly renewable flooring material available. Sustainable forest management makes it possible to harvest wood without any serious impact on the environment, because trees are a renewable resource that can be replaced time and time again.

Average annual net growth for hardwoods is greater than average annual removals (Source: US Department of Agriculture Forest Service)
Indoor air quality is better with wood floors (Source: US Environmental Protection Agency)

Wood is a carbon neutral product that produces oxygen during its growth cycle and stores carbon during its service life (Source: University of Wisconsin Wood Products Program Solid Wood Flooring Life Cycle Analysis)

Wood floors last hundreds of years, so won’t need to be replaced as often as other flooring options (Source: National Association of Home Builders)
Wood floors can be rejuvenated with sanding and refinishing. When done by a wood flooring professional, wood floors need only to be refinished every 15 - 20 years or 10 - 12 times during a floor's life. When a wood floor's useful life is over, it's completely biodegradable.

1. Is it easy to maintain a wooden floor?

With today's advances in wooden floor finishes, which are meant to take the wear and tear of modern life, wooden floors are very easy to maintain.

2. Can we wet mop a wooden floor?

Yes, you can use a damp (near dry) mop to clean the wooden floor. Never use excessive water.

3. How do you avoid a wooden floor from scratches?

We get this question all the time. A wooden floor should always be treated with extra care; however, there are finishes available in the market for the last 3-4 years that make your floor absolutely scratch free. Water based polyurethane are the best to keep your floor from scratches, even in the highest traffic and a high resistance to abrasion of any kind. The normal thing that needs to be taken care of to avoid floor scratches is to have felt under your furniture. Always lift and place your furniture rather than dragging it. You might not know, if any nail or loose screw is sticking out of the furniture base. Have a mat preferably outside the room to collect sand and grit.

4. How about maintenance in residential/commercial area?

The only thing to keep your wooden floor in good shape is maintenance. Ask your wooden floor dealer/contractor and he will give you the best/easiest maintenance tips, depending on the finish you apply on the wooden floor. Your daily maintenance would be dry mopping of your floor and wiping with a soft cloth. There are cleaners available depending upon the finish to maintain your wooden floor, you can use them whenever required.

5. Can a general purpose cleaner be used for cleaning the wooden floor?

General purpose cleaners might damage the finish of your wooden floor. Using cleaners and other equipment as recommended by flooring experts extends the life and enhances the aesthetics of your wooden floor.

1. Can a wooden floor be installed on an existing tile/marble floor?

Yes, wooden floors can be installed on existing tile/marble floor using special adhesives from Bona AB

2. Do I have a choice between different colour and grains in wooden flooring?

Yes, we have a wide range of wooden species to choose from. All the species we sell are recommended species for wooden flooring

3. Can I use wooden floors in outdoor areas?

Yes, Decking is available for any outdoor area like your balcony, swimming poolside etc. Timbspreads uses a special deck oil for outdoor flooring which is highly weather resistant

4. My client suffers from allergies. Is wooden flooring hypoallergenic?

Tests by leading allergy experts have proved that wooden flooring provides a healthier environment for allergy sufferers. Wood doesn't harbor irritating dust and micro organisms.

5. Can I use wooden floors in the kitchen?

Yes, wooden floors can be used in the kitchen. The water based polyurethane coating on the wood floor can withstand some water and traffic. These finishes resist wear and stain better than other finishes and require no stripping, no buffing and no waxing. So wooden floors can be used in kitchens or even in high traffic areas like lobbies etc.

6. How long does a wooden floor last and when do I need to repolish it?

Wooden floors are very durable and should last a human lifetime. Our floors, coated with highly durable finishes and under normal usage conditions should last at least 15 - 20 years before the need to re-finish or re-polish it.