Screened Porch Wood Flooring

Choices For Screened Porch Wood Flooring

Let's imagine for a minute that you are looking at a house. That house is fronted by a wide lawn with maybe an apple tree shading its porch. What type of porch do you see? That's right: a wood porch. The wood porch has long been a part of tradition and culture. It sort of symbolizes the transition between man's abode and nature. That's why it is important for you to know the type of material you get for screened porch wood flooring.

Let us first examine the fact that wood has never been a truly good material for withstanding the elements. A porch is constantly exposed to rain and moisture and these can definitely take their toll. However, why hasn't that stopped people from building porches out of wood?

Well, this is because you have choices. Unfortunately, unlike the inside of the house, you can't really fake a screened wood porch by using laminate wood or ceramic tiling. This option might seem quite tempting but it is seen by other people as pretty tasteless. For one thing, you can't use these materials for setting up a floating floor. This is actually one of the essentials of building a screened porch.

Actually, there are only two real choices for building screened porch wood flooring: hardwood and engineered wood. Hardwood is the material that has been used for hundreds of years in building porches. However, what sort of hardwood should you buy? Picking the wrong type of hardwood may have you end up with a rotting mess in just a few days.

Tropical hardwoods are the best choice for you. Why? It's because these have a lot of oil content which help prevent the effect of moisture. This means that even if the flooring is exposed to the occasional shower, it will still remain strong. A lot of people are also worried about the effect of sunning on wood. When you get tropical wood flooring, you actually don't have to worry about your porch becoming ugly.

Actually, tropical wood flooring does change in appearance over time. However, as some people may tell you, it only grows more beautiful as it acquires a sort of silver finish. "Distinguished silver" you might call it. This transformation is just like the transformation of a person as he or she ages, becoming wiser and more dignified.

If you are getting this type of screened porch wood flooring, why not try out IPE wood? It is the best type of wood out there and is an environmentally safe choice. This is because it has been treated with no chemicals and yet is naturally resistant to pests, weathering, and decay. It is also harvested from naturally sustainable forests.

If cost is your main concern, why not try buying pre-finished engineered wood? This material is often more resistant to moisture than ordinary hardwood. It is also a lot cheaper than hardwood. However, this depends on the manufacturer. It is commonly made up of a layer of hardwood on top of plywood so it might be a bit weaker but it's quite cost effective.

Choosing screened porch wood flooring is actually pretty easy as long as you consider your choices and your needs. Whether you want to have hardwood or engineered wood is up to you. Hopefully, though, this short article has helped you in making up your mind. Good Luck!