When shopping for the perfect flooring, you will have many options, but few can match the enduring appeal and value of genuine hardwood flooring. This guide is dedicated to helping you understand why wood floors are a wise investment, offering beauty, durability, and a sense of warmth that no other flooring type can match.

Whether renovating or building a new home, the choice you make for your floors impacts not just the look of your home but its comfort and long-term value. Adding or refinishing wood floors in your home will also pay off, even if you plan to sell your home soon. Let’s explore how wood flooring can be the right choice for your home.

Understanding Wood’s Durability and Longevity

One of the primary advantages of wood flooring is its longevity. Part of that durability comes from the flexibility of re-sanding most wood floors as they experience normal wear and tear.

In contrast to much of the newer, disposable flooring options like carpet, LVP, and laminate, even wood floors with heavy wear and damage can be re-sanded or refinished as needed and returned to new life. Today, the estimated service life for a traditional residential wood floor is 75 years!

The True Cost-Benefit Analysis

Investing in wood flooring may seem like a significant upfront cost, especially compared to alternatives like laminate or vinyl. However, when you look at the bigger picture, the value of wood flooring becomes clear. It’s not just about the initial purchase; it’s about the total cost over the home’s life. Wood floors are usually a one-time investment with very low maintenance costs that pay dividends in longevity, ease of maintenance, and beauty.

Because any flooring installation is a significant project that usually requires moving furniture and professional labor, the best way to control your long-term costs is to avoid replacement, and wood is the best choice for a forever floor.

Sources: RSMeans Database & EPD/Life Cycle Analysis Documents of Products

Did you know that wood flooring is one of the best ways to increase a home’s value? Whether it’s a decision made for a new build or an addition later on, hardwoods can be a great investment in the total value of a home. Keep reading for research investigating this by the National Association of Realtors’ Remodeling Impact Report.

Boosting Your Home’s Value

When it’s time to sell, every detail of your home counts, and flooring is no exception. Wood flooring is consistently cited as a top choice for homebuyers, often increasing the value and appeal of homes on the market.

While wood is a proven long-term investment for most homes, it also offers incredible value in the short term – even if it’s installed right before the home is sold.

According to the National Association of Realtors’ Remodeling Impact Report, refinishing an existing wood floor (147% ROI) or installing a new wood floor (118% ROI) were the two highest return on investment projects a homeowner could do before selling their home.

In addition, 90% of consumers reported a greater desire to be home, and 77% said they had an increased sense of enjoyment after refinishing or putting in new wood floors.

By every measure, wood floors are an excellent financial investment, leading to a more enjoyable living experience.

Cost Considerations for Homeowners

It’s essential to understand all the costs involved in a flooring project. These costs include the initial purchase, installation, and long-term maintenance.

The critical thing to remember is that typically, only 40-60% of the total cost of a flooring project is in materials, while the rest is installation labor.

When choosing a cheaper, disposable floor, you minimize your savings while missing out on all the benefits of a wood floor.

Take, for example, the difference between selecting a wood floor and a rigid core vinyl floor:

In this common scenario, choosing a rigid core floor to avoid the 50% increase in materials cost only saves 25% on the project’s total cost while sacrificing the beauty and longevity of the finished product as well as the market value of the home.

Selecting the Right Wood Flooring for Your Home

With so many types of wood flooring available, making the right choice can be daunting. Solid wood or engineered wood are excellent options. Even an engineered wood floor with a thin wear layer can be re-finished (although not re-sanded) and renewed to look great after years of wear and tear.

Also, factory-finished (prefinished) or site-finished (unfinished) can offer the same great long and short-term benefits with different strengths and weaknesses depending on the project.

We’ve developed a comprehensive guide to choosing the best unfinished or prefinished wood floor for your projects, and you can find many more helpful guides in our Resource Center.

The National Wood Flooring Association also has excellent resources to guide homeowners in choosing the best real wood floor for their homes.

Choosing the right flooring is a significant decision for any homeowner. Wood flooring offers a combination of beauty, durability, and value that is hard to match. As you consider your options, remember that wood floors are more than just a surface underfoot; they are a long-term investment in the comfort and value of your home.

With their timeless appeal and proven benefits, wood floors can be the foundation of a beautiful, comfortable, and valuable home for years to come.