Pine Flooring: 3 Reasons Why This Softwood Might Be The Perfect Fit For Your Home
Pine flooring was incredibly common hundreds of years ago but began to slowly fall out of favor. It's only now making a resurgence due to its unique, vintage look. While it's sometimes erroneously referred to as a type of hardwood flooring, pine is actually a softwood. However, it's only slightly less durable than common wood flooring options like oak, and it's still capable of lasting for a very long time in your home. If you're thinking about adding wood flooring to your home, read on to learn three reasons to consider pine.
1. Very Inexpensive
One of the best reasons to choose pine flooring is that you'll pay considerably less compared to choosing a hardwood. As a softwood, pine trees grow very quickly compared to hardwood trees. Its fast growth rate keeps the price of pine low. That's why manufacturers prefer using pine to create decking, fencing, and particleboard. If you want wood flooring in your home without paying the premium for hardwood, then pine is a perfect choice.
2. Longevity Matches Hardwood
Despite its low price and its status as a softwood, pine is easily capable of lasting just as long as hardwood flooring. Pine flooring will acquire a few dents during its lifetime, but many homeowners find that this only adds to its character. Like other types of wood flooring, pine can be sanded and refinished to remove scratches that appear.
The key to keeping pine flooring in excellent shape is to use an oil-based polyurethane finish. Pine doesn't resist water very well on its own — softwoods are less dense than hardwoods, so they're more porous. An oil-based polyurethane finish will repel water and prevent it from staining or damaging your pine flooring.
If you prefer a more natural approach, you can use a penetrating oil sealer like tung oil or linseed oil. These will prevent pine from being damaged by water as well. However, you'll need to apply a coat of wax afterward in order to prevent scratches. Penetrating oil sealers only repel water, whereas an oil-based polyurethane finish protects the wood from both water and scratches.
3. Fits in With Any Design Style
Since pine flooring has been used for hundreds of years, most people associate it with a rustic design style. While pine flooring is excellent for this purpose, it will fit into modern design styles as well — it acts as a contrast to the modern decor that surrounds it. Pine has a very strong grain compared to other wood flooring options, and you can even purchase pine flooring that has visible knotholes. It's a very eye-catching component in any room.
Pine also takes a stain just like other types of wood flooring, so you can either darken it with a stain or leave pine in its natural light color depending on which would complement your design style more.
Overall, pine is an inexpensive choice for wood flooring that shares the same longevity as hardwood. Whether you're on a budget or just love the vintage look of pine, this type of flooring can definitely find a place in your home.
For more information about wood flooring, contact a company like Floorco Flooring.
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