Saturday 30 May 2015

Different types of Timber for Subflooring

Timber is a very important building material. Previously, timber was used as the primary construction material for a house. Today, it is also being used as a secondary building material especially in finishes and interior design. Among the places where it's used most is in subflooring system and in ceilings. Timber subfloors have become among the most preferred subfloors amongst all the classes of people. It's therefore worth discussing some of the woods that are used in timber subflooring system.
Wooden subfloor materials are however always plywood in most of the cases. Never a buy sub floor product or a given type of subflooring material if at all you think it is not the one that suits you taste, style and status. Even though it is your budget that will have a big say, always try to go for the hardwoods that are relatively more expensive and you will enjoy the value for your money. Subfloor systemsthat aremade by use ofsynthetics such as laminate materials are generally less durable than timber and such materials. However, if your budget is so tight, go for the engineered /recycled timber.
Softwood subfloors- softwoods may not be soft as the name suggests. Some soft woods are very hard while some hardwoods are soft. The name is derived from the duration it takes for a given tree to mature. Trees that take almost forty years or over to mature are referred to as hardwood trees while those that take an average of fifteen years or below are referred to as softwoods.
Softwood subflooring materials are generally made from pine, cypress and eucalyptus among other trees. They are characterized with different colors and patterns thereby enhancing the addition of a breezy element to rooms that experience low traffic. Such timber is not very good for high traffic rooms because they may ware and tare very fast.
Hardwood subfloors- this happens to be the most common type of subflooring material. Although some hardwoods are soft, most of the hardwoods are generally hard. They include the teak, the oak, mahogany etc. these types of sub floor systems are very hard and do not easily experience ware and tare. Their durability and the difficulty to work with these materials are some of the factors that make hardwood subflooring materials to be more expensive than the softwood subflooring system. Most of the houses that need the aesthetic appeal of timber subflooring are high traffic houses. It's therefore worth investing in the hardwood because of their durability.
Engineered Timber- this is one of the green technologies that are encouraged so as to enhance environmental sustainability. Engineered timber are generally designed and developed from waste timber. Saw dust and other forms of timber can be recycled to give the engineered timber as the end result. Softer timbers are sandwiched by some other materials and then laminated by the use of a hardwood surface. This type of material is very stable, mid-priced and comes with the possibility of snapping them together without the need of nails in most of the cases.

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