Real Wood Floors Vs. Laminate or Vinyl

The choice is clear

When considering flooring options for your home, the choice between real hardwood floors and alternatives like laminate and vinyl can significantly impact both aesthetics and long-term value. Here, we delve into the advantages of real hardwood floors, emphasizing their natural qualities, enduring beauty, long-term value, ability to be refinished, and renewable nature.

Natural Beauty and Authenticity

Real hardwood flooring offers an unmatched natural beauty that synthetic options like laminate and vinyl simply cannot replicate. Each plank of hardwood is unique, showcasing the natural grain, color variations, and texture that come from the tree it was sourced from. This authenticity adds character to any space, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that enhances the overall aesthetic of your home.In contrast, while laminate and vinyl can mimic the appearance of wood, they often fall short upon closer inspection. Laminate typically features repeating patterns and lacks the depth and variation found in genuine hardwood. Even the highest quality laminate cannot match the richness and warmth of real wood, which can elevate the design of your interior.

Long-Term Value

Investing in hardwood flooring is often seen as a long-term financial decision. Hardwood floors not only increase the resale value of your home but also provide a lasting quality that can withstand the test of time. Unlike laminate and vinyl, which may need to be replaced after a few years due to wear and tear, hardwood floors can last for decades, making them a more economical choice in the long run.Moreover, the aesthetic appeal of hardwood can enhance the marketability of your home. Prospective buyers often prefer homes with real wood flooring, which can lead to quicker sales and potentially higher offers.

Refinishing Capabilities

One of the standout advantages of hardwood flooring is its ability to be refinished. Over time, hardwood floors can develop scratches, dents, and other signs of wear. However, unlike laminate and vinyl, which are often irreparable, hardwood can be sanded down and refinished multiple times. This process restores the floor’s original beauty and extends its lifespan, making it a sustainable choice for homeowners who plan to stay in their homes for many years

5.Refinishing allows homeowners to change the stain or finish, adapting the look of their floors to match evolving design preferences without the need for complete replacement. This versatility is a significant benefit that laminate and vinyl simply do not offer.

Renewable Resource

Wood is a renewable resource, and when sourced responsibly, hardwood flooring can be an environmentally friendly choice. Sustainable forestry practices ensure that trees are harvested in a way that maintains ecological balance, allowing for the regrowth of forests. In contrast, laminate and vinyl are made from synthetic materials, which can have a more significant environmental impact in terms of production and disposal.By choosing real hardwood, homeowners can contribute to sustainable practices while enjoying the benefits of a natural product that enhances their living spaces.

Conclusion

In summary, while laminate and vinyl flooring may offer advantages in terms of cost and ease of installation, real hardwood floors provide unparalleled beauty, long-term value, refinishing capabilities, and a commitment to sustainability. For those looking to invest in their homes and create a warm, inviting atmosphere, hardwood flooring remains the superior choice.

New and Recent Flooring Projects

Wayside Inne Log Cabin Gets New Wide Plank Floor

We recently completed a project at the historic Wayside Inne, a log cabin built in the 1940s. The cabin’s original floors needed an update, so we installed a stunning new wide plank floor using wide-plank hardwood. The wide planks add a rustic charm that perfectly complements the cabin’s vintage character. Our expert craftsmanship ensures the floor will stand the test of time while elevating the overall aesthetic of this charming property.

A rustic cabin interior featuring newly installed light hardwood floors, a large stone fireplace, exposed wooden beams, and a wooden staircase leading to a loft area. The room is partially set up with construction equipment, indicating ongoing work.
Wayside Inne New Floors

Hand-Scraped Hickory Glue-Down Floor

Another exciting project involved installing a hand-scraped hickory glue-down floor. The unique scraping technique gives the wood a one-of-a-kind, distressed appearance that adds warmth and character to any space. Glue-down floors are a popular choice for use over concrete slabs. We take pride in our attention to detail, ensuring a flawless installation that showcases the natural beauty of the hickory wood.

Glue Down Hickory Hand Scraped Floor

New Red Oak Floor in Bedroom

We also had the opportunity to add a new red oak floor to a bedroom in an existing home. Red oak is a classic choice known for its strength, durability, and timeless appeal. We carefully matched the new floor to the existing hardwood, creating a seamless transition. The result is a fresh, updated look that enhances the overall aesthetic of the room.

Refinishing Historic 1 1/2″ Red Oak Floor

Finally, we had the pleasure of refinishing an old, very narrow 1 1/2″ red oak floor. Refinishing is a cost-effective way to breathe new life into existing hardwood floors. Our process involves sanding, staining, and sealing the wood to restore its original luster. Despite the floor’s narrow width, our team’s expertise ensured a flawless finish that highlights the natural beauty of the red oak. At Ozark Hardwood Flooring, we are proud to serve clients within a 100-mile radius of Marshall, Arkansas, including areas such as Little Rock, Conway, Harrison, Russellville, Batesville, Northwest Arkansas, and Branson, Missouri. Our commitment to quality workmanship and customer satisfaction sets us apart in the industry. Contact us today at 870-448-7267 to discuss your flooring needs and let us transform your space with our exceptional services

Very Narrow refinished Dark Stained Red Oak Floor
Narrow Dark Stained Red Oak

Welcome to Ozark Hardwood Flooring

Welcome to Ozark Hardwood Flooring!!

Update April 2023.   After being retired and closed for about 2 years, Ethan Walsh, son of Ozark Hardwood Founder and Past President Lee Walsh is taking over the business.  Ethan worked with Lee for over 5 years, learning every aspect of the real hardwood flooring installation, sanding and finishing business.  Contact Ethan today for a quote on your hardwood flooring projects!!

Ozark Hardwood Flooring offers a wide variety of beautiful hardwood floors. We install, sand, finish and refinish real hardwood flooring in Central and North Arkansas, and Southwest Missouri.

We have been in business since 1994 and have installed, sanded-finished, or refinished over 2 Million SQFT of Real Hardwood Flooring since that time. We have hundreds of satisfied customers, many repeat customers, and builders that we have worked with for over 20 years.

We provide dust free sanding of real wood and refinish flooring jobs.

We specialize in real solid wood Sand and finish on site floors. But do pre-finished and engineered products as well. We install over wood sub-floors or Slab on or above grade with Engineered products.   We have been doing true “hand-scraped” floors since 2006, and in 2012, hand-scraped flooring passed 20% of our business for the first time.  True Hand-scraped floor gives you that unique floor with an old world appearance that is a true conversation piece.

Check out our website with pictures of some of our projects, then contact us for all your Hardwood Flooring needs.

Rustic Sawed Plank Re-Claimed Oiled Pine Beauty

We recently re-oiled a beautiful re-claimed 12 inch wide sawed pine plank floor in Conway.   This home was built about 12 years ago and has one of the most unique floors that we’ve seen.   The floor was 2700 Square Feet of re-claimed heart pine planks that had been re-claimed from an old factory that was torn down near St. Louis, Missouri.  The original planks were about 2 inches thick, and they were sawed in half, but the original flooring company milled the planks where the old side was used as flooring to retain the old patina.

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We contacted the original flooring company who installed and finished the floor, who was actually (and still is) located in Wisconsin, and did some research on how the floor was originally finished.   This is something that you want to be absolutely sure about before you start putting a new finish down on a unique floor such as this!!!     This is obviously NOT and inexpensive floor.

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Even though the 12 year old floor had some wear, it was in surprisingly good shape in many areas.   We used the same oil as the original and gave the floor new life.  The re-oiling process brought back the depth, luster, and hid all but the deepest of scratches in the old pine floor.    I am really impressed with this product, in durability, application and ease of re-coating/repair, so we intend to start using more of this product on these types of rustic, distressed or hand-scraped floors in the future.

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Sorry for the quality of these pictures, because they were taken from my camera phone.   I hope to get back into the house soon with my better camera and take some better photos after the new owners have moved in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Hand-Scraped Hickory Floor

 

 

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We recently installed and finished this beautiful 7 Inch hickory hand-scraped hardwood floor in a beautiful home near Gamaliel, AR, constructed by Ozark Custom Country Homes.  The floor has no stain, just a natural oil based finish to let the beauty of the wood show through.

Hope you enjoy the pictures of this one of a kind unique floor.

Everything Old is new Again – Reclaimed Floor

This is a super unique project that we did in the Fall of 2011 in a beautiful home near Green Forest, AR.   This was a reclaimed material, reclaimed by a company in Missouri that came originally from boards that were removed from some stockyards that were torn down near Springfield, MO.   The material was originally 2×6 material, so the boards were rip-sawed in half, lightly planed on the rough side (which is the side that shows)  and were tongue and grooved to make a floor that is 4  3/4 Inches wide.

This floor was approximately 2600 Square feet, and was installed by us, lightly sanded, and finished with 4 coats of tung oil and satin polyurethane finish.

We also did a set of stairs using the same material,  in this one of a kind, unique, and beautiful home.

Enjoy the photos of this reclaimed unique floor below by clicking on a photo to enlarge and start a slide show.

Beautiful Hand Scraped Floor near Danville Arkansas

We Recently installed and finished a Wide Plank Hand Scraped White Oak floor in a beautiful home near Danville, AR.   The floor was rustic white oak, mixed width 6,7 and 8 inch wide planks.   The floor was finished with a Minwax Jacobean color and oil based finish.  You can see by the pictures, the floor turned out very nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lesson on how “NOT” to Sand and Finish a Wood Floor

We recently bid on a 1200 square foot flooring  project and were not chosen by the owner originally.   This does happen occasionally, but not too often as even though we aren’t the least expensive flooring installation and finishing company around, normally when everything is considered, quality, price, reputation, dust free sanding, etc.   Most clients who compare will find out the same thing that I believe, that we are the best value for every dollar spent on the floor.   This portfolio of  pictures will show you why.

We did not originally get to do this job, but after the first flooring contractor made a horrible mess of this wood floor, we were called by the owner to fix the problems.   This is not the first time this has happened, and because it happens more than I would like, I decided to show these pictures and tell this story.

I’ve been in this business for a long time, and I’ve seen a lot of very poor jobs over the years, some done by homeowners themselves when trying to save a few dollars by doing their own floor.  And most would say they would never repeat that process.   But in all these years, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a floor in this bad of shape.   I really don’t see how someone could mess up a floor this bad, unless they were trying, and even then it would be difficult.  Especially someone who actually claims to be in the hardwood flooring business.

I would never name the flooring company who did this floor, because with work like this, I am sure they will be weeded out of the business very soon, and rightfully so.   This floor has about everything wrong with the sanding and finishing job that you could have wrong with one.  I’ll outline many of the problems that you will see when looking at the photos, and I’ve made notes on the photos so you can see tell what I’m showing you.

  1. Drum Sander Streaks – These can be caused by several different things, but are normally caused by either a bad sanding belt if a belt machine was used, or by a really bad place on the drum or a screw or nail in the drum if a drum machine was used.  There were literally hundreds of these streak marks in this floor, they were everywhere you looked.
  2. Planer Marks –  These are the original planer marks from the factory that were left on the floor.  These are places that a sander never touched the floor.  They show up as lines running across the boards, rather than longways.
  3. Edger Swirls – This is caused by the edger machine, the machine that is supposed to be used around the perimeter of the floor only to sand areas that cannot be sanded by the larger belt or drum machine.  These are normally sanded out by using a finish sander or hand sanding (we actually use a halogen light to look for these)  They are caused by using too rough a sandpaper on the edges also.   Funny thing about these, they were everywhere.  This original contractor used the edger in places they had no business using it.
  4. Puddles in the Finish –  There were puddles in the finish everywhere in this floor.  It looked to me that the finish was basically “slopped” on the floor with a mop.  Some place the puddles were nearly 1/8 inch thick!!!!  You would almost have to just pour the finish on the floor and leave it to get this.  I know, I couldn’t believe it either.
  5. Trash in the Finish –  When you site finish a floor, there is no way to get every single piece of trash out of the finish.  1 or 2 tiny pieces of trash in 1000 square feet is acceptable, and these can be easily picked out with a fingernail and repaired, but this floor had literally THOUSANDS of chunks of trash.   Almost looked like the trash had been thrown in the finish on purpose, but it wasn’t.   There was no vacuum system…..I don’t even believe the floor was swept before the stain and finish was applied.   It was really sad.

This portfolio has about 20 pictures of the “before” photos of this job.   We are currently working on this project and of course had to completely re-sand/refinish this floor down to bare wood.  As soon as the floor is finished, I will also post some “after” pictures.   The homeowners were getting very excited about moving into their brand new home, and now because of this original very poor floor sanding and finishing job, they will have to delay that for a couple weeks.

The moral of this story, please check out the contractor that does your work on your home.   It is real easy to check us out as we’ve got hundreds of happy customers, and you can see the quality of the work we do right on this website.  This “flooring contractor”  (and I use that term very loosely)  Did not have a website, and was basically just chosen on price.   Price is not the most important criteria for choosing a flooring contractor, as I believe you would have to agree by looking at these pictures.

Lee Walsh

I have left these pictures large on purpose so you can see the detail.  It may take some time for them to load with a slower connection.

Click on a picture below for a slide show of all the pictures.

 

Testimonials

Over the years we’ve received many notes, and nice complements about our flooring and the work that we do.   I just wanted to share a few here.

Special Thanks!! The floors are exquisite! I cannot believe we managed to get you for our tiny job — but it means a huge joy to us! S. Bergman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Lee, The floors are beautiful! We appreciate all the things you did for us and for your going above and beyond. When you build a house it’s refreshing to know that when someone tells you they’re going to do something, they keep their word and that was you and your staff. It was a pleasure working with you. Thank you for a job well done! The Foley’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Guys — The floor looks Great. Joe and Carol

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guys, Thanks so much for all your work on the floors. We’ve already had many complements. If I can ever be of help or give a recommendation, just let me know. Again Thanks, A. & T. Berry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for my great new floors. Tell Foy he did a good deed and a good job when he re-finished them! If you ever need a reference, please feel free to call me. J. Lingle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The floors look perfect, and thank you so much!  Jeff and Megan
The floors look perfect, and thank you so much! Jeff and Megan

Lee, Thank you again for a beautiful hardwood floor. I Love it.  Thanks, Peggi W.
Lee, Thank you again for a beautiful hardwood floor. I Love it. Thanks, Peggie W.

Dear Mr. Walsh,  Thanks for laying my beautiful floor.  You did a great job and the fellows were so nice.  Sincerely, K. Andersen.
Dear Mr. Walsh, Thanks for laying my beautiful floor. You did a great job and the fellows were so nice. Sincerely, K. Andersen.

Unique Mixed Hardwood Floor

The mill where we buy the majority of our wood has a product that they call “Mixed Hardwood”.  This flooring is a hodgepodge of many different types of flooring that they accumulate over time that come along with their regular species.

The owners of the mill went thru a run and counted the different species at one time, and counted around 20 different species of wood that was in that particular run.  Everything from Sassafras, Gum, Soft Maple, Osage Orange, Birch, Beech, and everything in between.

An Architect working on a project in Harrison Arkansas wanted something unique for a the home and after he and the owners saw a sample of this floor, they decided it was exactly what they wanted.   Since that time we have used it in several different floors in the area.

One thing for sure about this floor, you’ll never get the same floor twice.  So if you’re looking for something totally unique for your home, maybe Mixed Hardwood” is for you.

Click on a picture below for a slide show.

Arkansas' Premier Hardwood Flooring Contractor