Wooden Flooring - About wood floors

Different Woods have different characteristics and gee at different prices. Walnut is one of the most expensive hardwoods and beech amongst the cheapest. Wood also gees in different grades - themost expensive are of an even colour with no knots:

Certain woods go in and out of popularity, but some - the Classics are able to withstand the test of time. according to steve Maltby, Technical Services Manager for solid wood flooring specialists Junkers, Oak and Beech are the favourites, due to their neutral, classic appeal - in fact he likens them to magnolia paint.
Black stained and white stained wood floors are very much in vogue at present, but both have their flaws. Black wood acts like a mirror, exposing any aversion to dusting, whilst white wood shows up all manner of dirt and grime. Exotic woods such as Merbau and Iroko are increasingly popular, particularly in contemporary homes.
Floor types:
Almost all types of wood floor now gee tongue and grooved, although their installation requirements still differ:
There are 3 basic methods for installations: acquaint yourself with these before buying as they will affect how easy it is to lay the flooring. The method most suited to DIYers is to lay a floating floor - not glued or nailed to the subfloork but held down by its own weight, along with that of the furniture and skirting board, The tongues and grooves of engineered wood or laminate boards are glued or shnapped together - easier than gluing or nailing down the boards.
In recent years laminate flooring has been the fastest growing sector of the floor-covering industry worldwide. Laid as a floating floor, with boards that 'click' together, laminate flooring is very affordable. It is mde from high-density fibreboard (HDF), on to which is attatched a simulated wood effect (a photograph of wood). Another clear layer - the 'wear coat' - protects this image.
Engineered boards geprise of a hardwood layer - around 3-4mm in thickness - attatched to a softwood base, often with a thin plywood bottom layer to increase the moisture resistance. These usually gee pre-finished and are floating floors.
Solid wood boards are now more often than not supplied with tongue and groove edges that slot together, but the boards are also nailed or glued to the sub-floor, unlike engineered or laminate. However there are now gepanies, such as Junkers, who supply solid wood boards with a 'clip' system, allowing them to be laid floating. Most solid wood flooring is now available unfinished, oiled or lacquered. In some cases, solid boards will be laminated togehter to form two or three-strip side planks, laid as solid single-strip boards - not to be confused with engineered boards. Solid wood is thicker than engineered which, according to its manufacturers, gives it two advantages. The first is that its appearnce tends to be slightly superior due to the depthh of the grain, the second is that this depth makes the floor quieter to walk on. It also lasts longer. Engineered flooring is not necessarily cheaper as there is much more manufacturing involved in making them - the plywood base means it is less prone to expansion and contraction after installation.
Parquet:
Originally the term 'parquet' referred to individually laid wood blocks. Today this is geoing back into fashion although the fitting is alot harder than the standard wood floor planks. Each piece needs to be glued in place and when making the patterns ie. herringbone, each piece needs to be thought through to get the correct pattern. Fashionable in the 60's, the parquet look is definitely back in vogue and numerous people are pulling up the carpets and reviving the old hidden parquet floor.