Home Improvement

How Long Do Hardwood Floors Last on Average?

Having the right floors can set the tone for your entire home and help your house sell up to 43% quicker. What’s more, homeowners with hardwood floors get a 77% increased sense of enjoyment out of their homes.

If you want to redo your floors, hardwood floors are a great option. It’s also essential to know if the wood floors you currently have will last as long as you need them to. But how long do hardwood floors last, and how can you make them last even longer?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help keep your floors lasting as long as possible.

Keep reading this guide to learn what you need to know about the lifespan of hardwood floors.

How Long Do Hardwood Floors Last?

There isn’t a single answer to this question since many factors affect how long your hardwood floors will last. To figure out the answer, you’ll need to look at various factors like:

Types of Hardwood Floors

The type of hardwood floor you have plays a significant role in how long you can expect it to last. The most common types of hardwood floors include:

Solid Hardwood

Solid home hardwood floors are made from solid wood, which goes through the entire plank. You can think of solid hardwood floors as similar to lumber straight from a log.

You can get solid hardwood floors prefinished or unfinished. Unfinished hardwood is cheaper, but you’ll need to sand it. Many people also choose to stain their unfinished hardwood floors.

Sealing unfinished hardware floors is essential and can prolong the lifespan of your floors.

Prefinished hardwood floors are ready to go after installation, and you don’t need to worry about adding stain or a sealant. However, you do have to be careful with installing solid hardwood in moist areas as it’s prone to water damage.

Generally, a solid hardwood floor can last up to 100 years or more if you properly care for it. It’s best to look at a professional company for installing floors like Shaw’s Anderson hardwood flooring to ensure it lasts as long as possible.

Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood is a popular, cost-effective alternative to solid hardwood floors. This type of flooring consists of plywood and veneer wood layers that are put together like a sandwich.

Since engineered hardwood uses less solid wood, it also costs less. It’s also an excellent option for anyone looking to lessen their environmental impact.

If you correctly install good quality engineered floors, they can last between 25 and 30 years. Engineered floors are also a good option in areas like basements and bathrooms with light moisture.

If you’re replacing floors, engineered flooring is a great option to consider. In most cases, you can find professional companies that offer different designs and stains to meet your needs.

You can also install engineered wood flooring in different ways, such as nailing down or as a floating floor on top of your existing floor. Remember that this is only a viable option if your existing floor is in good condition.

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo flooring is one of the best floor materials if you’re looking for more sustainable options. Bamboo is close to solid wood but doesn’t involve using trees, so it adds value to your home.

For these reasons, it’s a popular alternative to solid hardwood floors, but you’ll often see it being classified as hardwood.

Bamboo comes in stalks that are harvested repeatedly every five years. On the other hand, trees take 20 or more years to mature, thus the reason solid hardwood is less environmentally friendly.

Bamboo looks and acts like real wood and is durable and easy to install. You can expect bamboo flooring to last approximately 25 years with proper care. Additionally, most bamboo flooring warranties last between 25 and 30 years.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate floors are much different than sold hardwood flooring since they aren’t made from real wood in the same way. Instead, laminate floors have a thin layer of resin paper over a wood-chip composite.

While this means laminate floors contain wood, it isn’t solid wood like other types of wood flooring.

Many people prefer laminate flooring since it looks just like real wood and is easy to install. It also costs much less than solid wood floors. However, laminate floors are slippery, vulnerable to damage, and can’t be repaired.

Depending on the quality of the laminate floors you choose, they can last between 15 and 25 years.

Other Factors That Affect Your Floor’s Lifespan

The type of wood floor you have isn’t the only thing that impacts its lifespan. The top factors include:

Moisture

First, solid hardwood floors are susceptible to moisture. Having too much moisture on your wood floors can cause irreversible damage.

This includes using a damp cloth or mop to clean your floors. Using mops or cloths that are too damp can cause wood rot and water damage. You’ll want to ensure you know how to clean your floors properly, like using dry towels to soak up stains.

Heavy Floor Use

If your wood floors are in heavy foot traffic areas like a hallway, they’ll have a shorter lifespan than wood floors in places like a guest bedroom.

Additionally, the type of foot traffic can decrease the lifespan even more. If people come in from outside and constantly wear heavy boots or high heels, it has more impact on the floor and reduces lifespan.

If you have young children, they can easily cause more damage to your flooring with accidental spills and scratching them with heavy toys.

Removing shoes and cleaning up spills immediately can help to protect your floors.

Dirt and Debris

Dirt and debris from dirty shoes will also impact the lifespan of your floors. They can also cause minor scratches and other types of damage.

As soon as you have a new floor installed, you should immediately protect them from shoes. You can use a shoe rack to keep shoes off the floor and encourage anybody entering your home to take them off.

Heavy Furniture

Finally, heavy furniture like bookshelves, sofas, and tables can dent and scratch hardwood floors if you don’t use protective devices. Be sure to use items like furniture glides or area rugs to minimize the impact of heavy furniture on your wood floors.

Installing Hardwood Floors in Your Home

Knowing the answer to the question, “How long do hardwood floors last?” will give you a better understanding of how to manage the hardwood floors in your home.

It will also be easier to decide what types of hardwood floors you want to invest in for your home. Don’t hesitate to get professional help when installing hardwood floors to ensure they last as long as possible.

To learn more valuable tips and tricks, make sure to read the rest of our blog articles today.

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