Why Should You Choose Wide Boards for Your Timber Flooring?

Posted on: 15 December 2018

There's plenty of think about when you're picking out flooring for your home. Even after you've deciding on hardwood, you'll need to think about everything from the species of wood to how the boards are going to be oriented once laid down.

One thing people tend to forget about is the width of their floorboards. You can pick up anything from wide to ultra-narrow, and there are advantages on both sides. However, here are just a few reasons why you should choose wide boards for your flooring.

Fantastic Visual Appeal

One of the main reasons people invest in timber flooring is to make a strong visual statement that other materials will never quite match. If you fall into that camp, wide boards should be a natural choice. For starters, they create a more traditional look that feels more luxurious. More importantly, having wider floorboards allows you to better take in the natural beauty of the wood. As a natural product, each piece will be slightly different, thanks to its grain, texture and knots, and those features are best expressed on wider boards, especially if you've invested in a more exotic wood species.

Great for Making Rooms Feel Larger

People often worry that laying down timber flooring in a smaller room will overpower the space. However, you can actually make the room look much larger than it really is when you invest in wide floorboards. The wider the planks, the fewer the number of gaps. Having fewer visible breaks will create the illusion of more space. Wide floorboards are also a good fit for rooms that are large but narrow. Laying wide boards perpendicular to the longest sides of a room will make that room feel much wider.

Quicker Installation

There's no denying that laying down timber flooring tends to take a little longer than laying down most types of flooring. Most homeowners are more than willing to put up with longer installation times to get a more appealing final product, but it's always best to cut things down when you can. Choosing wide floorboards represents an easy way to do so. Since each one takes up plenty of floor space, fewer planks need to be used than if you go with narrow or standard boards, which means everything can get laid down a lot faster. You'll be able to enjoy your new flooring in no time, and you might even save on labour costs.

Share