Wire-brushed flooring is the best option if you’re seeking a hardwood floor that can stand the test of time. This flooring type has a unique texture that hides scratches and stains perfectly. Also, wire-brushing a hardwood reveals the heartwood while emphasizing the wood grain. Although wire-brushed flooring has a textured appearance, it doesn’t look too distressed and worn out.
Wire-brushed flooring isn’t like other hardwood flooring options. They require special attention when cleaning as their distressed look makes it easy for dust and grime to accumulate on your floor. Likewise, waxing your wire-brushed floor may be a bad idea. You can enquire from a professional about the best type of finishing for your wire-brushed floor.
The advantages of wire-brushed flooring make it a top choice flooring option for homeowners. Thankfully, in this article, you can get to know what wire brushed flooring is. Also, here, we discuss places in your home you can install wire-brushed flooring.
Wire-brushed Flooring: Definition and Features
Wire-brushed flooring is relatively new, earning massive popularity in 2018. Since it became a global rage, homeowners have loved it for its unique appearance and overall appeal. Additionally, the aesthetic appeal of wire-brushed flooring makes it ideal for residential and commercial spaces. The rough look makes it suitable for places with heavy foot traffic.
Going by its name, during the finishing process of wire-brushed flooring, the hardwood is brushed with a wire. Bearing similarities with hand-scraped floors, it helps to know that there are some differences between both flooring options.
Hand-scraped and wire-brushed flooring have a rustic appeal, with the latter having smoother and more consistent imperfections. But, on the other hand, hand-scraped flooring has less finishing and does a poor job at hiding scratches.
Furthermore, when manufacturing wire-brushed flooring, a rotating steel brush goes over the hardwood’s surface. The texture of wire-brushed ranges from heavy to light.
A heavy textured wire-brushed flooring is usually more profound and more recognizable than the light texture. Also, rather than a glossy, finished look, wire-brushed flooring looks slightly weathered and distressed.
Although wire-brushed flooring is made using hardwoods, not all hardwood will suffice for this finishing. Typically, the result you get when wire-brushing a hardwood will differ depending on the type of hardwood. Therefore, it’s essential you consider the hardwood’s hardness and grain. Using softwoods like maple won’t give you the desired look you need.
The wire-brushing technique is ideal for woods that have a significant and prominent grain with natural veins. Hardwoods like hickory and oak are the top choices of woods for the wire-brushing technique.
Additionally, using exotic woods like cypress or ipe, which are too dense for the method, won’t offer the best result. Likewise, using wood species with refined grains doesn’t respond well to wire-brushing.
To get the best out of your wire-brushed flooring, stain your floor using a matte finish. Matte finishing gives your wire-brushed floor an almost raw and natural wood appearance. Please refrain from using a semi-gloss finishing as it’s capable of highlighting your floor’s imperfections. Also, semi-gloss finishing shows footprints and accumulated dirt.
Related Article: Guide to Maple Flooring: How Much Does Maple Hardwood Cost?
Advantages of Wire-brushed Flooring
One advantage of wire-brushed floors is that they help you strike a balance between durable and beautiful flooring. Unlike having dull flooring in your home, wire-brushed flooring adds to your home interior, blending in perfectly.
Another reason you’d love wire-brushed flooring is that it has a better grip. Thanks to their rough finishing, wire-brushed floors can prevent falls even when wet. Below are some advantages of wire-brushed flooring,
Unique imperfections
If you’re looking for a smooth and almost perfect flooring option, then wire-brushed flooring isn’t what you need. Wire-brushed flooring is loved for its unique imperfections and roughness. The rough texture of the floors gives it a better grip and allows you adequate freedom. Children and pets can play on your floor, and you wouldn’t be bothered.
Unlike other flooring options, wire-brushed floors don’t require that you use felt pads underneath your furniture. Also, wearing shoes indoors may not affect your floors because of the textured look of wire-brushed floors.
Also, one concern homeowners have about wire-brushed flooring is that their roughness can cause injuries. Wire-brushed floors don’t pose any harm to anyone. The roughness saves you money on refinishing your wood as it gets older.
It doesn’t require strict maintenance
Wire-brushed flooring doesn’t require more time to clean like other hardwood floors. Routine cleaning of your floors can keep them looking neat and increase their lifespan. However, cleaning the groves of wire-brushed floors isn’t a walk in the park.
Owing to its distressed nature, the grooves can track dirt and grime. If you don’t pay your floors the needed attention, dirt can accumulate, making cleaning difficult. Hence it’s important you dedicate time to cleaning your wire-brushed floors.
Depending on your schedule, you can tend your wire-brushed floors twice or once a week. However, to make the work easy for you, you can vacuum your floors frequently. Vacuuming regularly can be helpful if you have a large family.
Likewise, if you had friends over, chances are the wire-brushed floor will have trapped lots of dirt. Although wire-brushed flooring does an excellent job at concealing dirt and stains, don’t stall the cleaning. Vacuuming immediately after a large gathering can prevent apparent stains.
It doesn’t limit decorating options
One reason you should buy wire-brushed flooring is that it blends well with your home’s interior. With wire-brushed flooring, you don’t have to box yourself in a corner as the floor exudes sophistication. Also, this exquisite flooring option creates a simple yet elegant look in your space.
Likewise, irrespective of your home style, traditional or modern, wire-brushed floors improve the appearance. The floor’s versatility doesn’t in any way reduce its authenticity. Also, If you decide to redecorate your home, your wire-brushed floor is sure to go with your new decor.
Cost-effective
Many homeowners buy wire-brushed floors for their homes because it’s cost-effective. Typically, wire-brushed flooring costs a little less than other distressed hardwood floorings. Also, owing to their texture, they save you money in refinishing your floor.
In addition, you can save money when you use wire-brushed flooring because they age well. Other flooring options require you to change them every few years. At the same time, your wire-brushed flooring has a long lifespan.
Best Places to Install Wire-brushed Flooring
Picking the best flooring option for your home goes beyond your preferred choice of wood. For instance, using softwood in a place with high foot traffic may not be ideal. In the same vein, using engineered hardwood is excellent for areas with concrete subfloors.
One drawback of wire-brushed flooring is that it’s not suitable for wet places. Using wire-brushed flooring in a place where you can’t control the humidity isn’t recommended.
Typically, wood floors are affected by two humid seasons, non-heating and heating. Also, we don’t recommend that you use wire-brushed flooring in your basement. The fluctuating humidity levels in your basement can cause your flooring to be unstable.
Here are tips you can use to ensure your wire-brushed flooring lasts long
Regulate your home’s temperature and humidity
Maintaining steady relative humidity in your home is essential. To do this, you can use a hygrometer that monitors the moisture level in your home.
Take samples
Before purchasing wire-brushed flooring, you can decide to take a few samples home. Samples can help you determine whether the flooring option will suit the room where you’d be installing it. Likewise, it can help you determine if the species of wood is just what you need.
Your subfloors moisture level
It’s crucial that you evaluate the moisture level of your subfloor before installing wire-brushed flooring. If your subfloor is concrete, the floor’s moisture level must not exceed that of the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Install shower and tubs surrounds
Installing surrounds around the perimeter of your bathtub can prevent spills during baths. Not only do they increase the aesthetic appeal of your bathroom, but they also keep your wire-brushed flooring safe.
Likewise, it would be best if you sealed every joint around your showing. Shower joints allow easy escape of water while bathing.
Use bathroom mats
You can place mats at specific locations right outside your bathroom. The job of these mats is to prevent water spills or splashes from getting to your wire-brushed flooring.
Once you notice your mat is soaked with water, air it outside to avoid a damp smell in your bathroom. Typically, bath mats with vinyl backing or solid rubber are ideal because they prevent water from passing through them.
Getting professional advice is essential when considering installing wire-brushed flooring in your home. Often homeowners are unaware of the threats of using wire-brushed flooring in the bathroom. Before you buy wire-brushed flooring, here are common issues involving moisture and how they affect your floor.
Flooding
One constant threat to using wire-brushed flooring in your bathroom is flooding. If a plumbing issue occurs, you can find your bathroom filled with water. If you try to remedy the situation and clean up all the water, the chances are that your flooring is affected. Also, a properly sealed wire-brushed hardwood flooring is still likely to be impacted by the flooding.
Furthermore, it’s almost impossible for a wire-brushed floor to withstand a flood. If you decide to use wire-brushed flooring in your bathroom, ensure you check bathroom pipes constantly. By doing this, no leakage can catch you unawares and ruin your floor.
No moisture barrier
Typically, to install hardwood floors, installers nail each plank onto the subfloor directly. Directly nailing planks means that there is no moisture barrier to prevent moisture from damaging the wood. Using moisture barriers underneath wire-brushed flooring isn’t advisable because it will get punctured by nails.
When moisture enters your floor, past the floor surface, it gets to the components of your wire-brushed flooring. Over time, the humidity begins to eat away the underlayment and subfloor. Owing to this, using the click method is better when using wire-brushed flooring in your bathroom. Also, another ideal installation method you can explore is using adhesives to glue down each plank.
Unlevelled floor slope
Bathrooms with unleveled floor slopes can cause your wire-brushed flooring to damage quickly. Unleveled floor slopes cause water to slide down towards the low areas creating a puddle. Having puddles in your bathroom can weaken your floor’s structural integrity. It’s essential that the subfloor helps in levelling the floor slope to prevent water damage.
Splashes and spills
While bathing or even washing your hair in the bathroom sink, splashes and spills are almost inevitable. Likewise, a bathroom with a shower tub or is used by children will have its share of spills. In addition, you can lose the warranty on your wire-brushed flooring if the floor is damaged by water.
Although hardwoods in the bathroom add to its warmth, being too careful to avoid spills in the bathroom can be tasking. It’s better to avoid using wire-brushed flooring in your bathroom.
Mildew and mould
Because of the humidity level in the bathroom, the growth of mildew and mould will be an issue. Mildew and mould thrive in moist and hot places while feeding on materials like hardwood. Also, they find a way to grow underneath and in between your wire-brushed flooring boards. Having mildew and mould in your bathroom can pose health issues, especially for people with allergies.
The Cost of Wire-brushed Flooring
The cost of wire-brushed flooring ranges from $2800 to $6800, and it borders on several factors. One of the factors that affect the cost of wire-brushed flooring is thickness.
Thick woods are more expensive to install than thin woods. However, dense woods last longer and are best for flooring. It’s why we often advise customers to always opt-in for thick woods.
Furthermore, thickness isn’t the only factor that affects the cost of wire-brushed flooring. Below are some factors that affect the cost of wire-brushed flooring.
Wood species
There are two common species for wire-brushed flooring; the exotic species and domestic species. Floors made with exotic species are more expensive as installers can only import the wood. However, exotic woods give your flooring a unique, aesthetic style.
Common examples of exotic woods are:
- Wenger
- Rosewood
- Tigerwood
- Teak.
On the other hand, domestic woods grow in Canada. Hence, they don’t need importation. Consequently, floors with domestic woods are less expensive.
Location of installation
Depending on where you’re installing your floor, the cost for wire-brushed flooring varies. For example, installing wire brushed floors in open spaces is less expensive than in enclosed or tight spaces.
The type of installation
A common type of floor installation is the floating installation. The floating installation doesn’t require glues and nails as other types of installation. So, the price of floating installation is lower than other types of installation.
However, we don’t advise that customers use floating installations in high-traffic areas in the house. The high traffic areas will include the sitting room and the kitchen. So, one will need to go with other types of floor installation.
Board width and length
Bigger boards are more classy than smaller boards but are more expensive too. Therefore, if one is looking to cut down on costs, going for wider boards will not be advisable. Instead, we advise that you go for smaller boards as they charge less for installation.
How to Maintain Wire-brushed floors
Owing to the distressed surface of wire-brushed floors, there are some dos and don’ts. For instance, using steam mops on your floor can damage your floor. Additionally, use humidifiers in your home during the dry season to prevent your floors from shrinking.
To avoid the discolouration of your floor, change the position of the furniture periodically. Also, avoid heavy and direct sunlight as it can cause your floor to fade quickly.
Furthermore, not all wood cleaners are ideal for your wire-brushed flooring. Here are tips to help you clean and maintain your floor.
- Prevent accumulated dust on your floor by regularly vacuuming or using a broom
- Avoid using the combination of vinegar and water to clean your floor can give it a dull appearance
- Don’t use self-polishing acrylic wax on your wire-brushed floor
- Clean all sticky spots and spills as soon as they occur.
- Use ph neutral cleaners that are gentle on your floors
- Avoid using traditional mops as they can leave excess water on your floor
Before you begin cleaning, you must remove large dirt particles by dust-mopping your floors. You can use microfiber mops but be careful that they don’t splinter your floor’s edges. Also, avoid allowing your vacuum cleaners’ beater bar to strike your wire-brushed flooring.
Related Article: What Is The Most Durable Type of Hardwood Flooring?
To Sum It Up
One of wire-brushed flooring’s outstanding features is its ability to withstand wear and tear through the years. In addition, its ability to hide scratches allows you to save money on refinishing or resanding your floor.
However, there are things to put in place if you’ll be installing it in humid areas. For instance, you may need a bath mat, shower surrounds, or a curtain if you’re installing it in your bathroom.
With proper maintenance, your wire-brushed flooring can last for more than ten years. Here at LV Flooring, we can guarantee wire brushed flooring that’ll stand the test of time. Look through our online store today!
