There are two types of wood flooring: hardwood and softwood.
Hardwood floors
Hardwood floors usually comes in strips or planks and are the most common floor coverings in temperate climates. Hardwood floors make great flooring because they are beautiful, tough, flexible, easy to work with, repairable , and refinishable. They also complement the rest of the deco in the room. Some examples of hardwood floors are oak, maple, birch, mahogany, pecan, and tropical species. Hardwood is placed in straight rows through out whole room; when placed in a herringbone or parquet pattern these floors look distinctive. Hardwood further strengthened when installed properly on a subfloor.
Softwood floors
Softwood flooring is less dense than hardwood flooring. However, the term softwood refers to the tree from which the wood comes from which is coniferous rather than deciduous. They are therefore lighter, softer, and less durable than hardwood flooring. Examples of softwood are: yellow pine. and eastern white pine, fir and hemlock. Softwood flooring is more prone to denting and wear than hardwood flooring. However, they are a cheaper alternative to hardwood. If you choose softwood flooring you should keep in mind that the floor will need refinishing every two years. Also, these floor are more likely to shrink (reasons for the 1/4 in. cracks in the board appearing after a while).
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