Why Choose Acacia Hardwood Flooring?
Homeowners and interior designers are singing the praises of acacia wood, an exotic hardwood flooring that has its own signature rustic appeal and affordability. There are a total of about 1,300 species of acacia plants and shrubs. Usually, the species of this wood are found in Africa and Australia, while others are seen growing in temperate or tropical regions of the world. There are many reasons why you should invest in acacia wood for your flooring. However, in order to make an informed decision take a look at some of the acacia wood flooring pros and cons before installing it.
Pros of installing acacia hardwood flooring
- A variety of colors: You can find this hardwood in a range of subdued and flamboyant colors and textures. Its deep-set grains offer you a smooth and robust pattern, adding to its sophistication.
- Available in all plank sizes: Its richness of color isn’t its only advantage. You can also choose from a variety of plank sizes and final finishes. Perhaps you want a rustic feel or do you want a smooth one? No matter which you go with, the lingering sweet fragrance of acacia wood will follow you wherever in your house you lay acacia hardwood flooring.
- Tough and durable: This wood’s primary advantage is its durability. Being naturally hard, acacia wood flooring does not suffer any damage when used regularly. Despite any level of rough use, you will not find any scratches, scrape marks or dents on it.
It is also very heavy and can withstand frequent rough use. In fact, the Janka hardness scale gives it a rating of 2300 psi, rendering it 90% harder than carbonized bamboo flooring, 55% harder than European white oak and 23% harder than hickory. A fallout of its feature of hardness is its ease to work with, allowing carpenters the flexibility to form any shape of furniture.
- Protection from water and pests: Acacia wood is endowed with a natural wax coating that protects it from pests and water, thereby adding to its durability quotient and reducing any chances of warping, rotting or swelling.
- Comfort and universal applications: This flooring is suitable to both humans and pets in terms of comfort. You can easily install it in any part of the house, whether for your patio or indoor cabinets, fixtures or outdoor picnic sets.
- Universally available: It is a fast-growing tree, which means it is always available.
- Eco-friendly wood: By choosing this hardwood, people can be conscious of their environment as it can help reduce air and water pollution and related ecological problems.
- Cost, low installation and maintenance: This wood is good value for money and is available at USD 3.99/sq. ft.- USD 5.89/sq. ft. Its natural sheen remains if you wash and polish it periodically.
- Easy to install: Installing acacia hardwood floor is dead easy as this wood is specially designed for easy installation on your existing Here, you needn’t stick or nail the flooring. No wonder, many homeowners do this themselves.
Cons: Reasons for not liking acacia flooring
- Acacia wood is very expensive when compared to other hardwoods.
- It is also difficult to source than others like mahogany or teak.
- It may also be difficult to transport from Australia or Africa.
- Timber of these trees is short, so the wood milled from the acacia trees are usually less than two feet. The maximum length of acacia planks does not exceed 4 ft length.
- One should expect acacia to come with several defects such as a difference of color variation or color contrast. Intrinsic to this hardwood type are problems such as pest attacks, dead knot fillers and limited checking. Live knots in these trees are also common and heavier than in oak and maple wood. Dark stained acacia might bring down the vibrancy of this hardwood.
Few more points to consider if you are thinking of installing acacia hardwood flooring
- Is it long lasting? Installing acacia hardwood floor is a wise decision for any home. After all, it comes with a 50-year warranty. The more care you take of it, the longer it will last.
- Maintaining acacia hardwood flooring: If there’s any abrasive dust or dirt on your flooring, all you need to do is to vacuum it periodically and lay doormats near your entrance doors.
- Best installed in: It can be installed in any part of the home, except in those parts of the house that are prone to standing water and humidity. These include the kitchen and the entrance to your home, the bedroom or office rooms, the bathroom and the basement.
Acacia hardwood flooring in the office
You needn’t have a rich and sophisticated home, you can easily extend that look to your office. The best way of doing this is to install acacia hardwood flooring in your office. Doing this gives you several benefits:
- Your office looks more professional: Instead of carpeting miles and miles of your office or laminating it, here’s a professional-looking flooring material–acacia hardwood. Besides the look it exudes, if you hold meetings and presentations in your office, you will find that this wood’s acoustic quality enhances your overall conversation so that everyone hears better. A superb image makes all the difference to meeting a prospective or new client and gives you a leg-up in a business deal. Having a hardwood floor is also proof that you are committed to delivering excellence.
- You spend less on maintenance: In a commercial enterprise like yours, acacia hardwood flooring once installed can continue to give excellent service for far longer than a carpet. For one it is highly durable and easy to clean. It can also clean liquid spills without leaving any stains. Regular dusting and polishing occasionally are enough to keep this flooring clean rather than vacuuming or steam cleaning large carpeted areas. Today, sealants do a good job of keeping such wood floors almost maintenance-free, which rule out the need for waxing the floor to bring out its sheen. These efforts make installing this flooring type very cost-effective.
- You won’t inhale dust and allergens: Hardwood does not trap allergens and dust like carpets do, so you and your employees and customers won’t pick up an allergy that needs a doctor’s services. These floors can be cleaned easily, so exposure to pollen is highly impossible. This will also greatly reduce the staff absenteeism you face due to allergies like cold or asthma. If your employees work in a clean and hygienic environment, it will be reflected in your productivity and your company’s bottom line will soar.
Is acacia wood good for flooring?
Undoubtedly. From all that you’ve just learned about acacia hardwood flooring, no one would be surprised if you chose it without looking at any other flooring material.
When you consider buying flooring material for your house, one kind that immediately pops up in your mind is hardwood flooring. This is undoubtedly because of its superior durability, apart from the fact that it is eco-friendly, comfortable to walk on and it is available in an array of stunning colors. The fact that the shops have a mindboggling range of these flooring materials in a variety of textures and finishes only makes deciding that much harder for anyone.
When you can’t choose on the basis of texture and shade, the next obvious parameter is price. The good news for you where pricing is concerned is that this hardwood type is an economical option. Still, it’s worth knowing what exactly makes up the price of each of the different kinds of hardwood flooring.
Adding to your costs would be the different kinds of finishes available. These days, more and more people are opting for hand-scraped hardwood. You can go in for Acacia hand-scraped hardwood, which is both sophisticated and rich in appearance, durable and inexpensive.
Applications of acacia plants
The wood produced by these plants is used to make furniture, furnishings, paints, durable flooring, luxurious items like jewelry, pulpwood and firewood for the paper industry. Apart from timber, it also produces seeds and flowers for medicinal and culinary needs, edible shoots, gum and tannin. Its flowers are used to make perfume and in aromatherapy.
Why people are choosing acacia hardwood flooring
Acacia has a rich and sophisticated look, so it’s just right for nightclubs, high-end cars, hotels, etc. They are also suitable for homes and offices. Smooth to touch, its antique style mimics the handmade counterpart, due to different and innovative kinds of craftsmanship, makes the flooring look natural with its distinct grain.
Besides, it’s genuine hardwood that can be hand-scraped. It doesn’t need any sand papering or refinishing and will last for about 50 years and comes with a lifetime warranty. The acacia wood flooring pros and cons are many and weighty and worthy of any buyer’s attention, before buying. It is well worth looking at these factors before going headlong into buying flooring material that won’t give you lifelong satisfaction.
References:
http://www.flooring.org/blog/hardwood-floors-installation-benefits-business/
