Should You Use a Gloss or Semi-Gloss for Hardwood Floors in Middletown, VA? Which Finish is Best?

There are many options to choose from when you decide on hardwood flooring. Included in your selections are exotic hardwood floor products, domestic wood products, styles, colors, textures, and sizes. The sheen is also a choice, and an important one that often gets overlooked. The sheen affects the longevity, aesthetics, maintenance, and safety of your wood flooring. Today, we at Mike’s Custom Flooring would like to discuss the differences semi-gloss and high gloss and touch on sheen and satin.

Which Finish is Best on Hardwood Floors?

In simple terms, the sheen refers to the amount of reflection produced by a finish. High gloss that delivers increase levels of reflection has more sheen. Matte creates little to no reflection and has the lowest level of sheen. Being between matte and semi-gloss for sheen, semi-gloss is the middle ground, and the satin finish is gaining in popularity.
Higher Gloss: Displayed with the more sheen in your hardwood floor finish is the greater level of detail and dynamic. Amazing in sunrooms, libraries, studies, dining rooms, and bedrooms, a high gloss wood floor finish defines the wood grain and gives darker stains more oomph. It is better suited in low traffic areas, so avoid hallways and living rooms because the high-gloss finish will wear easier and faster. Since this type of finish also highlights dust and debris on the floor, it potentially increases the demand of maintenance as well. Footprints can also show up easily on high gloss floors depending on the color of stain selected. Because of the luster and shine, countless business and public buildings rely on the durability and beautiful aesthetics, this level of sheen is fairly slippery.
Semi-Gloss: Due to the nature of the signs of maintenance and wear standing out in the finish, the high gloss may not be the best option for high traffic areas. A semi-gloss is the ideal sheen for your hardwood floors if you want to create dynamics with a similar high sheen affect but want to conceal the imperfections for longer on your hardwood floor.
Many popular hardwood brands carry lines with a semi-gloss finish and are available in a broad range of wood species including dramatic exotic types and traditional domestics. You can see samples of the preferred flooring in a semi-gloss sheen. Opt for the satin finish if the semi-gloss still shows too much reflectiveness for your liking. As it displays a slight sheen perfect for an upscale look a lower level gloss, commonly referenced as lacquer, is the way to go. Depending on where the wood flooring will be located and what type of finished you’re going for, choosing between lower and higher gloss hardwood floors is fairly straightforward. Consider the look you are trying to achieve as well as volume of foot traffic you can expect.

Hardwood Floor Installation, Repairs, Refinishing & More in Charles Town & Eastern Panhandle of Berkeley & Jefferson Counties in WV | Winchester & Frederick County | Round Hill & Loudoun County | Berryville & Clarke County | Herndon & Fairfax County VA

You want Mike’s Custom Flooring doing the installation for quality and efficiency, call us today to schedule your consultation no matter which hardwood or finish you ultimately decide on.

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