Hardwood floors are having a moment right now. They’re a style of flooring that comes back in newer more refreshed incarnations every few years. This time around, it’s ebonized wooden floors. But wooden floors get more expensive every year. The cost of installing wooden floors in your home will involve the cost of professional labor, the wood itself, the treatment it will have to undergo to be darkened, and the cost of maintenance.
But what if I told you there was a way to get ebonized floors at a fraction of the cost? That way is called stamped concrete and it is a great choice for homeowners looking for new floors. But first, are ebonized floors right for you?
Ebonized Floors: Pros and Cons
Ebonized wooden floors are the stylistic product of minimalism and traditional flooring styles. They are a traditional style of wood flooring with wide planks but are darkened with either a stain or with a complicated chemical process. These are its pros and cons:
Pros:
- Ebonized floors give a polished and underrated sophistication to the home through its color and glossy appearance
- Rooms with floors of a neutral color are easier to style than floors that have a busy look to them
Cons:
- Dark floors will highlight any imperfections on the surface of the floor. This is particularly a big problem for wood as sanding can be uneven and imperfect. For concrete floors that are stamped, this is less of a concern.
- The expense is generally high for flooring like this. You will have to add in the material itself, the staining process, and the labor costs of the professionals who will do the job.
If you feel like ebonized floors are right for you, take advantage of the benefits of concrete durability and longevity with stamped concrete ebonized floors.
Stamped Concrete 101
Stamped concrete is a decorative concrete technique that brings magical results to any concrete floor. A slab of concrete can be stamped in a number of ways, but most contractors use lightweight stamping mats with a particular pattern.
While the concrete is still wet, the stamping mat is placed on and pressed into the wet concrete. When the mat is lifted, contractors check to make sure the pattern has been placed in the correct way and that there aren’t any gaps in the design.
The magic of stamped concrete is that along with patterns and designs, stamped concrete can also be used to mimic other flooring materials like stone, brick, and wood. In fact, it is so effective at doing this that most people don’t notice when they are walking on faux hardwood floors.
This is because concrete contractors understand that to achieve a good copy of wood, there needs to be the right texture, grooving on the wood, and color.
So if you want ebonized wooden floors without the high cost, the hassle, or the constant maintenance wooden floors need, stamped concrete floors are the perfect choice for you.
