Looking for pine flooring pros and cons? Pine is a softwood commonly used in real estate for various woodwork, including furniture, window frames, roofing, and floors.
Its durability, workability, and beautiful appearance, among others, are plausible reasons why it is a popular choice for woodwork.
Pine flooring dates back to Colonial America, when the first settlers used pine wood in constructing homes, ships, bridges, etc. Despite having been around for centuries, pine floors are still in vogue today and are among the classic flooring choice for modern homes.
There are several pine flooring pros that homeowners would enjoy if they opt for it in their homes. However, some pine flooring cons exist that may make it unappealing for some homeowners.
If you are in the middle of selecting a flooring material for your home and are considering pine wood, this article will help you decide whether it is the right choice as we will cover various pine flooring pros and cons.
The Pros of Pine Flooring
1. Attractive Aesthetics
Pine is arguably one of the most attractive wood flooring materials used in real estate today. The first few things you would notice when you see a pine floor is its grains, knots, and color – all of which combine well to make up its aesthetics.
Homeowners who want to create a rustic and classic atmosphere in their homes will find that they can easily achieve that using pine flooring. The best part is the wood can easily complement and enhance the interior design of their homes.
Usually, pine woods are sold in an unfinished form, giving you the flexibility to customize its aesthetic to appeal to your taste and style using varnish, paint, or tung oil.
Whether you are remodeling your home or building from scratch, pine flooring works well in any room setting of the home and can create a warm, inviting look.
2. Durable
Durability is among the pine flooring pros that make it highly sought after today. Just because Pine is a softwood does not mean it cannot handle most of the abuse that floors go through, such as scuffs, scratches, etc.
Pine trees have a life expectancy between 50 and 450 years, which shows how well they can thrive. Pine flooring can last for several years without needing a replacement due to wear and tear, especially if you maintain it properly.
The hardness of pine woods varies as there are different species. The Janka Hardness Scale, a measurement used in the flooring industry to compare how different wood species hold up against force, gives the True Pine a rating of 1570.
The Red Pine has a rating of 1630, while the Caribbean Heart Pine has a rating of 1280. When a wood specie gets a higher rating than others, the specie is much harder than the others.
3. Budget-Friendly
Pine flooring is undoubtedly one of the best budget-friendly wood floors because it sits at a sweet spot between price and performance.
If you are looking for a wood flooring material that is beautiful, long-lasting, and wouldn’t eat into your budget, you can’t go wrong by settling for pine flooring. Softwoods, in general, are less costly than hardwoods.
Nevertheless, they can give you many benefits of a hardwood floor if you pick the right one. For instance, If you are keen on cost, you may be tempted to opt for Cedar since it is a softwood that is less expensive than Pine.
However, Cedar lacks the sturdiness, hardness, and durability that makes Pine a better choice.
4. Eco-Friendly
Wood flooring, in general, is a big business due to its high demand in the real estate market. Over the years, some wood species have become endangered, while some have even gone extinct because people used them excessively without proper replenishment plans.
Today, some endangered wood species are sometimes sourced through illegal logging practices to meet consumer demands. Pine trees are among the oldest on Earth, yet they have continued to thrive despite their high demand for different purposes.
Perhaps, it is because pine trees grow faster than many other trees, including the trees where hardwoods are sourced from. As a result, it is easier to replenish pine trees while also satisfying human demands for its wood.
People who opt for pine floors can breathe a sigh of relief because using the wood as a flooring material does not endanger its existence.
The Cons of Pine Flooring
1. Susceptible to Wear and Tear
If you want to install pine floors in your home, it would be best to ensure that the specie and wood quality you are getting is the most durable option.
Pine is a softwood that comes in different species, and each species has different hardness levels.
While pine flooring offers a decent amount of durability compared to many other softwood flooring materials, it cannot withstand wear and tear like a hardwood flooring.
Generally, homeowners who opt for a softwood flooring instead of a hardwood flooring would need to be extra cautious when moving furniture or other heavy items across the floor because it is susceptible to dents, scrapes, and scratches.
To keep the risk of damage to the bare minimum, they may also need to avoid installing softwood flooring in home areas that see heavy foot traffic.
2. Requires Regular Maintenance
One of the pine flooring cons to bear in mind before installing it in your home is it requires regular maintenance to look good and reduces wear. Homeowners who install
Pine floors have to sweep or vacuum regularly to remove debris that could cause scratches to the floor. They also need to periodically sand, stain, and coat it with polyurethane.
How often the refinishing needs to be done depends on whether the floor was installed in a home with high traffic, pets, children, etc. Typically, it could be between 3 to 10 years.
If you cannot commit to all these maintenance requirements, it would be best to avoid pine flooring because failure to maintain it would ultimately shorten its lifespan.
3. Requires Finishing
Pine flooring is usually sold in its unfinished form.
While that is a pro since it allows you to customize the color to suit your taste and style, it is also a con because you have to do the finishing job yourself, making it a more labor-intensive option than other wood floorings sold in their finished form.
If you do not want to do the finishing yourself, you may hire flooring contractors to handle it. However, that only increases its installation cost, which is another con.
4. High Risk of Water Damage
Water and moisture can permanently damage pine flooring, especially when installed in home areas that are likely to contact water frequently, such as laundry room, bathroom, kitchen, etc.
If the floor is exposed to moisture for an extended period, it could start rotting. Generally, rot and decay are common problems homeowners may face when using wood flooring.
However, homeowners who use softwood flooring tend to face this problem more than those using hardwood flooring because softwood does not offer much sturdiness.
Final Thoughts
Pine flooring is a classic and a great choice because it is durable, beautiful, and affordable. It is an excellent wood flooring option for eco-friendly homes because of sustainable pine tree farming and harvesting.
However, it is easily vulnerable to dents, scratches, and scuffs because it is softwood. That makes it suitable for low-traffic home areas and homes without pets. It would also require regular maintenance to prolong its lifespan and maintain its pristine look.
Now that you have learned about various pine flooring pros and cons, you should be able to decide whether it is a good choice for your home or not.