How to choose hardwood floors in 5 easy clicksNew on-line direct customized flooring a snap(NC) – Times have changed when it comes to the selection and purchase of hardwood floors. With today’s ease of communication on-line, and the low cost of sending product samples, it is becoming preferable and more cost-effective for consumers to deal directly with the manufacturer. One North American manufacturer that is breaking the traditional sales mould is Avant Guard Flooring who has chosen to market their custom made-to-measure Hardwood directly to the end users. Its site www.AGFlooringdirect.com has given consumers access to premium high-end flooring they can custom design on-line which then gets custom-made and shipped directly to their door in the construction, species, grade, stain color and gloss level of their choosing.Customers simply click through options to choose their optimal wood flooring by colour, whether they require solid or engineered floors, the species and grade, width and finally gloss level. Here are a few tips to consider when navigating the site: 1. Choose your colour.“We’ve found that today the number one consideration for consumers is selecting the right colour for their flooring to match their decors,” said Tom Gormley, President of Avant Guard Flooring. Often “popular” standard stain colours traditionally offered by manufacturers aren’t exactly what discerning consumers are looking for and they spend the next days and weeks searching different manufacturers for that particular elusive stain colour that will harmonize perfectly with their decors. AG Flooring direct has revolutionized this process by offering clients customized colours for their flooring with its exclusive “Designer colour match” system. “We can easily match any color you see offered by most of our competitors at no additional charge,” explained Gormley. 2. Select solid or engineered flooring.Solid flooring must be nailed or stapled into an existing wood subfloor and is only recommended on or above the grade level (soil line) around your home. Engineered flooring’s construction allows it to be installed over virtually any type of subfloor whether above, on, or below the grade level. 3. Choose your preferred species and grade.Examine the natural colour, grain patterns, grades, relative hardness and visual characteristics of each species to find what appeals to you. If you have an active high traffic household or a large pet, harder species are recommended as they will show less dents and traffic patterns.4. Choose your board width.The latest trend is the use of wider boards made popular in nostalgic decors. Up until now many hardwood dealers recommended against choosing flooring wider than 3 ¼”, because of fear that the floor would develop unsightly and unhealthy gaps over time due to uncontrolled swings in relative humidity within a home. Gormley explained this is no longer the case thanks to the added protection of Avant Guard’s unique Contour Guard finishing process which envelopes each of its floorboards to eliminate any possible unattractive and unhealthy effects from these gaps.5. Choose your gloss levelThe final choice is the degree of light you wish your floor to reflect. A Semi-Gloss finish reflects approximately 50 per cent of the light shone upon, while a simulated-oil look reflects approximately eight per cent and a satin-gloss finish reflects at a 30 per cent rate.