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Wood floors are a classic addition to any home. Barring damage from fire or flood, a well-made and correctly-installed solid wood floor will add warmth, character and value to your interior as long as you’re in your house.

However, not all wood floors are equal, and the many species of wood that get made into floors have different characteristics. Understanding these characteristics will go a long way to help you choose the wood floor right for you.

Engineered wood floors and solid wood floors are very different things, and there are different situations when one would work better than the other. A future installment of this series will discuss engineered wood floors, but let’s get through solid wood first.

Follow the slide show below for a primer on the various species of solid-plank floors.