Best And Worst Casters For Hardwood Floors
Casters, or wheels in general, could be one of the most useful pieces of equipment ever known to mankind. However, if you get the wrong type of caster for your specific situation, the caster can cause more trouble than it’s worth.
We should use the right caster for the right application and flooring type. In your home or business, you may have a beautiful hardwood floor that you want to preserve for many years in the future.
Knowing which caster to use on hardwood floors will save you time and money and give you peace of mind.
WOOD FLOORING IS A VALUABLE INVESTMENT
Hardwood flooring has a range of benefits over other types of flooring.
Different types of hardwood floors can greatly change the atmosphere, aesthetics, and value of your home.
There are also many functional benefits of hardwood floors.
Wood floors require little maintenance and are far easier to clean than carpet.
Additionally, hardwood floors are durable and have a style that is much more timeless than that 1970s green carpet.
Anyone with environmental allergies can appreciate hardwood’s hypoallergenic benefits compared to carpet, and because of this, hardwood floors affect the health of your family directly.
Needless to say, hardwood floors are a huge investment worth protecting.
TYPE OF CASTER WHEELS IDEAL FOR HARDWOOD FLOORS
Ice Casters
These non-marking polyurethane-tread casters offer a super cool rollerblade style wheel, perfect for office chairs, furniture, and displays.
Neoprene Casters
If keeping your floors clean and damage-free is a priority, neoprene rubber casters are a wise choice. Casters made from this material do not mark floors. Additionally, these casters are incredibly quiet.
CC Apex 1-1/4" Wide Tread Casters
CC Apex 1-/14" wide casters' tread feature a debris-rejecting quality, meaning the wheel doesn’t damage or mark floors, helping to lower time spent on floor upkeep. Additionally, these casters are incredibly easy to move, and quiet as a mouse. Not to mention that their optional orange color is sure to add a touch of flair to your interior design.
Polyurethane on Cast Iron CC Vintage Casters
In most applications with hardwood flooring, we recommend the CC Vintage caster line, particularly the polyurethane tread version.
This caster comes in a variety of aesthetic options but also provides you with the advantages of polyurethane.
We designed the polyurethane on iron CC Vintage wheel for a better indoor alternative to the traditional cast iron. The dark polyurethane tread on a cast iron core keeps the rustic vintage look without tearing up wooden floors. The poly will not mark up any floors and is gentle enough to roll on floor tiles, carpet, and wood. It’s the perfect indoor vintage caster.
In fact, because we have specialized in industrial casters for over 30 years, we have been able to bring this performance expertise to our CC Vintage line of casters with polyurethane.
This allows you to feel confident and proud that you have the industry’s best industrial-vintage caster for hardwood floors.
TYPE OF CASTER WHEELS TO AVOID FOR HARDWOOD FLOORS
According to the American Hardwood Information Center, the top five hardwoods ranked from hardest to softest are:
- Hickory
- Hard Maple
- White Oak
- Beech
- Red Oak
Certain types of hardwood floors are more durable and better suited for life’s challenges. Hickory hardwood floors, for example, may be hard enough to resist dimples from high heels or pets’ nails.
With that being said, metal wheels such as cast iron, forged steel, and ductile steel caster wheels will carve into wooden floors and degrade them.
The cast iron CC Vintage wheel option is the classic, iconic choice that will complete any piece of rustic furniture. Cast iron caster wheels work well on solid ground like concrete or blacktop. They’re rugged enough to wheel outside to a barbeque or to hold up the tool bench in the garage.
To be clear, we will never recommend any metal wheels to be in contact with hardwood floors.
Metal wheels can damage hardwood floors. Go with polyurethane tread instead.
When considering the choice between the polyurethane, neoprene rubber, or cast iron tread wheels, you must consider:
- The weight of the application
- Environment
- Range of mobility
Polyurethane and neoprene rubber caster wheels are great for floor protection, especially when mobility is a factor, while cast iron is a good choice for stationary applications on non-delicate flooring. We do not recommend using the cast iron wheels on wood or vinyl floors. Polyurethane or neoprene rubber wheels are great for applications like hardwood floors that need floor protection.
CC VINTAGE CASTERS
CASTER CONNECTION'S
Performance based design backed by our 30 plus years of serving our clients to get the exact casters for their projects. The CC Vintage line of casters represents
more than “vintage” casters. These casters
complement a diverse range of furniture
and fixtures in many different styles, such
as classic vintage, steam punk, and modern
industrial. Because of the wide variety
of styles and options available, you can
be confident that you’ll find the perfect
caster for your DIY project or your store or
business layout.
