Hardwood | Styles
The number of hardwood choices, patterns, colors, textures and price points can intimidate even the most experienced shopper. Knowing the basic styles can provide you with a firm foundation upon which to begin your hardwood-shopping journey. Choosing your ideal hardwood style is all about knowing the right combination of aesthetics, performance and budget that meets the needs of your lifestyle.
Personal Style
- designs: medallions, running on the diagonal, or creating borders
Types
- Pre-finished:
- ready for installation
- boards already sanded, stained and finished
- harder, better- protected surface
- wider variety of wood species
- save hours of labor and cleanup
- extended finish warranty
- Unfinished:
- allow you to have a custom job
- you choose the wood species
- it’s sanded and stained on site
- can level the surface after installation
- no extended finish warranty
Location
- look at installation site for location limitations
- solid floors -susceptible to moisture, not recommended for basements, or concrete slabs
Grain and cut
- styles are result of the species available
- species: red oak, white oak, maple, cherry, white ash, hickory or pecan
- Each species has unique graining and texture
- graining on the boards determined by the way it has been cut
- two cutting processes. “Sliced Cut” -more uniform pattern and “Rotary Cut”- displays a larger and bolder graining pattern
Color
- each species gives choices of color and finishes
- choose coordinating or contrasting with cabinetry and furniture
- darker woods- more formal
- natural colors- more casual
Finish
- different types for pre-finished or job site finished
- lower gloss levels- better for active rooms
- lower gloss or matte finishes minimize dirt and scratches
- high gloss finish for formal décor
Upkeep
- no more waxing and scrubing
- pre-finished- hard, durable, urethane-based finishes
- chips of Aluminum Oxide added to increases the urethane finish’s life
Floor protection
- factory finished: several coats applied to the surface
- many companies apply 6-10 coats of a ultra-violet (UV) cured urethane
- UV cured urethane: difficult to duplicate on a job site finish
- factory finishes - more consistent and durable
- do not wash your floor with a mop
- water is not a friend of hardwood
- floors won't watermark like old waxed floors
- UV cured finishes do make floors easier to maintain than waxed floors
Pre-finished choices:
- uv-cured – factory finishes cured with Ultra Violet lights versus heat
- polyurethane – clear, tough and durable applied as a wear layer
- acrylic-urethane – different make up than Polyurethane, same benefits
- ceramic – advanced technology allowing ceramics to increase wear layer resistance
- aluminum Oxide – Added to urethane finish for increased abrasion resistance
- acrylic Impregnated – Acrylic monomers injected into cell structure for hardness, then finished with a wear layer
Job-site hardwood flooring
- start with a bare (unfinished) floor, than sand, stain, and finish
- if subfloor is acceptable you can have a custom stained
- can have a floor to match existing trim
- advantage: smoother floor between planks
- process is messy and takes several days
Methods:
Water Based Urethane – water used as part of the make up of the finish
Solvent Based Urethane – oil used as part of the make up of the finish
Moisture Cured Urethane – similar make up as solvent based urethanes, finish needs moisture to cure
Board widths
- boards come in various sizes
- narrower board widths called “strips”
- wider boards called “planks”
- board width visually impacts a room
- narrow boards expand a room
- wider boards work well in a larger room
Edge knowledge
- floors come in either a beveled edge, or a square edge
- Each edge creates a specific look and feel
Edge types:
- square edge: edges all meet squarely for a uniform, smooth surface (contemporary and formal)
- eased edge: boards slightly beveled to length and/or the end joints, hides irregularities, plank heights, also called micro-beveled edge
- beveled edge: distinctive groove, informal and country décor, beveled edges sealed completely, dirt easy to sweep or vacuum out of the grooves
Hardness – Janka hardness test
- measures the force needed to embed a .444 inch steel ball to half its diameter in a piece of wood
- higher the number the harder the wood
- one of the best methods to measure the ability of wood species to withstand indentations
- general guide when comparing various species
- construction and finish also important in the durability and ease of maintenance
WOOD SPECIES HARDNESS RATING
- Douglas Fir 660
- Southern Yellow Pine (shortleaf) 690
- Southern Yellow Pine (longleaf) 870
- Black Cherry 950
- Teak 1000
- Black Walnut 1010
- Heart Pine 1225
- Yellow Birch 1260
- Red Oak(Northern) 1290
- American Beech 1300
- Ash 1320
- White Oak 1360
- Australian Cypress 1375
- Hard maple1450
- Wenge 1620
- African Pedauk 1725
- Hickory 1820
- Pecan 1820
- Purpleheart 1860
- Jarrah 1910
- Merbau 1925
- Santos Mahogany 2200
- Mesquite 2345
- Brazilian Cherry 2350