Wood And Floor Types
Hardwood floors are beautiful and functional. More important, however, they are a long-term investment in your home, just like any other improvements, repairs or additions.
With proper installation and maintenance, your hardwood floors can last for the lifetime of your house. The beauty and versatility of wood and the vast array of stains and finishes available ensure that hardwood floors will blend beautifully with any decor, color scheme or style.
There are several elements to consider when selecting wood for your floor, and it's important to educate yourself about the various types, sizes and colors available. You will also want to consider wear warranties, thickness, finish types, number of finish coats and construction.
Below is a general overview that can help you make an informed decision.
WOOD FLOOR MATERIALS
Red Oak
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This is the most popular of our flooring woods. Its warm red tone is a natural finish and stains well in any color. It has a highly-figured grain and is of a medium density.
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White Oak
This is a very hard wood with a darker finish than red oak, but is similar in its working and finishing characteristics. It has a light-to-yellow color, a straight to highly-figured grain, and a medium density
Maple
A beautiful light-colored durable wood with a light to near-white color and a very fine grain and texture.
Pine
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Pine is best material for subfloors because it is soft and easy to work with. It's especially beautiful when laid with wide planks, and has a white to golden color, a vertical open grain, and a low-to-medium density.
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Douglas Fir
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This wood has a warm, golden orange color and a straight, smooth vertical grain. It can also have a flat grain that is wavy and open with a variable and uneven density texture. The vertical grain stains more evenly than the flat grain.
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Redwood
Redwood is a soft wood with a rich, deep pink color when it is sealed, but it's known to splinter easily. Its grain is similar to that of the Douglas Fir, and it has a low-to-medium density.
Walnut
An excellent choice for borders and accent strips, walnut finishes uniformly and has a chocolate brown to light tan color. The grain can be straight to highly-figured and is burly. It has a hard texture and a high density.
Teak
Teak is best when finished with an oil-based polyurethane. It has natural moisture-resistant oils and a light-to dark brown reddish color. The grain is generally straight and uniform, but it can also have a wild grain. It has a smooth texture and a high density.
Pecan
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Pecan is the hardest wood flooring available, with a honey brown to light pink color, a character-marked, open grain, a hard texture and high density.
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TYPES OF WOOD FLOORS
There are three types of wood floors:
Solid: Solid constructed wood flooring is available in a wide range of widths and thicknesses, from ¼" up to one inch.
Engineered: This type of flooring is constructed in various layers with the grain in alternating directions. This provides extra stability for installations where solid wood is not possible.
Acrylic Impregnated: This is a product in which the wood grain has been injected with an acrylic material, resulting in a hard, durable surface which is well suited for high traffic areas in commercial settings.
STYLES OF WOOD FLOORS
Strips - Most installations use strip flooring, in which separate floor boards approximately 2 ¼ inches wide are fitted together by tongue and groove and nailed to the subflooring below.
Plank - Similar to strips, but the boards are about 3 inches wide.
Parquet - parquet flooring comes in blocks rather than strips. The blocks are fitted together to create a pattern over the floor's surface. Standard blocks are 6” x 6”, but specialty patterns can be up to 36” square.
GRADES OF WOOD FLOORS
Clear: Free of defects but may have minor imperfections.
Select: Contains some natural characteristics like knots and/or color variations.
Common: More natural characteristics than select and usually chosen for this feature. Common grade comes in two variations. Number One has a varied appearance with knots, flags, wormholes and dark-to-light colors. Number Two is more rustic in appearance and emphasizes nearly all the characteristics of the wood species.
- First: Has the best appearance, with a natural color variation and only a few minor character marks.
- Second: This contains varying characteristics of the wood species.
- Third: Rustic in appearance, containing all of the characteristics of the wood species.
CUTS OF WOOD FLOORS
Plainsawn: This is the most common cut, and contains more variations than the other two cuts.
Quartersawn: This cut is more expensive than plainsawing because it is more durable. The wood is less likely to twist or cup and it wears more evenly.
Riftsawn: This is similar to quartersawing but with a slightly different angle cut.
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