Hardwood Flooring Store blogs

American cherry hardwood flooring. Elegant & Stunning... Luxury you can buy!

Ron Ander — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:23:06 +0000

One versatile tree

Usually referred as simply 'cherry', American cherry timber (not to be confused with 'Brazilian Cherry', aka 'Jatoba') is cut from the Black Cherry Tree, a species abundant to the east coast of United States and Canada.

This tree has some interesting characteristics, not only because of its widely known, sharp-taste fruit, suitable for making jams, pies, dark chocolate cakes, and even flavour some liquors, but for its stunningly beautiful reddish hue of wood.

Freshly cut, cherry timber has a fairly pinkish color, which darkens with age and light exposure, turning reddish brown. Its tone can fluctuate due to its sapwood usually being paler than its heartwood. It is used not only for hardwood flooring, but is also the premier cabinetry timber in North America, making it a good candidate for kitchens if proper maintenance is done.

Definitely, distinctive looking floors

Since most clients are buying cherry flooring for their stylish settings, most manufacturers do not apply a UV finish, allowing the wood to come to its natural shade. Under moderate sunlight conditions, it usually takes one or two weeks to expose its darkened colour. If you buy cherry hardwood flooring, make sure you wait a bit for it to come to its richest lustre.

Once it has been exposed to sunlight, the satin-like texture and fine grain will captivate you and your guests. The incredibly stunning environment cherry can create, makes it ideal for formal living and dining rooms, providing a gentle sheen, only cherry can bring.

But cherry's beautiful curly patterns, and rich russet colours come at a price. Cherry is significantly softer than other types of wood like hickory, hard maple, red oak, or yellow birch. This makes it hard to choose if you still have kids or pets in the house, since it is more prone to dents, so better be prepared.

Ultimately, one of the most elegant hardwood flooring solutions

Price always come up when cherry flooring is discussed. Although admittedly not the most inexpensive solution out there, the value you get for the money you pay, is well worth it.

Incredibly beautiful as it is, cherry, like most of hardwood flooring species out there, come in a variety of color tones, from clear natural, to dark reddish brown. It also comes in different plank sizes, suitable for the most diverse type of decoration.

Frankly, it is hard to find anyone who dislikes the warm accents of cherry, and employing it will create an stylish environment, second to none. If you can afford its price, cherry makes a perfect candidate for a luxurious, almost sensual experience.

The Birch Advantage. Enchanting visual appeal, affordable price!

Ron Ander — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:41:54 +0000

Why choosing birch might be harder than choosing other hardwood floors

More often than not, people at the hardwood flooring store asks about the difference between maple, oak, and birch. It seems users are truly doing their homework, and research tends to lead them into these three-contender-competition, that seems to be popular in the web.

The truth being told, all hardwood species have their particulars, and like everything in life, ups and downs will be found within diverse candidates to do the job.

But one constant seems to resonate amongst shoppers, and that is a reluctance of choosing birch as the number one candidate for their floors.

In part, the abundance of oak, the popularity of maple, and the solidity of hickory, play a major role in birch being out of the top-three candidates when shopping around, but also it seems that people do not seem to know enough about it to make an informed decision.

Birch: The unusual suspect

Found in temperate climate across the northern hemisphere (specially in the East Coast), birch tends to be a medium-size tree with bark having long, horizontal marks (formally called lenticels), that separate the outer layer into thin, flaky, paper-like plates.

Birch hardwood is characteristic for varying colour gradations, even within the same tree. The reason for this, being the different tones from heartwood to sapwood. This might not appeal to everyone, but it is one enchanting visual characteristic that makes birch very unique.

Even with this 'tone-range' birch colours are warm and suitable for bedrooms and living rooms, where traffic might not be as high as a kitchen or dinning room. Remember, birch is softer than hickory, maple, or oak, which in the long-run, might need higher maintenance if installed in high-trafficked areas.

Birch hardwood's natural highlights provide an elegant way of making rooms look bigger and somewhat playful. This might work very well for an area like a home library, providing visual stimulation, and giving the sense of greater space, where usually book shelves take substantial real-state.

Birch's intermediate grain patterns do not fluctuate as much as oak, nor are as straight-forward, modern-looking, as maple's, which truly makes it a well-rounded contender for un-stated visual appeal.

Price vs Performance

Birch hardwood's price probably ranges as much as its colour tones. Normally not as expensive as maple, it can perform similarly given maintenance conditions are met. Naturally, birch does not cope as well as maple with moisture, but with appropriate care, birch can truly mesmerize anyone with an apetite for visual enticing, and can last over a century with the right care.

Tags: solid hardwood flooring unusual beauty birch

Hickory floors. Beautiful, radiant warmth... That can take a beating!

Ron Ander — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:23:28 +0000

And then, there was Hickory

Nature can be generous to some, and stingy to others. In the case of Hickory, it definitely has been generous, very generous.

Being one of the most sought out types of wood - not only for its hardness, but also for its nuts - well over 12 species of Hickory trees are native to North America, and can be found spread all the way, from Mexico to Canada.

But what makes hickory so sought out, is not a particular characteristic, but a whole set of them; this makes hickory one interesting contender in the hardwood flooring industry.

Don't just look at hardness

Rated 1820 Pounds-Force in the Janka Hardness Test scale, hickory is hard enough to make it a prime candidate in the use of tools (many steel tools have hickory wood for handles), paddles, lacrosse stick handles, drum-sticks, and even the bottom layer of skis. It even replaced Ash and Hazel after 1860's until late 1930's in the manufacturing of golf club shafts, before steel took its place.

Another well-known use of Hickory, is in wood-burning stoves, thanks to its high energy content. Considered "King of smoking woods", cooking barbecue with Hickory is popular in the United States, as it is highly abundant, and it provides a unique, sweet, almost 'bacon-y' flavour to meat.

But with so many harder species of wood out there (Jatoba and Cabreuva come to mind, not to mention Pink Lapacho), why would anyone decide on Hickory as hardwood flooring?

The question is easy to answer. Hickory, although not as highly rated in hardness, is stiff, dense, and most importantly, incredibly shock resistant. All in one. No wonder why it has been in use for so long in the manufacturing of so many different products.

So what does this all mean when it comes to hardwood flooring?

The combination of strength, toughness, hardness, and stiffness found in hickory wood is not found in any other commercial wood. Its shock resistance makes it perfect for highly trafficked areas, and its high density makes it difficult for drinks and other liquids to sip into the wood. This inherit low stain-ability, makes it the number one option for kitchens and dinning areas.

Thanks to its combined characteristics, Hickory is one durable wood species, albeit a bit pricier than other contenders. But the extra cost is a good investment. Hickory floors are tough, unmatched against impacts, and classy looking.

Like most hardwood flooring species, it comes in various grades and shades. Its natural colour is beautiful and radiant, providing the warmth every kitchen and dinning room should have. Lower grades of Hickory can be found from deep reds and browns, to almost white shades.

Tags: solid hardwood flooring hickory durability high traffic

Maple floors, easy to maintain, affordable, and simply beautiful!

Ron Ander — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:38:11 +0000

Practical and Affordable

Rated at 1450 in the Janka Hardness Coefficient table, and going as low as $3.49 per square foot, maple is a serious contender for beauty and longevity, while still affordable.

Probably the best feature of maple flooring that many people do not know about, is maple's natural resistance to moisture; this makes it a perfect candidate if you do not have too much time to maintain your floors, or simply if you just want one less thing to worry about. This is the reason why maple is a favourite amongst much furniture, and many bowling alleys. Fungi and bacteria is less of a worry with maple floors.

As it is sturdy against the humid environment, it is easy to maintain. Maple floors are easily dust mopped, and vacuumed. If you dislike the energy expenditure or the noise of the vacuum, a broom and a dust pan will just do it.

A natural beauty that is also audible

While hard maple is strong enough to carry out the daily duties as wood flooring, maple is still softer than other hardwood flooring species like Jatoba or Tigerwood. Although hard maple (the maple used for flooring), is not exactly the same species as the one used for musical instruments, they share much in common, including belonging to the same family.

Maple is actually one of the best acoustic wood species out there (alongside with Mahogany), so much, that it is commonly selected as prime material for many musical instruments due to its relative hardness compared to other tone-woods. This gives it a rich, brighter sound, which many violin, cellos, and guitar manufacturers take advantage of. This could be something to think of, if you are planning on enjoying classical pieces on your newly installed floor.

Is simply beautiful

While maple comes in different shades, and you can find it stained with different colours, maple has a unique natural feel to it, that is equals to none. The richness of contrast and its smooth, grainless nature finish, makes it a perfect companion to contemporary decor.

If you are considering hardwood floor, give maple a good look. It could be one of the best investments you may go for.

Tags: solid hardwood flooring easy to maintain maple