Hardwoods; Where Does One Begin?

hardwood flooring is by far the most popular flooring choice in homes, old and new. it brings a warmth to the home, and unifies spaces while allowing each room to take on personalities of their own.

style
to choose a width of hardwood flooring, is to define you're homes style. SELECTING A SPECIES CAN BE TRICKY, LET ALONE BOARD WIDTH, AND STAIN. THE CLASSIC WHITE OAK OF NEW ENGLAND AND BEYOND IS THE MOST COMMON, WITH WIDTHS STARTING AROUND 2 1/4" UP TO 15" WIDE. THE LOOK YOU ARE GOING FOR IS DEFINITELY A FACTOR WHEN SELECTING THE WIDTH OF YOUR FLOORING. NOT TO FRET, IT REALLY IS A PERSONAL PREFERENCE AND THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG. SURE, IF YOU FOLLOW TRENDS, YOU'VE BEEN SEEING THE WIDER PLANKS GAIN POPULARITY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS - AND DUE TO THAT POPULARITY, PRICE IS MORE AFFORDABLE THAN IT USED TO BE. 

WE ARE SEEING THE MOST COMMON WIDTH, BRIDGING THE GAP, IF YOU WILL, IS ANYWHERE FROM 4 1/2" - 8" WIDE. ITS SOOTHING, REALLY. LESS TINY LITTLE PLANKS DISTRACTING YOUR EYE, AND MORE SEAMLESS FLOOR, AS A BACKDROP FOR YOUR STUNNING FURNISHINGS, ART, WHAT HAVE YOU. 

photos: a. tesa architecture

​SPECIES
WE'VE SETTLED ON A WIDTH RANGE, HAVE WE FORGOTTEN SPECIES? THIS IS ENDLESS TRULY. WHAT YOU WILL WANT TO DO IS STRONGLY CONSIDER YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE IN YOUR HOME. THERE ARE MANY WOODS OUT THERE THAT ARE TOO SOFT TO WITHSTAND, SAY, A DAILY FAMILY LIFE WITHOUT GOUGES, DENTS, AND SCRATCHES. PINE IS NOTORIOUS FOR THIS. IT IS BEAUTIFUL, KNOTTY, RUSTIC, BUT SOFT. HEART PINE, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE INNER PORTION OF PINE TREES CAN BE VERY DENSE, AND MUCH BETTER AT WITHSTANDING DAILY USE. 

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photos: sustainable lumber co,  tiny blog

​BEETLE KILL PINE 
ANOTHER PINE, WE ARE MOST EXCITED ABOUT IS BEETLE KILL PINE. COULD BE A BLOG POST ALL ITS OWN...BEETLE KILL PINE IS A SPECIES OF PINE FROM THE MIDWEST (COLORADO REGION) WHICH UNFORTUNATELY HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO A FUNGAE TURNING THE BARK A BLUEISH HUE AND ALLOWING THE TREES TO BECOME SUSCEPTIBLE TO BEETLES. THE BEETLES IN TURN HAVE KILLED MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF THE PINE TREES IN THIS REGION, AND LOCALS FEAR AN UNCONTROLLABLE FOREST FIRE. THE WOOD, LUCKILY, IS STILL USABLE AND HAS BEEN FREED OF ALL INFESTATION! CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE TO LEARN MORE. A GREAT SUPPLIER OF THE PRODUCT, SUSTAINABLE LUMBER CO. OUT OF COLORADO WOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO OUTFIT YOUR NEEDS IF YOU SAY, WOULD LOVE A BLUE BEETLE KILL PINE WALL OR FLOOR IN YOUR HOME. 

​photo: a. tesa architecture

THE OTHER SPECIES
MAPLE, OAK, HICKORY, AND BLACK WALNUT ARE ALSO A FEW OF OUR FAVORITES, IN ORDER OF LOWEST TO HIGHEST PRICE. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DO YOUR RESEARCH...WOOD SPECIES ARE RATED ON THE JANKA HARDNESS SCALE, FROM STRONGEST TO WEAKEST. THE HIGHER THE RATING, THE MORE DURABLE YOUR FLOOR WILL BE TO DAILY LIFE. 

photos: granite pro inc (left),  wood flooring engineered (right)

BLACK WALNUT
BLACK WALNUT IS GORGEOUS, AND HAS INCREDIBLE GRAIN CHARACTERISTICS - BUT IT IS PRICEY. IT IS A DARK WOOD WITH A DEFINITE "LOOK" TO IT THAT YOU MUST BE COMFORTABLE WITH IN ORDER TO INSTALL IT THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE HOME. IT HAS A NATURAL RESISTANCE TO INSECTS AND DECAY, HOWEVER THE SPECIES IS DWINDLING SO PRICE WILL BE HIGH. 

​photo: a. tesa architecture

HICKORY 
HERE WE HAVE A SPECIES THAT RATES THE HIGHEST AMONG OUR FAVORITES IN HARDNESS, IT IS 1820 ON THE JANKA SCALE - ABOVE MAPLE (1450), AND WHITE OAK (1360). ITS GRAIN IS KNOWN TO VARY GREATLY, AND BOARDS NEXT TO EACH OTHER CAN CREATE A STRIKING CONTRAST FROM LIGHT TO DARK TONES. IT IS UNIQUE FOR SURE, AND THE PRICE IS NOT CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN WHITE OAK. IF YOU'RE UNIQUE...GO FOR IT. 

​photo:  paul johnson carpentry

​photo: tracy topham interior design

MAPLE​
MAPLE IS A LOCAL (NEW ENGLAND) LOVE, AND HAS ROOTS (HEHE) TO OUR REGION. IF THIS IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, MAPLE IS FOR YOU. IT HAS A SIMILARITY TO OAK WITH A WIDE RANGE IN COLOR TONES AVAILABLE. MAPLE HOWEVER, LIKE THE NEW ENGLAND WEATHER, IS UNPREDICTABLE. IT CAN HAVE A VARIED GRAIN STRUCTURE MEANING STAINS/WEATHERING MAY NOT DEVELOP EVENLY OVER TIME. THE WOOD ALSO HAS A YELLOWISH TINGE TO IT, SO DEPENDING ON THE STAIN YOU CHOOSE, YOUR FLOOR COULD SAY "I'M YELLOW" AND HAUNT YOU DOWN THE ROAD.  

​photos: a. tesa architecture

WHITE OAK
WHITE OAK IS POPULAR, AND NOT FOR ANY OLD REASON. ITS STABLE - MAKING IT AN EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR HUMID CLIMATES (OCEAN FRONT) OR FLUCTUATING CLIMATES (NEW ENGLAND'S FREEZING WINTERS & HOT SUMMERS). IT REACTS VERY WELL TO STAIN, AND IF LEFT NATURAL WITH JUST A PROTECTIVE POLY COAT - IT WILL AGE BEAUTIFULLY WITHOUT TURNING YELLOW (COUGH, MAPLE). IT IS AFFORDABLE, AND STILL HARD ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND DAILY WEAR AND TEAR. NOT TO MENTION IT COMES IN ANY WIDTH IMAGINABLE (UP TO ABOUT 15") AND THE GRAIN CAN VARY FROM MINIMAL, TO "INTENSE" WE'LL SAY - IF THAT'S WHAT YOUR INTO. 

WHATS YOUR FAVORITE?? ​