Installing Hardwoods: Picking the Right Wood
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Jocie and I are planning to install hardwoods. Well, we are finally starting to make some progress. This past Saturday we took a trip to Lumber Liquidators. Here are a few things we considered while making our choice.
Hardness
Different types of wood result in different levels of hardness. No wood is impervious but some resist dents better than others. Brazilian Walnut is one of the hardest woods available. While American Cherry is extremely soft. Some people prefer the de-stressed look while others want their floor to stay as dent free as possible. This picture compares wood hardness and stability levels. Click on it to enlarge.
Finish
You can purchase woods prefinished or unfinished and each has certain benefits. Unfinished wood can be stained to match existing woodwork. But it’s an additional step and it takes time for the smell to dissipate. Prefinished woods will have a uniform factory stain that often includes a warranty.
The hardwoods we checked out all had an oxide based finish. Oxide finishes have two benefits over polyurethane finishes. First, it will help strengthen the wood and keep it dent free. Second, polyurethane can yellow over time.
Board Width and Length
- Strips. Strips are the typical, linear tongue and groove. They range in width between 1.5″ to 2.25″.
- Planks. Planks are very similar to Strips but have different widths. Most start around 3″ and increase in 1″ increments.
- Parquet. Parquet floors are hardwoods arranged into a pattern, usually a geometric shape of some kind.
- Length. Typical installations incorporate boards with different lengths and are laid with a lot of variation. One alternative is using boards all the same length.
Wood Grades
Wood can come in different grades: Rustic, Natural and Select. Rustic grade contains the most irregularities. It will have varying grain patterns and plenty of knots visible. Again, some people want this look so it mostly comes down to preference. Select grade is the most uniform. This wood should have the least knots and grain variations.
Top Choices
So after our trip we narrowed it down to a few choices. Check out the pictures.
Brazilian Cherry Select / Brazilian Mesquite Select / Brazilian Walnut Select
What do you think? What would you choose? What did you install in your own home?
May 16th, 2008 at 9:35 am
We installed Australian Cyprus last year in our house and we LOVE it. Bought it from Lumber Liquidators and have no complaints whatsoever about the quality of the wood and the ease of the installation. We bought a ratcheting floor nailer to use to install.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:41 am
@Kathie, I’m glad to hear that. I’ve ordered Brazilian Walnut and should be getting the boxes soon. I’m calling in a few favors to help me install.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Heck, if you’re in the chicagoland area I’ll loan you our nailer. http://www.porta-nails.com/index.shtml It’s the 402.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Hello!
We have the Prefinished Brazilian Walnut from Lumber Liquidators…and it looks fabulous! Everyone who comes by comments on it. It is really beautiful.
It is fairly varied, as far as color, which is the nature of the species. It goes from ddep brown…to red…to orange…to even some yellow and greenish hues. Overall it’s dark. (Which we LOVE)
I wil say, though, we puchased it one, because of looks, and two because of its ranking on the hardness scale. Don’t be fooled…it WILL scratch. We have two cats and a dog…and beleive me, it’s not THAT hard. I’ve even dropped a fork on it and gotten a dent. I’m not sure if it’s the prefinish coating or what??? It’s pretty smooth overall…no grainy pattern.
I would definitely suggest buying the 3/4″ thickness so that, in the future, should you wish, it can be sanded and re-finished. The 3/8″ thikness would be difficult.
Good luck! I am sure whatever you pick will be fabulous!
May 16th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
@Jennifer, We have similar tastes! Jocie and I wanted Walnut for it’s strength and dark color. We really like the color variation. Should go well with the furniture we already have. I’m OK with some marks as long as the floor puts up a decent fight. We are going with 3/4″. I think it will be a little easier to install and as you point out, able to be refinished should it ever come to that. I’m really pumped about how much you like your floors. I think we will too!
@Kathie, Not in the Chicago area or I’d take you up on that. A couple friends have a floor nailer that I plan on borrowing.
Can you tell how excited I am?
May 16th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
We put Brazilian Cherry in our new home and it’s beautiful. I have two words of advice. 1, we would never put that dark of a wood in again, at least not with young children, my wife cleans the floors everyday and can’t keep them looking nice because they show everything. 2, my experience with LL is if you want good wood get the Bella Wood, otherwise….run…run far away. We ordered Brazilian Cherry for our home and returned it because it was J U N K. I’ve said my peace!!! You can find some really great 3/4″ brazilian cherry online that is really nice.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
We haven’t chosen our flooring type yet. Is it safe to assume that Brazilian means it is coming form the rainforest or is it possible that these might be sustainable choices? While I’d love to shop at a certified sustainable wood company, like EcoTimber, economics are also at play (hence Lumber Liquidators sounds good to me).
May 16th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Todd, thanks for the tip about the dark color with the kids… we will probably avoid the dark color because of it. One question: Do you wear shoes inside? Have you noticed whether this makes a difference?
Jennifer, I’m surprised to hear about the denting you’ve had. B.Walnut is very hard; but I suppose that evidence is evidence. I wonder how well it actually holds up compared to oak or maple under the same stresses.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:18 am
@Eliz, I looked over the LL site and it does mention offering brands that practice responsible harvesting patterns. They also highlight their bamboo and cork floors. But it doesn’t have specifics and I’m not really sure.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Another timely post from OPC! I’m hoping we’ll be choosing flooring within the month. We’ll probably go with LL, too. We’ve already looked there and for cost, LL seems the best option. I was also concerned about the eco-effects of the Brazilians. We’re currently considering the Red Oak, both because it’s a domestic wood and also because it’s more in line with the history of our house. But the hardness issue is interesting.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:41 am
Now you have me looking at the brazilian walnut instead of the brazilian cherry.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
@Corey, A good friend has Brazilian Cherry and it looks amazing. I love the deep color but it didn’t work with the paint / furniture in my house. Plus I like the hardness of the Walnut.