Bay Laurel (also known as Myrtlewood) is a hard and uniquely colored wood. It is quite stable, and as hard as Red Oak. Color ranges to a deep yellow and often contains some gray staining. It is little known outside its region (Oregon and California).

All the Big Leaf Maple flooring we run comes from mills that are part of the “Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities Partnership,” an organization of wood manufacturers, rural leaders, and community groups dedicated to forest restoration and community vitality.

Our wide-width, extra Dry Canyon grade in bay Laurel includes all sizes of sound knots, open holes up to 1” in diameter, some splits, cracks, all variations of color, along with other character marks. Lengths of planks vary from 3’ to 10-12’. This floor will have a rustic look with a lot of grain variation.

Bay Laurel is also available in Madera grade in widths 7” and under. This grade will contain color variation, numerous knots (both sound and open) up to 2” in diameter, holes up to ½” in diameter, some cracks, along with other occasional character marks. Lengths of planks vary from 1’ to 10’, with an average of about 5’.

Big Leaf Maple is a Western U.S. species that has been prized for fine furniture. It is quite stable and medium hardness (similar to Cherry). The unique thing about this species is its tendency towards interesting grain pattern, including some burl, fiddle back, and other figure. Our Big Leaf Maple is selected from older logs which will generally be rich in color.

All the Big Leaf Maple flooring we run comes from mills that are part of the “Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities Partnership,” an organization of wood manufacturers, rural leaders, and community groups dedicated to forest restoration and community vitality.

Our wide-width, extra dry, Dry Canyon grade in Big Leaf Maple includes all sizes of sound knots, open holes up to 1” in diameter, some splits, cracks, all variations of color, along with other character marks. Lengths of planks vary from 3’ to 10-12’. This floor will have a rustic look with a lot of grain variation.

Big Leaf Maple is also available in Madera grade in widths 7” and under. This grade will contain color variation, numerous knots (both sound and open) up to 2” in diameter, holes up to ½” in diameter, some cracks, along with other occasional character marks. Lengths of planks vary from 1’ to 10’, with an average of about 5’.

Hardwood floors are beautiful, but they are an investment that needs to be tended and maintained to add to its beauty. Often hard wood floors show wear over time. Dirt and grime get ground into the boards and they lose the luster that made them beautiful and rich looking. Hardwood floor refinishing is a job that needs to be done by a professional who is very knowledgeable about hardwoods and will be able to sand and refinish the floors without leaving gouges which destroy the look of the floor and require costly repairs.

Many hobbyists and weekend do-it-yourself enthusiasts try to refinish their own hardwood floors in the hope of saving money. What they usually find is that refinishing the hardwood is best left to a hardwood flooring expert. When an expert in hardwood flooring sands and refinishes an existing floor, the floor can be brought back to life with a luster and shine that looks like it did when it was first installed. You will be left with a beautiful floor that looks like new with no streaks and no unsightly scratches or bubbles.

Hardwood floors add warmth and beauty to any home. When hardwood floors are properly installed and cared for, they can for last the life of the home. When people think of the most beautiful homes in the world, wood floors are a feature in almost all of these. The main reason so many beautiful homes use hard wood floors is that, when they are cared for, wood floors actually increase in their beauty over time. They also add to the value of the home overall.

The most popular wood for flooring is oak. Oak is a common hardwood that, when used in flooring, usually presents with a very neutral color that is adaptable to a wide range of decor choices. Other floorings that are popular because of their adaptability and awesome grain and texture when looking for a rustic look are yellow pine and heart pine. Maple, birch and cherry are popular for a simpler look that does not have so much grain and texture. Of course if you are restoring a home that is over 60 years old, distressed or antique wood is very popular. This wood is recovered from buildings that were between 60 and 200 years old and are usually oak, pine or chestnut, depending on the area it is recovered from and the availability of wood at the original time of construction.

When you have hardwood flooring, dust mopping at least twice a week is essential. Dirt on the floor can be ground into the boards when they are stepped on. It is usually a good idea to use runners or area rugs in high traffic areas. The humidity in a house with hardwood floors should be kept between 30 and 50 percent since dry air can crack hardwood floors. Remember to never use cleaning products that contain ammonia, wax or oil soaps because these can build up on the floor and make refinishing difficult.

Walnut hardwood flooring is a good choice for a dark wood flooring.

Maple Hardwood Floor with Natural Finish

Maple is harder then red oak.

Variations in the grade of hickory hardwood flooring can result in significantly different looking floors. The degree of color variation, from quite white to a reddish brown, and the amount of natural character marks like knots and sap pockets can make the flooring look extremely rustic or quite refined.

When selecting your hickory floor, it is essential that you meet with a professional to understand the grade you are buying. All hickory floors are beautiful but not necessarily perfect for your decorating agenda.

This is partly due to the fact that hickory flooring is somewhat of a mixture of woods, 4 types of “true hickory” and one “pecan hickory”, each species with different degrees of color variation and degree of natural defects.

Flooring Grades:
Hickory hardwood flooring typically comes in a “select” or “select and better” grade with limited knots but can or can not have a lot of color variation depending on the source of the wood and the manufacturer. Some creative flooring manufacturers use the phrase “calico” flooring to demonstrate the variance in color.

Country or Rustic grades are also available, some with added “distress” marks created by the manufacturer and natural worm holes etc. offered up by nature, but you can always guarantee lots of color variation with this species of wood.

Janka Rating: 1820
Hickory hardwood flooring with a Janka rating of 1820 is the hardest Canadian wood species and second hardest in the United States (behind mesquite flooring). In terms of durability, hickory will withstand much of life’s abuse, where other floors will wilt.

Many consumers are familiar red oak flooring. It has been the mainstay in the hardwood industry for a hundred years. The Janka hardness rating is only 1290 for northern red oak, so you can see that hickory represents almost a 50% increase in density over the more common cousin. The higher the number the denser the wood.

Brazilian Cherry

Origin:

Brazil and throughout continental tropical America as well as in parts of the Lesser Antilles.

Appearance:

The heartwood of Brazilian Cherry ranges from olive brown to blackish, though it can have lighter or darker striping that is sharply demarcated from the whitish or yellowish sapwood. Brazilian Cherry is a low-luster wood with an oily appearance, a fine-to-medium texture, and a grain that ranges from straight to very irregular.

Properties:

Along with its extreme hardness, strength, weight, density, and durability, Brazilian Cherry is also one of the most stable woods available. However, it is important to “over-dry” the wood in a kiln to avoid excessive shrinkage when installing.

Janka Hardness: 3684

As a flooring option, Brazilian Cherry is an incredibly hard and durable wood species. It is over ninety-one percent harder than merbau, is roughly one hundred and twenty-six percent harder than wenge, and over two thirds harder than santos mahogany’s ranking of 2200.

Workability:

Brazilian Cherry is moderately difficult to work, given its hardness, especially with hand tools, and it has a blunting effect on most cutting edges. Pre-drilling is required when nailing the wood.

Principal Uses:

Brazilian Cherry is ideal for wood flooring where durability and high shock resistance are needed, such as in industrial environments. It is also used in railroad cross-ties, heavy construction, tool handles, and decorative veneers.