What types of wood species can I use for my hardwood floors?
I thought it would be helpful to gather a collection of the recent posts I've written on hardwood flooring species. Soon, I hope to do some more posts on other hardwood species.
Oak hardwood flooring Oak hardwood is the most common species in the US and it's the most popular choice in Westchester County. Oak is reasonably priced, durable, accepts stains well (so it's easy to change the color), and oak flooring tends to hide scratches well. Most homes that already have hardwood have oak, and many homeowners would prefer to match what's already there, if they are adding to other rooms/floors.
There are 2 species of oak - red oak and white oak, and you can read more about the differences here: Red Oak flooring vs. white oak flooring Oak hardwood can be stained to be darker as well.
Maple hardwood flooring Maple hardwood is lighter than oak, and it has a smoother grain. Many in Westchester will describe this as a blonde wood. Maple is slightly harder than oak, and tends to have more color variation from plank to plank (some lighter, some darker). You can really see a difference as move down the grades. Most homeowners in Westchester who love maple, prefer select or even clear grade. If you see maples that are less expensive, it will tend to be a lower/more rustic grade with more knots and color variation, so be cafeful if you try to price shop this wood...it will often result in a more rustic look and you won't realize it until after the wood is installed.
Maple is a closed pore wood, so it's more challenging (and more expensive to sand and refinish. It does not accept stain evenly, and the darker the stain, the more blotchy it will appear. This is the nature of the hardwood. You will see this both on prefinished and unfinished woods. It's not a reflection of the installer, but rather a characteristic of the wood. And, if you are refinishing maple, it's even more important to get a great professional to refinish your floors. Also, for some darker brown stains, they to turn gray on maple. This has become a very stylized and stylish look. (Birch is similar to maple and can also create this effect).
Brazilian Cherry hardwood flooring Brazilian Cherry is a brilliant red wood with smooth graining. It's impossible to match it's color and natural beauty with an oak floor. It darkens a significantly over time - getting darker and redder. Because of this, it's best to wait at least 6 months before adding area rugs (otherwise you will see an area rug outline where part of your floor is darker and part is lighter. Brazilian cherry is almost twice as hard as red oak. It's also more expensive.
Bamboo flooring Bamboo is actually a grass, but it has become more popular for flooring. This post explains bamboo flooring. Please be aware that there are different types of bamboo flooring, and most is imported from China. Bamboo varies greatly based on brand and location purchased and most that are sold in big box stores are lower quality. Then tend to show dents and scratches more and do not hold up very well to water (or cleaning). If you want a bamboo that holds up better, buy a strand woven bamboo. These cost more, but they last much longer.
Ebony hardwood flooring - Ebony is technically a species of hardwood. You can either get this look the expensive way - by buying actual ebony hardwood (very expensive) or by staining your oak floors (or other species) with a dark ebony stain. See more below on dark hardwoods.
Dark hardwood flooring Dark hardwood is not a species, but there a multiple ways to get dark hardwood floors - both by choosing a hardwood that is naturally dark (such as brazilian walnut, american walnut or wenge) or by staining a light color wood (e.g. oak, maple, birch) with a dark stain (e.g. ebony, jacobean, dark walnut.)
Originally posted at: Hardwood flooring species for Westchester County
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