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Hardwood Species Tips
Hardwood Flooring Species: White Pine
Janka Hardness Scale Rating: 380-420
The domestic versions of pine are an excellent choice for lower-traffic area wood flooring. Since pine absorbs preservatives quite well, it can be reinforced either through prefinishing or on-site finishing. Contrary to what you might think, pine doesn't give off the same smell as it does when it's in its natural habitat, or left preserved, as with Christmas trees, for example.
Expect the sapwood to be yellow-white or yellow-tan. The heartwood is a light orange- to red-yellow, but can also be a yellow-brown color. The grain is most often straight, with a medium and sometimes uneven texture.
Bamboo offers durability and ecological friendliness and therefore is a great choice for hardwood floors. Once dried, bamboo becomes extremely strong, making it an ideal material for flooring. Those living in high humidity areas similar to bamboo's native Asia can benefit from using bamboo floors as the wood is more resistant to moisture than other wood species.
Bamboo grows rapidly, and is therefore kinder to the environment as crop or forest depletion is less likely. However, for greater durability without sacrificing the look you’re after, consider a bamboo-look laminate flooring.
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Hardwood Flooring Species: Beech
Janka Hardness Scale Rating: 1300
Beech is an ideal hardwood flooring for high-traffic areas and commercial flooring. It resists denting and is extremely shock-absorbent. Good news if you plan to be on your feet a lot in the room(s) in question. At one time, beechwood was not looked upon as a wise choice since it doesn't stand up well to air-drying. However, with the advent of kiln-drying, that concern is no longer a deterrent.
Beech's sapwood is most often a pale white, American beech's heartwood is generally a reddish-brown. Sometimes you'll find a silver sheen to the wood as well. The grain's fine and uniform texture is what makes it resilient to wear.
Oak hardwood flooring is a very popular choice of domestic wood. Both white and red oak hardwood flooring are known for their solidity and resistance to wear. White oak has a high tannin level which makes it resistant to fungi and insects.
Red oak is light-colored with a reddish tone, while white oak is more white or creamier in color. The red variety of oak hardwood floors also has a grainier texture due to its porosity. White oak, in contrast, has longer rays.
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Hardwood Flooring Species: Maple
Janka Hardness Scale Rating: 1450
Sugar maple is often considered the creme-de-la-creme of wood flooring. Not only is it beautiful, but it's sturdy, dense, hard -- and therefore scuff- and scratch-resistant. Maple is often used in flooring that get a lot of abuse, like bowling alleys, for this reason.
Think of a bowling alley when you think of maple's color as well; its sapwood is that same creamy white. The heartwood can be the same, or sometimes has a light reddish-brown hue. Although the wood has a closed grain and medium texture, some unique pieces may have "figuring" (scrolls, curls, other markings). These planks are often selected for higher sale due to their interesting patterns.
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Hardwood Flooring Species: Cherry
Janka Hardness Scale Rating: 950
North American cherry is a moderate wood flooring with excellent shock resistance. This domestic version -- not to be confused with Brazilian cherry or Jatoba -- "black cherry" is often used for lighter traffic areas as well as floor and ceiling borders, and room accents. Cherry's heartwood color can range from light to dark reddish-brown. Its sapwood, however, can be a pale or light brown -- sometimes giving off a pinkish tone. Be aware that black cherry is light-sensitive, so expect the color to darken when exposed to light. Give the wood some time to level off.
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Hardwood Flooring Species: Ash
Janka Hardness Scale Rating: 1320
White Ash comes from North America, and is perhaps best known for its use in baseball bats! It is this same elasticity and strength that makes ash a great choice for hardwood flooring. In addition to flooring, ash is commonly used to make fine furniture and tool handles.
You can expect the sapwood of white ash to be a creamy white; the heartwood can be light tan to dark brown. While the grain is most often straight, there can be an occasional wave within it. The texture is coarse, giving it a nice look for rustic rooms.
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Hardwood Flooring Species: Pecan/Hickory
Janka Hardness Scale Rating: 1820
One of the harder species of wood flooring available, Pecan or Hickory wood is ideal for busy areas of your home, such as the kitchen. It retains a smooth finish under friction. This species also stains well, should you choose to alter its sapwood's natural blond color. (The heartwood of pecan is reddish-brown.) Expect a straight grain, with a few irregularities and a coarse texture.
