Choosing The Right Hardwood For Your Home

There's a wide variety of solid hardwood flooring available on the market, including common hardwoods and some exotic types you might not be so familiar with. If you're looking for solid hardwood flooring, but want something a little more special, you can use many different types of wood. Each one has its own benefits and downsides, and will provide something a little special for your floor. Let's take a look at some of your options.

Domestic And Traditional Woods

With a Janka hardness rating of 1260, red oak has a strong open grain and is the most common species used in hardwood flooring. This durable material has been used for many years, is highly attractive, and has a beautiful color. It's a popular choice for restoring old homes and for installation in new ones.

White oak is more frequently used in timber framing, but is also common in floors. With a light brown heartwood and creamy sapwood, this tree provides a striking look. The grain is tighter and less pronounced than red oak, and is uniform and straight in good examples. Over time, this wood, rated at a Janka hardness of 1360, will change color, becoming more amber in appearance.

For strong floors that resist denting, maple is a good choice, which is why it's been used in basketball courts and bowling alleys for years. It rates a 1450 on the Janka hardness scale and has a closed grain and a very uniform texture. Colors range between soft white to a light red or reddish brown hue. There are three major grades of maple - first grade, known for whiteness and uniform color; select grade, with some brown heartwood mixed in the white sapwood; and rustic maple, which is variegated and includes both types of wood.

Cherry flooring has been prized for cabinets and furniture, and makes an outstanding chice for hardwood floors that ranges from light brown to reddish brown and has a very fine grade. Sapwood is white to light reddish brown. This wood has a Janka hardness of only 950, and is about three quarters as soft as oak.

Black walnut is another extremely prized furniture and flooring wood, with a hardness rating of about 1010, or twenty percent softer than oak. Ranging from soft brown to chocolate in the heartwood, and light tan to dark brown in the sapwood, the texture of this wood is fine but curly. Finished walnut is perfectly elegant in appearance.

Ash rates at a hardness of 1320 and is a beautiful floor that will last a long time, with creamy sapwood and tan to dark brown heartwood. The grain is bold and open, and makes for a striking looking floor.

Beech has a hardness of about 1300 on the Janka scale, and a pale white sapwood with a reddish brown heartwood. Boards have variations in color, with a straight, closed, consistent grain.

Equal to red oak in hardness, birch is white to creamy yellow or light reddish brown. Its texture is even and its grain is straight and closed, though some boards show waves and curliness in the grain.

Exotic Woods

Jatoba, also called Brazilian cherry, is a reddish brown wood with a golden glow and an interlocking grain. Strong, rigid and heavy, it has a Janka rating of 2760, and will become darker over time and with exposure to light.

Tigerwood, also from Brazil, has a darker orange background color with brown veins and makes for a really striking floor. Its hardness rating is 2160.

Australian cypress appears like rustic pine but is stronger than oak, and ranges from cream to light brown to honey gold, with prominent dark lines and knots. Over a few months, it will darken slightly from light exposure.

Santos mahogany, originating in South Africa, is seventy percent harder than red oak and has a steady dark red brown color and a grain that is consistent and straight. it is constant and level in texture and looks beautiful while offering superb toughness.

Cumaru, or Brazilian chestnut, is incredibly durable and hard, with a rating of 3540. It is also naturally resistant to decay, causing it to be used outdoors in many cases. Uniform in color - yellowish brown to light brown - it has a tight and even grain and makes a durable floor that's very attractive and will stand up to lots of traffic.

Hickory is unusual in hardwood floors, but its high hardness (1820) and incredible character gives it a real country charm. The sapwood is white with light brown to brown contrasting dark streaks

Professional Hardwood

To learn more about choosing the best hardwood flooring for your home, visit http://professionalhardwood.com . If your looking for the best price on oak flooring, maple, brazilian cherry or any kind of primium hardwood, you are guaranteed to save big when you buy direct from Professional Hardwood.