Home What type of wood for new floors?

[ladypirate]

We are closing on our house in less than two weeks and have a few things we want to do to it before we move in at the end of June. One of the main things is that the pine floors upstairs (and eventually downstairs, but that will come later) need to be replaced. They are original to the house (1923) and have been refinished too many times to do again.

This leaves us with the question of what type of wood to use. We definitely want to go with real wood rather than engineered or laminate. We also definitely want to use a hardwood rather than sticking with pine.

Here''s a picture of one of the upstairs bedrooms so you can get an idea of what the floor currently looks like (although it''s mostly covered by a rug here).

Anyhow, any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[pennquaker09]

What style house is it and what kind of style do you have?

 

[ladypirate]

The house is a 1923 craftsman bungalow. I'm attaching a picture of our current (rental) house so that you can get an idea for our style--I'd say it's relatively simple/classic (also, the curtains in the living and dining rooms are not ours--they came with the rental).

One thing to note is that we do have a different bed now--it's a natural-stain cherry sleigh bed.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

When it comes to hardwood, I like it all be the same throughout the house.

Darker stains and lighter ash toned hardwoods as well as your exotic woods are always going to be more money. So if you''re looking to be budget friendly, finding a nice oak is going to be good.

I like plank flooring. It really opens the room up.

 

[ksinger]

I have oak. Red oak. Clear grade, 3/4 inch. I''m certain I couldn''t have afforded installing it then, and I imagine it is exobitant these days, if you can even find it- it came with the house - but some of the lower grades are quite lovely, and they''re still...oak. Mine is finished in a custom-mixed stain that I would call a light cherry, and finished with a satin finish. BonaKemi stains and finishes.

In a craftsman style house, I really would go with oak, red, white, it doesn''t matter. It''s a favorite of the period, and it''s just got some of the most gorgeous graining. I confess to just staring at certain planks at times because they are so individual.

Oh yeah: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS YOURSELF - the finishing or re-finishing. Trust me on this one. I speak from experience. I have horror stories. Being blasted with ancient cat-pee scented sawdust whilst running an edge-sander is but one of them. I had a pro finish it, and it was worth every penny.

Mine look like this only a bit darker...

 

[heb1976]

I just love your new house! It looks like it has lots of personality. One hardwood floor that I would NOT recommend is cherry unless you don''t intend to walk/run/live on it or have kids or pets. We''re on our second house that has cherry floors and they''re beautiful but just damaged too easily. Our first house had American cherry and our current home (which we purchased in August) has Brazilian cherry. If you drop a piece of ice you have a dent. Kids driving cars and trucks will scratch it. Just not worth it IMO.

 

[Pandora II]

I put bamboo in our last house - it looks gorgeous, super eco-friendly, doesn''t warp so you can use it in bathrooms, kitchens etc, comes in lots of colours and doesn''t cost an arm and a leg.

Would definitely use it again.

 

[dani13]

Oh, you got the house, LP???? I didnt know!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! I ADORE this house!!!! Soooo happy for you!!!

Good luck!! (Sorry I dont have any advice re: wood flooring)

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 9:37:29 AM
Author: Dani
Oh, you got the house, LP???? I didnt know!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! I ADORE this house!!!! Soooo happy for you!!!

Good luck!! (Sorry I dont have any advice re: wood flooring)

Thanks, Dani! We''re really excited, but a little overwhelmed by trying to get stuff done before we move in.

We''re doing the floors and also knocking out the existing wall & doorway to the bedroom in the first picture in this thread and moving it down the hall to open up the room.

Thanks for all the input so far, everyone. I do have a couple querstions about oak floors, which is what is the major difference between red oak and white oak? Also, does having quarter sawn oak make a huge difference? We have a quote from our flooring guy that has 4 different options--2 1/4 flat sawn white oak, 3 1/4 flat sawn white oak, 2 1/4 quarter sawn white oak and 3 1/4 quarter sawn white oak. I''m sure we could get quotes for other types of woods as well.

He also said that the narrower boards would have more of a period look. Thoughts?

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/14/2009 9:42:44 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
When it comes to hardwood, I like it all be the same throughout the house.

Darker stains and lighter ash toned hardwoods as well as your exotic woods are always going to be more money. So if you''re looking to be budget friendly, finding a nice oak is going to be good.

I like plank flooring. It really opens the room up.

Thanks, Italia. I''ve heard good things about oak''s durability as well.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/14/2009 9:44:07 PM
Author: ksinger
I have oak. Red oak. Clear grade, 3/4 inch. I''m certain I couldn''t have afforded installing it then, and I imagine it is exobitant these days, if you can even find it- it came with the house - but some of the lower grades are quite lovely, and they''re still...oak. Mine is finished in a custom-mixed stain that I would call a light cherry, and finished with a satin finish. BonaKemi stains and finishes.

In a craftsman style house, I really would go with oak, red, white, it doesn''t matter. It''s a favorite of the period, and it''s just got some of the most gorgeous graining. I confess to just staring at certain planks at times because they are so individual.

Oh yeah: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS YOURSELF - the finishing or re-finishing. Trust me on this one. I speak from experience. I have horror stories. Being blasted with ancient cat-pee scented sawdust whilst running an edge-sander is but one of them. I had a pro finish it, and it was worth every penny.

Mine look like this only a bit darker...

Your floors sound gorgeous, Karen! Don''t worry, we definitely will not be attempting to do this ourselves. The quote we have now is for ripping out the current floor, installing the floor unfinished, then staining and finishing it.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 12:37:28 AM
Author: heb1976
I just love your new house! It looks like it has lots of personality. One hardwood floor that I would NOT recommend is cherry unless you don''t intend to walk/run/live on it or have kids or pets. We''re on our second house that has cherry floors and they''re beautiful but just damaged too easily. Our first house had American cherry and our current home (which we purchased in August) has Brazilian cherry. If you drop a piece of ice you have a dent. Kids driving cars and trucks will scratch it. Just not worth it IMO.

Thanks for the tip, heb. I love the look of cherry, but I think we''ll stick to having it for furniture rather than floors.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 7:53:10 AM
Author: Pandora II
I put bamboo in our last house - it looks gorgeous, super eco-friendly, doesn''t warp so you can use it in bathrooms, kitchens etc, comes in lots of colours and doesn''t cost an arm and a leg.

Would definitely use it again.

Thanks for the input on bamboo, Pandora. I think we''re sticking with hardwood to preserve the original character of the house, but bamboo floors are lovely.

 

[MsP]

Santos Mahogany. Brilliant golden hues and rosy undertones but not too too dark like cherry. Also one of the hardest woods you can find. Search around and you should be able to find reasonable pricing. It doesn''t have nearly the grain that oak does but it has more than somehting like cherry. It''s soooo versatile and you will get many compliments.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

We have a rouge stained maple floor throughout our first floor, and I love it. Although, if we were doing it all over again, I would have gone with a less red-brown finish and opted for Hickory.

Something like this - http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=5132&categoryId=5&sectionId=1&subCategoryId=50

 

[Italiahaircolor]

LP, I am happy to hear you''re not going with bamboo. Although it''s a great flooring...it''s very soft and dents easily...so it''s not ideal in terms of that.

I would also reconsider buying unfinished flooring. You can often find prefinished flooring for less money that it would cost when you add up the materials, labor, ect.

 

[musey]

Would you consider reconstituted wood? I saw a couple use that on an eco-decorating show recently and really loved it personally, but I know it wouldn''t be everyone''s cup of tea.

 

[iluvcarats]

If you want to stay true to the house, then use oak or Douglas Fir. Fir is a bit softer than oak.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 5:52:48 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
LP, I am happy to hear you''re not going with bamboo. Although it''s a great flooring...it''s very soft and dents easily...so it''s not ideal in terms of that.

I would also reconsider buying unfinished flooring. You can often find prefinished flooring for less money that it would cost when you add up the materials, labor, ect.

We looked at both options and while prefinished flooring can be a bit cheaper, for us the advantages of site-finished flooring (sealed cracks, longer overall lifespan, etc.) were more important.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 6:39:32 PM
Author: musey
Would you consider reconstituted wood? I saw a couple use that on an eco-decorating show recently and really loved it personally, but I know it wouldn''t be everyone''s cup of tea.

I would consider it, but I don''t know much about it. Maybe that''s something to ask our flooring guy about.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 6:42:07 PM
Author: iluvcarats
If you want to stay true to the house, then use oak or Douglas Fir. Fir is a bit softer than oak.

Yeah, we''re definitely leaning toward oak at this point just because of how the original fir has held up. It seems like oak might be a bit more long lasting, although the fir is beautiful.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 2:02:34 PM
Author: MissPrudential
Santos Mahogany. Brilliant golden hues and rosy undertones but not too too dark like cherry. Also one of the hardest woods you can find. Search around and you should be able to find reasonable pricing. It doesn''t have nearly the grain that oak does but it has more than somehting like cherry. It''s soooo versatile and you will get many compliments.

It does sound lovely, but I''m not sure if it would go with the style of the house. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 5/15/2009 3:37:22 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier
We have a rouge stained maple floor throughout our first floor, and I love it. Although, if we were doing it all over again, I would have gone with a less red-brown finish and opted for Hickory.

Something like this - http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=5132&categoryId=5&sectionId=1&subCategoryId=50

The hickory looks nice, but I think we''d like a little bit of a warmer finish. Do you have any pictures of your floor?

Side note to anyone, is it really important to stain floors or can you just finish them and leave the original color?

 

[Gypsy]

I love walnut floors, personally. Don''t know anything about pricing... just love the look of them.

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=2052&categoryId=7&sectionId=1&subCategoryId=74

 

[E B]

Love this:

Mocha Oak Flooring

 

[ksinger]

LP, from what I can tell there really isn't much difference in red and white oak. Sounds like at times it may even be hard for the experts to tell, at least only from looking at oak planking. Here is one place I found that shows the difference. http://www.rtlondon.com/document/file/50/Red_vs._White_Oak_Article.pdf I also read one that said that there was more light/dark variations in a single board in white than in red. I just know mine has no knots or wormholes or big color differences, and is very even in tone and thus took the stain evenly. I would agree that narrower planks look more "authentic", and would again recommend Bonakemi products. Good stuff! Big time durable.

Please note though, a determined cat can claw the hell out of even something as hard as oak. I have the claw marked floor (in places) to prove it. (I no longer have the cat) Our lab, Duke, on the other hand, doesn't even make a dent in it. Just be aware.

ETA - Just found this and thought it explained red oak pretty well....
http://www.woodfloorsonline.com/woodspecies/redoak.html

 

[packrat]

Gypsy, that walnut is awesome! I love wood floors like that-where every piece looks different, color wise..there''s hickory flooring on there that''s like that too. We''ve talked about going out and getting old barn wood and using that..Lord knows there''s plenty around!

 

[rainwood]

LP -

When we built our house, we put 2 1/" red oak in because it was a bit less expensive than white oak. I don''t know if that''s still true. It''s held up really well though. We need to refinish it in a few spots in the kitchen, but we''ve had it 23 years!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We''ve had our oak floors for 21 years, and the only one we''ve refinished was the kitchen. We went with 3 1/4. Ours have stain and polyurethane. They''d be awfully light with no stain at all, but that is a preference thing.

 

[FrekeChild]

I dig our light maple floors. They rock. And no dog nail scratches!