Unfinished Flooring

The American Walnut is a large tree, regularly growing larger than 100 feet in height, usually forming a full bodied trunk with tall branches. These trees are regularly cultivated not only for their timber but for their flavorful nuts as well. The nuts are edible but are encased in a thick green covering. Woodworkers generally enjoy working with this tradewood–it saws, planes, routes, and finishes extremely well. The wood is also excellent for carving and turning. Historically, American Walnut has been used in fine furniture, gun stocks, paddles, coffins and an assortment of other items. The wood is strong and heavy while still being easy to shape and work with, which is one of the reasons why American Walnut Hardwood Floors are so popular.
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Birch wood has more uses than I can list here. It’s used in a plethora of different applications from furniture and veneer making, to paper or glue and it is even used in skateboards. Going back in history it is easy to see how big a part Birch has played in various societies. It’s uses really do seem endless. Maybe the most famous Birch based construction was Howard Hughes’ Hughes H-4 Hercules. The H-4 Hercules is the largest flying boat ever built and it is mostly constructed from birch. And yes it actually flew–once. With all of these uses it’s only natural that this wood found a home in birch hardwood floors.
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The internet has always been a hotbed for change and new ideas. In the flooring industry alone there have been more advancements than I can recount in this post alone. Some of these advancements have empowered consumers as well. There is no shortage of ways to find exactly what you’re looking for online for the price you want it at. But there is a downside with all of the choices available to consumer and that is product overload. This is why FloorMall developed the Floor Navigator, in order to fight product overload. Now, whenever you search for flooring on their site you can make it so it only shows the results that are most pertinent to you. This helps save you a lot of time and prevents “product overload” which can exasperate a search. Best of all the Floor Navigator is easy to use and covers all of the products on FloorMall.com. Whether you’re searching for hardwood flooring, flooring you can nail down or products from a specific manufacturer like Carolina Hardwood Floors, it’s as simple as choosing from a drop down menu.
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The Zebrawood tree, Microberlina, brazzavillensis, is found across the Congo, Gabon and Cameroon and is sought after for its characteristic grain striping. This hardwood darkens with age and exposure to light, its straw, yellow-brown darkening to rich dark brown and the dark streaks deepening.

This hardwood species, Quercus, alba is recognizable on floors for its pattern of rays in colors from a beautiful tan to a golden brown. White Oak is a heavy wood with medium bending and crushing strength, is low in stiffness and very good in steam bending, making it ideal to pursue as a flooring choice.

The White Ash tree is 50-80 feet tall with a trunk 2-4 feet in diameter. The tree’s appearance is characterized by a round-topped crown at maturity. This hardwood is noted to react well to staining and preservative treatment. White Ash ambers over time from its pale cream color to golden-straw.

This species, Milletia, laurentii, is a uniform dark chocolate brown color. Wenge is gaining popularity in flooring because it is a good hardwood for turnery, cutting easily, and has a beautiful grain and interesting color.

Victorian Ash has color variation from a color of cream or pale straw to pinkish highlights and some medium gray-brown colors. This hardwood undergoes a color change, where its variation reduces and different color tones become a uniform appearance.

This hardwood species has been traditionally used for shipbuilding, but recently has gained great appeal as flooring. Natural oils in the wood can interfere with stain, so it is recommended to either use a solvent before staining is attempted or to use water-based finishing. Invariably, True Teak will darken to a golden brown with light and oxygen exposure.

The Timborana wood species, Pseusopiptadenia psilostachya is similar to teak in that when fresh cut, the hardwood is a light, tan-yellow color which darkens to a tan-brown color. Through oxidation and sun exposure, reddish tones develop quickly over a period of 6 to 8 months. Timborana is found in Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia and Guyana.

This species, Astronium Lecointei is a boldly striped hardwood with an orange, reddish-brown background and chocolaty brown stripes. Tigerwood flourishes in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala and Mexico.

This wood is a beautiful species with tan-brown background with fine black striping. This hardwood works well with hand and machine tools despite the presence of gum pockets which interfere with sawing. Tiger’s Eye Walnut will change with age as its golden brown deepens to a darker brown under the black striping.

Tamarind is a hardwood with a uniform orange brown color very similar to Brazilian Cherry. This species is also ideal for flooring because it is extremely hard and durable, with a janka rating of 3000. The wood is therefore rated as very difficult to work because of its high density and high silica content. Tamarind is photosensitive and will darken gradually from the orange-brown after finishing to a darker reddish brown.

Sydney Blue Gum is a dense hardwood with a janka rating of 2025 and a distinctive color range that goes from dark, rich pink through deep red-brown. Sydney Blue Gum is photosensitive and will darken moderately, with a reduction in brightness, to a medium brownish red.

The European Sweet Chestnut is the ideal choice to replace the void left behind from the American Chestnut, which is now commercially extinct due to the chestnut blight. This hardwood does not hold up against too much traffic or wear, has a janka rating of 540, and must be sanded carefully to reach a bright polished finish.