Dramatic and tough

Tigerwood Flooring is extremely tough

Tigerwood flooring is a true hardwood and very dense. Although the Janka rating on any kind of hardwood can vary according to where the wood is harvested, Tigerwood has a rating that hovers around 2000, which is quite hard.

Installing Tigerwood flooring can present some challenges. The fact that it is so hard makes it kind of a bear to cut. Carbide tipped power tools are required for Tigerwood installation. Tigerwood is 170% stronger than red oak.

Origins of Tigerwood flooring

Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay are the leading producers of Tigerwood flooring, with smaller quantities coming from other Latin American nations. Sometimes the wood is referred to as Brazilian Tigerwood regardless of origin. Because the wood is imported, this exotic hardwood can fetch a fairly handsome price. But due to the unusual nature of the wood, it can impart a real feel of luxury to any room in which it is installed.

Other names for tigerwood are goncal alves, muiracatiara, astronium and cuta tigre as well as the aforementioned ‘zebrawood’. Because it is such a very hard wood, it is long-lasting and will be an enduring feature of your home.

Caring for Tigerwood Floors

Once the Tigerwood flooring is installed, caring for it isn’t much different from other types of hardwood floors. As with our care articles it is worth repeating that you should use mats at all outside entries, sweep before you mop, avoid harsh chemicals, vacuum with proper attachments and care and use as little water as possible when cleaning your floors.

Tigerwood flooring, like any hardwood floor will darken in tone with age and more so if it is exposed to a great deal of natural light. The contrast that Tigerwood is prized for can fade slightly as the contrast between the light and dark hues in the wood lessens. Therefore, as we have advised in our care articles about other types of flooring, care should be taken to draw the curtains when the sun is bearing down directly on your Tigerwood floor.

As far as exotic hardwood species go, dramatic Tigerwood is really an eye catcher. It has a base color of golden yellow to golden brown with highly contrasting streaks throughout. Deep black or chocolate brown stripes serve to create a truly unique. A wonderful living material, Tigerwood will mature with time and the colors will become mellower and a bit more subtle.

Maple wood flooring is one of the premium kinds of hardwood flooring available. Maple imparts a wonderful warmth to any room and is extremely durable. Like any quality wood flooring, this wood will increase not just the beauty, but also the value of your home. Maple wood flooring has a naturally light hue that blends into and complements all kinds of decorating styles and architectural designs. From a rustic cabin to an elegant and modern traditional style home, this is a flooring choice worth consideration.

Maple Wood Flooring is Green

Northern hard maple is an excellent choice if you are looking for a flooring material that is renewable. As a living tree, this wood is managed and maintained to continue to provide consumers with the material. Maple wood flooring is recyclable in that the boards can be re-used. And, of course, as with all wood flooring products, maple wood is biodegradable.

Maple Wood Flooring means Quality

This magnificent hardwood comes from forest above the 35th parallel. This climate zone’s brief growing season and hard winters makes for wood with very dense graining with a gloriously deep golden color. There are very few flaws in the planking. As with other hardwood varieties, maple wood flooring comes in grades. The highest, or first grade will be selected with the least natural variations while second grade has more variations and third even more. All grades will have the same quality of strength and hardness, however.

Installation of Maple Wood Flooring

The standard advice on all hardwood flooring installation holds true for maple as well. Materials should be held for around 72 hours in the room where it will be installed. The temperature and moisture in the air of the room should be stablized at around 75 degrees and there should be no more than 50% moisture present. For this reason, your heating and air-condtioning systems should be fully functional before your floors are installed.

After your floor is installed, it will take up to two years for the floor to completely adapt to the conditions of your home. Remember, as a living material, wood will continue to react to environmental changes. Dry conditions will cause the wood to shrink and high humidity will cause the boards to swell.

During winter months when your heat is on and the house is dry, you may notice some small separations between the hardwood planks. When the floor is once again exposed to moister air in the warm months these small cracks from shrinkage will disappear.

Maple wood flooring doesn’t require any particularly difficult care. Simple gentle cleaning is really all that your floor will require for many, many years. See our articles on for advice on how to maintain your maple wood floor in prime condition.

Maple wood flooring is an enduring feature of your home that adds great value not only in dollar terms, but in quality of life terms. Your maple floor will last for generations with proper care and can easily be brought back to new condition whenever heavy wear occurs. Among all types of hardwood flooring, maple wood flooring is a star.

Oxalic Acid for Wood Floor Bleaching

Oxalic acid is the bleach of choice when you are confronted with water stains. The reason is this: hardwoods such as cherry, mahogany and oak contain a high amount of tannic acid. This is the substance that imparts the characteristic rich color we love in hardwood floors. Unfortunately, tannic acid reacts with iron and results in a dark stain. Most tap water contains enough iron in it to precipitate this chemical reaction.
Oxalic acid is also sold as a treatment for outdoor wood floors such as decking . A solution of the acid is applied to graying wood and can be helpful in restoring the original brightness of the wood.

Peroxide Bleach for Wood Floors

This type of bleach is sometimes sold as A/B bleach and it is also called “two-part” bleach. The two parts are a strong solution of hydrogen peroxide and a solution of sodium hydroxide. These substances won’t do much on their own, but combined will generate an oxidizing reaction that can lighten pigment stains.

Chlorine Bleach for Wood Floors

Chlorine is very useful in removing or lightening dye stains. While Clorox is a weak solution of chlorine bleach, it takes multiple applications of this household cleaner to have any real effect. A better solution is to purchase calcium hypochlorite from your local pool supply store. Pool chlorine is much stronger than household bleach and makes a very thrifty tool for lightening stained wood floors.

Cleaning Wood Floors

Cleaning Wood Floors — Different tasks to manage

Cleaning wood floors can be roughly broken down into three types of jobs: everyday maintenance, quarterly cleaning and, depending on wear and tear, periodic re-finishing.

Everyday cleaning for wood floors

Every day, your family brings sand, grit and dirt into your home and this is distributed through your house by the day-to-day activities of your family. Obviously, the larger the family, the more dirt is going to come in on the bottoms of your shoes. Pets are a big source as well and cannot be taught to wipe their feet! High traffic areas such as your entrance way and the kitchen are probably the most affected by the dulling power of tracked in dirt. All of this activity and all of the resulting grit acts like sandpaper on your wood floors, dulling their finish over time. So, the first rule of cleaning wood floors is to remove the dirt as often as it is practical. Soft brooms and vacuum cleaners with a soft bristled hose attachment work best for this job. Even if your upright vacuum has a setting for hardwood floors it is best to avoid using it as those spinning bristles can also damage your floors. Gentle is always best.

Preventive measures you can take to keep the dirt outside are to put mats on the outside of doors and area rugs on the inside. That way, the shoes get a double whammy before they hit your floors. If you get in the habit of wiping your dog’s paws after he has been outside, you eliminate one more big source of grit.

It can’t be emphasized enough that water is not a friend to your wood floors. Be vigilant in wiping up wet spills and, if you have a mud room, encourage everyone to use it in the winter time when snow and melting salts (ouch!) can wreak havoc on your floor’s finish. Even sturdy oak floors can be warped if liquid seeps in between the floorboards. When you do mop your floors as regular maintenance, use a well-wrung mop. Mop only after thorough sweeping. For weekly cleaning, a very weak solution of white vinegar or just plain water is sufficient to keep your hardwood flooring clean. Regular detergents and especially ammonia based cleansers can strip or dull the finish of your floor.

Periodic Deep Cleaning Wood Floors

Deeper cleaning is appropriate about every three months. For this task, it is best to invest in a good neutral pH cleaner. Follow the directions carefully as many products you can buy at home improvement stores and specialty stores will be highly concentrated. These products usually cost quite a bit more than run-of-the-mill grocery store cleaners so it should be easy for you to be stingy with their use. You should be. Use a soft mop and as little of the solution as you can. Wring your mop completely after dipping it in the solution. And, always have a mop that is only used on your wood floors so that you can keep it as clean as possible. Dragging dirt around with a wet mop is not something that will enhance the look of your wood floors.

Preventive maintenance is also necessary to keep your oak floors in great shape. Take care when moving furniture as you can really put some major scratches in your hardwood flooring by dragging a heavy object over it. Clever placement of area rugs and runners also goes a long way toward keeping your wood floors in good condition. It is possible for sunlight to discolor wood floors, so try to keep blinds or drapes closed when the sun is shining directly on your floors.

If you follow simple steps, you will not have to face the daunting task of refinishing your hardwood flooring for many, many years. Regular light maintenance and periodic deep cleaning with the proper product will keep oak floors and other woods looking fresh. Cleaning wood floors can actually be a pleasure as you lavish attention on something that brings such rich beauty to your home.

Cleaning wood floors Image Flickr: brooklyn

Water and other liquids are public enemy number one when it comes to keeping your floors looking new. They can leave dark stains by penetrating deep into the grain of the wood floorboards and resist even sanding. The solution to this problem may be to bleach the hardwood with oxalic acid. This chemical can be purchased from paint stores and home improvement centers. Here are the steps to take in using oxalic acid to bleach the stain from your wood flooring:

1.      Sand the stained area so that any finish is removed.  Using a disposable vessel, dissolve the oxalic acid according to the package directions as to the proportion of water to acid crystals. Carefully pour the liquid onto the stain, taking care to saturate only the affected area. You should also wear protective gloves and eye shields when you work with the acid to avoid injury.

2.      Allow the acid solution to work for an hour and if the dark stain has not been eliminated, repeat the treatment. When you can no longer detect a stain, wash the area with two tablespoons of borax dissolved in sixteen ounces of water to neutralize the acid. Rinse the affected part of the floor with clean water and allow it to dry.

3.      Sand the area smooth with fine sandpaper and apply several coats of wood restorer appropriate to your floor finish. You will have to continue application until your treated area matches the surrounding floor.

Using this method will go a long way to getting your wood flooring back to original quality. To prevent further stains, make sure that you attend to all spills immediately and use the proper method for cleaning wood floors.

Installing wood flooring

But upgrading to hardwood floors is expensive, even if you do it yourself. And the final cost is usually much more than the square-foot price that’s advertised. If you’ve tried to calculate how much wood floors will cost based on the ads in the paper, you’re in for a shock.

Of course, prices vary by region, but if you take a few things into account, you should be able to make an educated guess about how much it will cost to upgrade to wood flooring. Once you have an idea, you’ll know whether it’s worth your time to start shopping or not.

Bear in mind that, unlike carpeting, wood floors will last for generations if properly cared for. So you’ll be amortizing the investment over many years. And many flooring companies offer interest-free financing for 12 months and other payment options. They realize that wood flooring is a big purchase that many customers may want help with.

The square-foot price of the wood is just the start. In addition to that, there are other supplies and labor, which will vary based on how the floor is installed.

Wood flooring supply costs.

If you’re lucky enough to have a wood sub floor, you won’t need anything more but some felt paper and some nails or staples. If you’re having your floor installed, these will usually be included in the price of labor. If you’re doing it yourself, figure around $50 for a box of 7,000 staples and ten cents per square foot for the felt paper.

The cost of renting a stapler or nail gun is usually pretty reasonable.

Those without a wood sub floor will incur some additional expense, especially if the floor is to be floated. An underlayment, which can run from 25 cents to $1.50 per square foot will be needed to cushion and insulate the new flooring.

Wood flooring installation

If you have concrete floors, you’ll probably want to use engineered wood flooring that can be glued down. The cost of glue runs from 50 cents to $1.00 per square foot. To be on the safe side, add $1.00 to the price of the wood. Gluing wood flooring often takes longer than nailing it down, so your labor costs may be higher too.

Moisture protection, which is often needed with concrete floors, can add another $1 to $2 per square foot to the cost.

In addition to the floor boards, you’ll need to buy some trim to finish off the floor. If you want quarter-round molding in the same wood and finish as the flooring, this can run as much as $5 a lineal foot. Because there’s waste, it takes more than you think. Your flooring company can help you calculate how much you’ll need.

Wood flooring labor costs.

The cost to install your floor can vary a lot depending on where you live, who installs the floor, and how difficult or easy your specific situation is. If you’re having a full-service dealer install your wood flooring, figure between $2 – $4 a square foot.

The price should include having the wood delivered to your home and stacked, removing the existing flooring, prepping the sub floor, installing the flooring, installing all the trim, cleaning up, and hauling away all the debris. Most installers will move your furniture out and back in once as part of the installation process.

All in, a good-quality, pre-finished wood floor will probably cost between $8 and $12 per square foot, or about $1,200 – $1,800 for a 12’ x 12’ room installed. Bamboo or laminate wood flooring will cost less. Premium hardwoods like cherry will cost more.

Before making a commitment, make sure everything is spelled out in writing so there are no unpleasant surprises.

Reducing the cost of wood flooring.

Buying the wood and getting it to your home yourself will bring down the price, and paying cash will sometimes save you another 2 or 3%. Using inexpensive pine molding and adhesive or staples from your local home store will bring the cost down even more. And installing it on your own will probably get the price to about $6 or $7 a square foot, depending on the flooring, where you live, and the competition in your area.

Learn how to install wood flooring here.

Installing wood flooring Image Flickr: j2davis2005
Wood flooring installation Image Flickr: Steve & Jan Cornwell

American cherry is sought after for its warm, rich color, which ranges from pinkish brown to deep red. As a fruit tree, it’s a member of the rose family, and it grows all over the United States and Canada. In colonial America, cherry was used for fine furniture, inlays, and paneling. Today, it’s a very popular choice for kitchen cabinets, and Shaker-style furniture.

One of the best things about American cherry is the way the color deepens with age. Over the years, it develops a gorgeous patina that polishes beautifully. It has a fine, straight grain.

With a hardness of 950 on the Janka hardness scale, American cherry is softer than many of the most popular woods used for flooring. Red oak, for example, has a hardness of 1290. Consequently, it’s a poor choice for high-traffic areas, commercial settings, or homes with dogs. It’s often used as an accent wood around the edges of a floor where there’s less wear and tear.

It’s also more expensive than other wood flooring options, so before you buy American cherry, make sure it’s an appropriate choice for your room.

Due to its reddish color, Jatoba is often called Brazilian cherry. It grows mostly in Brazil, Chile, the West Indies, and parts of Mexico. The principle difference between Jatoba and American cherry is the hardness. Jatoba measures 2350 on the Janka scale — more than 80% harder than red oak.

This makes Jatoba a better choice for wood flooring in rooms that will receive an average amount of traffic. Like American cherry, it will darken over time, especially if it’s exposed to direct sunlight. The finish that’s used will also affect this process.

Because of it extraordinary hardness, Jatoba is difficult to work with, so it’s a poor choice for do-it-yourselfers. Unless you’re a seasoned woodworker, you’ll likely get better results if you hire a professional to install jatoba wood flooring.

If you can afford it and plan to use it in a room that receives little traffic, real cherry wood will produce a look that’s unsurpassed in its elegance and sophistication. If you want the appearance of cherry with greater durability and affordability, choose jatoba.

Read about walnut wood flooring here.

Although many people assume that solid wood flooring is the best you can buy, that may or may not be true, depending on a number of factors.

First of all, let’s explain what engineered wood flooring is. It’s made by sandwiching together several layers, usually a veneer, a core, and a base. The veneer or top layer is the one you see and it can vary in thickness. Generally speaking, the thicker, the better.

One of the advantages of engineered wood flooring is that it’s easier to install than solid wood flooring. It can be glued down – which is essential if you have concrete sub floors – stapled, or floated. And it’s easier to saw and nail than many solid woods. If you want to install your floors yourself, they’re your best bet.

It can even be installed over tile or vinyl, as long as it’s clean and level. Check to make sure the moisture level is less than 4% first.

Because the grain of the core is perpendicular to the grain of the veneer, it’s actually more stable than solid hardwood. It warps less and is better suited to homes in high-humidity zones or for summer homes that are unheated in winter.

The best thing about solid wood is that if it gets worn, it can be sanded down and refinished. But people forget that even though the wood is ¾” thick, it can only be sanded down to the bottom of the tongue on the side of the plank. In most cases, that’s only about 5/16” thick.

An engineered wood floor with a veneer of 3/16” can usually be sanded three or four times. It should have a lifespan of 60 to 80 years.

Most engineered flooring comes pre-finished, which eliminates all the hassle of sanding and finishing your floors after they’re installed. With 3 -10 layers of urethane already applied, they’ll look good for years with proper care.

These days, you can find engineered wood flooring in virtually every wood, color, and finish. Even hand-scraped and distressed styles are available.

As a rule, engineered wood floors are less expensive than solid wood floors. But if you sell your home, prospective buyers will pay the same price. This is not true for laminate floors which don’t look like real wood.

Another benefit is that they’re environmentally responsible. The wood required to produce one square foot of solid wood flooring will yield approximately four times as much engineered product.

Read about other kinds of wood flooring.

Hardwood floors can last for decades, even centuries, under the right circumstances. Or they can need refinishing – or worse yet, replacing – in a relatively short period of time. So how can you make sure that the wood flooring you choose will provide beauty and utility for years to come?

Although virtually all wood will scratch, some wood is much more resistant to scratching and other wear. One of the most important aspects determining wear is the hardness of the wood.

Wood hardness is evaluated using a measurement called the Janka Scale. It measures how much force it takes to press a .444” steel ball into the wood until it reaches half its diameter.

This calculation translates into a number that represents the pounds per square inch of force required to embed the ball. Most often, the ball is pushed into the side of the plank, resulting in a measurement of the “side hardness.” But sometimes, the end of the wood is also tested. The result of this measurement would be “end hardness,” which is obviously less important for wood flooring.

The results are expressed differently in different countries, so if you’re comparing results, make sure they’re all stated the same way.

The higher the number, the greater the wood’s ability to resist dents and other wear. It also indicated how hard the wood will be to saw and nail. Some wood that would be great in terms of wear would be very difficult to install. So if you’ve chosen extremely hard wood for your floors, you may want to leave the installation to a professional.

There are several other factors that affect wear, especially if you’re using engineered wood flooring. The thickness of the top layer, the material used in the core, and the direction of the grain will all make a difference.

The more traffic you expect in a room, the higher the Janka rating you should consider. With a Janka score of 690, Southern Yellow Pine is not a great choice for high-wear areas. A high-heeled shoe, dog paw, or pebble stuck in a sole could easily damage a pine floor.

Red Oak, the most popular American wood flooring, has a Janka score of 1290. And it’s durable enough to work well in most situations. If you need something more wear resistant, hard maple scores 1450. It’s used for basketball courts and bowling alleys. Santos Mahogany scores 2200; Brazilian Cherry scores 2345; and Brazilian Walnut scores 3680.

Although there are exceptions, the harder woods are often more expensive.

Understanding the Janka Scale and the importance of hardness in wood flooring will help you select a floor that performs beautifully in your home.

Read more about hardwoods here.

Most of the reclaimed boards that are used in wood flooring today are over 100 years old and were originally used in barns, farmhouses, and other construction in American northeast and midwest.  Typically, timber flooring planks are wider than most of today’s flooring.  In fact, widths of 10″, 12” and even wider are common.

Around the turn of the 20th century, builders weren’t often choosing lumber for its appearance.  So not much first grade or clear wood was used for flooring. As a result, these old boards have lots of imperfections like knots , cracks, and uneven or coarse grains.  This is all part of what makes timber floors one of a kind.  No two boards are alike.

Because wood is a sustainable product and reclaimed wood is recycled from a previous use, timber flooring is also ecologically responsible.

The most common reclaimed woods are red and white oak — still the most popular woods for flooring today.  Oak is hard, even grained, and works well in almost any situation.  Because it’s readily available, it also has the advantage of being more affordable than some other species.

Not all reclaimed flooring is hardwood.  In fact, softwoods like eastern white pine, hemlock, and Douglas fir make beautiful wood floors, those are less durable than hardwoods.  The color ranges from light to dark brown, and older boards have a rich patina.  These make especially popular timber floors for kitchens and family rooms.

Although it’s technically a softwood, heart pine is almost as soft as oak. In fact, it’s the hardest softwood.  There are usually lots of knots and coarse grain.  And the pale, golden color sets off furniture and area rugs.  It was originally used in docks and warehouses, so it’s quite rustic and creates an informal, casual room.

One of the most widely planted share trees after the Civil War, the American elm is pale with a tight, straight grain.  Most of the trees were wiped out by Dutch Elm Disease, so supply of Elm is limited.  But it makes a less rustic timber floor than most other reclaimed woods.

If you can find it, old chestnut is one of the most desirable reclaimed wood for timber flooring.  A fungal blight in the early 20th century wiped out American chestnut, so the supply is scarce.  Not only is chestnut extremely durable, it has a rich, dark color that only comes with age.

Several small lumber and flooring companies sell timber flooring.  If you can’t see the actual boards before you purchase them, be prepared for the color and texture to be different from the samples in the showroom.

Read more about antique oak flooring here.