Tigerwood Flooring–Exotic and Tough
Filed Under Other types of flooring, Wood Flooring | Leave a Comment
Tigerwood flooring comes from trees grown in neotropical areas and is commonly imported from South America. Astronium fraxinfolium is the botanical name for this lovely wood that sports nicely contrasting colors throughout the grain–stripes from whence it gets its name. It grows throughout Latin America and in some parts of Mexico.
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.
Comments
Leave a Reply
