Hardwood flooring is an excellent investment for any home in the area. It is beautiful, durable, and enjoys a high resale value. If you are ready to install new hardwood or engineered hardwood flooring, take a look at our quick overview of some popular wood species.
Oak Hardwood Flooring
Oak is the most popular hardwood flooring species, and there is a lot to love about this wood. In terms of durability, it sits in the middle of the Janka hardness scale with a rating of 1290 for red oak and 1360 for white oak. This means that the wood will resist scratches and dents, making it an excellent option for high traffic areas. The more common red oak flooring has moderate to prominent graining and ranges in color from reddish pink to darker brown.
Maple Hardwood Flooring
Maple flooring is very popular for modern homes. This flooring has a light creamy color with subtle shade differences from plank to plank. The graining in maple is also very light, giving it a clean and airy appearance compared to the more traditional oak flooring. Maple is harder than oak, rating 1450 on the Janka scale. This means it is also very durable, but slightly more challenging to cut and install.
Cherry Hardwood Flooring
Many homeowners prefer the beautiful, warm tones of American cherry flooring. Typically found in a reddish brown color, the tone can vary quite a bit from plank to plank. Cherry is often installed in wide planks to highlight this aesthetic quality. Cherry is softer than oak and maple flooring, rating 950 on the Janka scale. This softer wood is more prone to scratches and dents, but when installed in low traffic areas, it can be a beautiful surface in your home for decades.
Environmentally-Friendly Flooring
While not technically hardwood, there are many eco-friendly flooring options on the market today that look and feel like hardwood, with some additional benefits. Bamboo flooring is the most common option. While technically a grass, bamboo is a sustainable and highly renewable resource that appeals to many homeowners. This flooring is very durable, affordable, and easy to maintain.
There are many beautiful hardwood species to choose from, and our team at Floor Coverings International® of would love to help! Contact us for a free in-home consultation and we’ll come to you in the area with our mobile showroom. View samples in the comfort and convenience of your own home.
Photos (in order) by Artazum and Valentina Razumova