Wide Plank Flooring FAQ | ||||
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Why does length matter in wide plank flooring ? Much of the wood flooring market is dominated by short boards milled by cutting around defects in the wood. At Hull Forest Products we start with boards that are of such high quality they don't require filling or trimming; as a result, we are able to offer our planks in long lengths. Even our Character grade flooring planks have such beautiful appearance grade knots and character markings they don't need to be "defected" (hacked into shorter lengths to make them useable). Our solid unfinished wide plank flooring comes to you straight off the log—in a wide range of widths and in much longer minimum average lengths than you’ll find from other wide plank flooring manufacturers. Longer plank lengths mean fewer seams and transitions (and a less busy look) for your floor, compared to the patchwork effect created by an abundance of short boards. What does minimum average length refer to ? The minimum average length is the shortest average length you will receive in your order. Most manufacturers have minimum average lengths that are quite short (often less than 4 feet or as short as 2 feet). The minimum average length on our orders is: 10 feet for pine, 8 feet for hardwoods. When comparing prices, be sure to ask other manufacturers about their minimum average plank length and what percent of your planks will be longer than the minimum average length. The bottom line: for our price you get longer and larger planks, which are a premium product that adds aesthetic value to your floor. What are random widths / installing random widths: In the old days, people used the entire log or resource that was available to them, so floors in old homes have planks of several different widths, known as random widths. (As an aside, traditional floors were not only random width but also a mix of grades, and we frequently mix grades on request for customers who want this historically accurate look. Our Eastern White Pine Traditional flooring is a good reproduction/historical fit because it is a mix of several pine grades with a wide range of widths as well). Single width floors, because they are a more recent invention, lend themselves to a more contemporary atmosphere. There is frequently a surcharge for single width orders or repeating pattern orders such as 4,5,6, / 4, 5, 6 etc. because it involves more sorting of the product. Installing a random width (RW) floor is no more difficult than installing all one width or a repeating pattern. The floor will consist of 3 or more widths in varying amounts. You will receive a tally sheet with your order telling how much lineal and square footage you have in each width of your order. The widths that have the most lineal footage will repeat more often than those with less lineal footage. For example, an order with mostly 4" but some 5" and 6" may go like this: 4, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 6, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4 with the 4" repeating most often, but randomly. The tally sheet tells you how many times each width should repeat across a given length of a room. Are your floors really mill direct ? Yes, emphatically, yes. We ARE a sawmill, not just a shop where lumber purchased from sawmills is further milled into flooring. We grow the trees, harvest them, and saw the logs into flooring for you. It doesn't get any more direct than that. Where are you located? Our sawmill is located in northeastern Connecticut. We mill wide plank flooring, timbers, lumber, and other forest products for customers throughout the Northeast (New England, New York) as well as the West Coast, Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and Southeast. Our wood flooring and timbers have supplied homes from Alaska to Ireland, Japan to the Netherlands, among many other countries. We ship worldwide. I’m not sure what type of flooring I want. Can I request a sample? Yes. Let us know what species and grade(s) you are considering and we will send you a complimentary sample. Request a sample. Do your floors come with a guarantee? Yes. We place a lifetime structural guarantee on every floor we sell. If there is every any damage attributable to a manufacturing defect, we will replace the material. Is your flooring unfinished or prefinished? We only sell unfinished solid wood wide plank flooring. This is a higher quality product which enables the customer to get the best quality finish on site. Can your floors work with a radiant heating system? Yes, and many of our customers have them. Wide plank flooring is a fine choice for use with radiant heating systems provided it is installed properly. We can provide some helpful information. Some flooring companies use the term "old growth." I've noticed you don't use that term. Why? Because we are foresters as well as flooring manufacturers, and the forestry definiton of old growth as it applies to the eastern United States, where our trees are grown, is: a forest greater than 200 years of age that has not been altered or harvested by humans. Old growth forests are rare and usually exist in small patches where they were either too difficult to access or purposely left alone. We identified an old growth area in one of our forests and, recognizing it as a special and significant, we conserved it in conjunction with the Massachusetts State Division of Fisheries and Wildlife so it would never be cut down. We often encounter large old trees, particularly pines, that grew up on areas once cleared for pasture in New England that have long since grown back to forest. These trees may be up to 150 years of age and we do make flooring out of them. Companies using the term "old growth" to describe their flooring are probably referring to these types of second- or third-growth trees and just using the term "old growth" for advertising purposes. What information do I need to place an order? First, determine what species, grade, and size of flooring you want. If you are not sure, our flooring specialist can help you choose a floor that fits your application. There are many factors to consider, including where the floor will be installed, the preferred method of installation, the pattern, the preferred look of the reveal (board edge profile), and the desired color. Most orders are ready in 5 to 6 weeks or less. How long will my order take? How will my flooring be bundled and shipped? The average lead time for flooring orders is 4-6 weeks. Shipping time varies by location, generally taking from 1 to 5 days. Your flooring will come in bundles of planks that are packed 42” wide by up to 42” tall. Bundles are equipped with protective corners then strapped with 1/2” steel banding and wrapped in plastic. All shipped orders are further protected by being placed inside a custom-built wooden crate of oak and pine that we make here to insure your order arrives in exactly the same condition that it left our mill. What are average shipping costs? Shipping costs vary by your location and the size of the order, from .30/sf to $1.50/sf for the U.S. The average continental U.S. shipping cost on our orders is about .40/sf. Global shipping is also available; call for rate quotes. What methods of payment do you accept? To get your order started, we need a 50 percent deposit. We accept the balance before shipment or delivery. You may pay by Mastercard or Visa over the phone or by personal check. How much additional footage will I need for my installation? For a typical three width random width order, you will need 10 percent additional footage. For a single width order, you will need an additional 7 percent. We can help you determine just how much product you need without selling you a lot of extra footage that will not be used. What type of finish do you recommend for your floors? This depends on personal preference. The two main choices are a poly finish or a tung oil finish. A polyurethane finish will give a clear hard surface coat that protects the surface more and provides a glossy coat. This finish is more labor intensive, requiring several coats with sanding in between. A tung oil finish is a lower maintenance option that soaks into the wood itself to protect it. It can be simply rubbed in with a cloth and does not require sanding between applications, but it does not provide a hard surface finish. We don’t recommend any one brand of finish—there are so many good ones out there. We recommend you consult with your installer and patronize your local supply store. Why is your wood a socially conscious, renewable choice? All wood is an environmentally responsible choice because it is a 100 percent renewable resource. However, our wood is grown and harvested sustainably in the United States, under some of the most stringent environmental laws in the world. In addition, we offer FSC-certified flooring for those who desire it. When you choose a forest product grown in the United States, you support wood as a commodity and ensure that it will continue to be grown and harvested sustainably. You provide the incentive for local landowners to keep their land in forest, helping to absorb greenhouse gases and clean and filter our air. There are other renewable floor choices out there, such as bamboo. But unlike bamboo, which is grown in monoculture, trees grow in forests—complex ecosystems with greater contributions to biodiversity, soil, water, and air quality. Read more about wood flooring vs. bamboo. Our sawmill is certified to FSC standards by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a leading certifier of wood products manufacturers. Our certification code is SCS-COC-002641. We have received an Environmental Merit award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for our role in creating bio-reserves of forestland, and our company forestland is certified to FSC standards by SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Forestry Division. Our certification code is SW-FM/COC-000193. We have also placed conservation restrictions on our land that permanently protect it from development, so our forests will remain productive, working landscapes that provides jobs and timber as well as plant and wildlife habitat, scenic viewsheds, carbon sequestration, open space, and recreational opportunity. Read more about our forest conservation.
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