According to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), 90 percent of realtors polled in a national survey said that homes with real wood floors sell faster and at higher prices than those that do not have wood floors. Since wood floors comprise one of the largest visible areas in your home, it is important to choose carefully. Unlike engineered or laminate floors, solid wood floors can be sanded and refinished many times. They will beautify your home for generations to come.
The term wide plank flooring refers to solid wood flooring greater than 3 inches in width. Most wide plank flooring is between 3" and 20" in width. Plank length, however, varies greatly by manufacturer. At Hull Forest Products, the average plank length is at least eight feet.
Some things to consider when choosing wide plank flooring:
Why does the length of your floor planks matter?
Longer planks mean fewer end and edge seams and transitions on your floor, compared to the "busy" look resulting from an abundance of shorter boards. Not only will the visual line not be broken up, there will be fewer places to collect dust and dirt. Ask the manufacturer what their plank length range is as well as their minimum average plank length. What percent of your flooring order will be minimum average length or longer?
Ask yourself what kind of statement you want your floor to make.
Do you want a floor that draws attention to itself? Then you may prefer a dramatic or visually exciting floor with a lot of contrast between heartwood and sapwood, such as Hickory or Premium Sugar Maple. Or you might prefer the natural grades of flooring, which showcase the rustic beauty of character knots, bird peck, and other variations in planks that are as unique as each individual tree.
If you want your floor to blend into its surroundings a bit more, you might prefer a traditional choice, such as Select Red Oak or White Oak.
Trends come and go, but Oak is a classic. Eye pleasing but not attention-grabbing, Oak accounts for approximately 2/3 of all new floor installations in the U.S. We offer flawless Oak floors that showcase clear grain beautifully and we offer country and character grade Oak floors with varying degrees of rusticity.
Do you prefer a clear floor or one with natural character markings?
A clear floor will showcase grain beautifully and is well suited to a more formal setting, while a floor with knots and character marks will have sylvan appeal. Most of our flooring is available in three grades: select, premium, and natural. We can also mix these grades to create the exact look you want.
What is your tolerance for dings and dents?
All wood floors develop wear marks over time. This is part of the charm of wood, a living material. Some people prefer softer woods because they develop this patina more quickly. For example, our wide plank pine is a best seller and very popular among traditional and historic homeowners because it quickly gives an "aged" feel. Others do not find wear charming, and they tend to choose harder woods such as Oak, Hickory, Maple, and Ash.
Consider species hardness when making a selection.
Depending on your tolerance for wear, you may want to factor species hardness into your flooring decision. One popular way of comparing the hardness of various wood flooring is the Janka hardness scale, which measures the force required to push an .444 inch steel ball into the side of a plank to a depth of ½ the ball's diameter. The higher the Janka number, the harder the wood. See the Janka numbers for our woods here. Your floor is unlikely to ever experience this kind of constant pressure, but the scale is designed to give you an idea of how much wear and tear each species can endure.
Where will the floor go in your home?
Where you plan to place the floor in your home may make all the difference in your wood selection. Depending on your tolerance, a harder wood may be a better choice for a high-traffic area, while a lower-traffic area such as a bedroom may be the best place for a softer wood. Placing area rugs over your wood floor in high-traffic areas will also help reduce wear. Of course, wide plank flooring can always be refinished to remove scuff marks, if so desired. Our standard planks are a full 3/4" thick when finished. The beauty of solid wood floors is that they can be sanded and refinished many times and still have a lifetime of wear left in them.
Do you want your finished floor to be light, medium, or dark?
Lighter floors can give a room an open or airy feeling and make the space seem larger. Darker floors tend to give a vintage, more formal look. While you can stain your floor any color you like, it helps to start with a wood whose natural color is close to the tone you are trying to achieve. In addition, some woods take stain better than others. Oak and Pine, for example, absorb stain readily and can be finished equally well light or dark.
Test drive a sample.
If you're not sure what you want or want to test a stain on one of our woods, feel free to email us your name and contact information along with the species and grade you are considering, and we will ship you a free sample. We are confident you are going to like Hull Forest Products' plank flooring and paneling.
Always feel free to contact us with any design or product questions. We are here to help you.
1-800-928-9602 between 7:30 am and 3:30 pm EST Monday-Friday. We look forward to speaking with you.
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