Tag: choosing wide plank flooring

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The Hull Forest Guide to Styles of Wide Plank Flooring

By Mary Hull

white oak plank flooring quarter and rift sawn from hull forest productsd
White oak quarter and rift sawn solid wood flooring from Hull Forest Products in a Catskills timber frame home.
Photo credit: @grossanddaley

We custom mill all kinds of hardwood and pine wide plank floors to fit your look and unique style -whether the place you call home is a vintage farmhouse, a brand new home, or an urban apartment, we can make you the perfect floor. Use this style guide to inspire ideas for your next project.

Rustic

Wood with rustic character works well for a variety of spaces – it is a natural fit for log and timber homes, and it’s also great in modern interiors where it serves as the perfect foil for white spaces and sleek surfaces like glass, metal, and tile.

  • Wood floors are an essential design element, comprising the largest visible surface area in your home. Think of them as functional art.
  • Wide and long plank floors create a clean visual line because there are fewer visible seams on the floor. In contrast, shorter and narrower planks create a patchwork effect.
  • Wood with natural character adds a warm, organic element to any interior.
  • Our best selling rustic wood floors are in the natural character grades of live sawn white oak, ash, hickory, maple, and birch. Some people may think of character marks as imperfections, but we think they make the most interesting and beautiful wood floors.

Modern to Contemporary

From mid-century modern to the present day and future, if your interior is informed by modernism, we have some ideas for wood floors that will complement your style.

  • Planks of equal width lend a modern air compared to random width planks, which are associated with early homes and traditional milling techniques.
  • Long planks enhance flow in open floor plans, particularly when the same species and color is used throughout.
  • The angular lines of rift sawn white oak make it a popular choice for modern interiors. We also see our wide plain sawn white oak, red oak, ash, and maple going into modern and contemporary spaces.

Traditional

Have a vintage home? We can make floors to mimic historic milling techniques, and our random width /random length wide plank floors evoke an earlier time.

  • It doesn’t get any more traditional than old fashioned solid wood plank flooring.
  • Long and wide planks & random widths are associated with historic homes. In the old days, when all logs were sawn locally, people used the entire resource as it came off the log, and they would not have had floors that were all one width, or even all one grade. Rather, they had boards in a mix of grades.
  • We see a lot of our random width flooring, especially live sawn white oak, select red oak, and eastern white pine, going into antique, reproduction, and farmhouse style homes. Because these floors are each a mix of several grades and available in a wide range of widths, they are a good fit for a vintage look.

Classic to Transitional

Classic tried and true hardwood flooring enhances your home’s resale value, works with a wide variety of decorating styles, and will look just as timeless in the future as it does today. The transitional style is a classic look that appeals to those seeking middle ground – it is less formal than traditional style and less austere than contemporary style. Transitional style takes elements from the past and the present and mixes them together for a clean aesthetic that prioritizes comfort.

  • Red oak is a classic choice, available in select, premium, and natural grades with plank widths from 3-14 inches and very long plank lengths of 4-10 feet with an average plank length of 7+ feet. Red oak takes stain easily, allowing for a wide range of finish tones, and is less expensive than white oak. Red Oak is also rapidly renewable, making it one of the most environmentally conscious woods you can choose.
  • White oak is another classic choice, available plain sawn, live sawn, or quarter/rift sawn.
  • We see a lot of our select and premium grades of red oak, white oak , ash, and maple going into transitional style homes. When the design leans toward a farmhouse vibe, live sawn white oak is also a popular choice.

Browse more of our flooring photos to get inspired. Ready for your customized quote? Click below or call us at 1-800-928-9602 .

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Five Things You Should Know When Choosing Wide Plank Wood Flooring

Choosing wide plank flooring? Here are five points to keep in mind.

1. Know the size of your project. When choosing wide plank flooring, first estimate the square footage you will need based on your room’s dimensions, then add 10-15 percent, depending on the shape of the rooms.   Your sawmill or supplier will need to know  your square footage needs to determine whether they have enough material in inventory to process your order ASAP. Also be sure your site conditions are appropriate for wood flooring (for example, installing solid wood floors below grade is not recommended).

2. Think about wood species. Spend some time browsing photos of different wood species, and learn about the properties of the woods. Are you choosing a species of wide plank flooring that makes sense for your needs? (If you are a perfectionist who can’t stand the look of distressed floors, you probably want to go with a harder wood that won’t show wear easily, like Ash, Red Oak, White Oak or Maple.)

Don’t get too hung up on the color of a particular floor you see in a photo, as the same wood can look very different depending on the finish you choose. Applying a stain can also change the color of a floor dramatically. You may want to experiment with different finishes to make sure you get the look you like best.   At our sawmill,  Hull Forest Products, we offer free unfinished samples – just go into one of our species galleries, click on a photo, and select the “more details” button to order samples of any floor.

Figure 2, below, shows the range of coloration between various types of clear satin sheen finishes. The finishes were applied to samples of our unfinished Select grade White Oak flooring.

White Oak floor boards labeled with different finishes applied for comparison purposes
Figure 2: Note the color variation between these different types of clear satin sheen finishes when applied to identical planks of our select grade White Oak. From the left: Bona Mega Waterborne satin finish, Lenmar polyurethane oil-based satin finish, Sutherland Welles tung oil satin finish, and Waterlox tung oil satin finish.

3. Consider grades of wood when choosing wide plank flooring. Once you’ve decided on a species of wood, you’ll have a choice of grades within that species.  All of our flooring grades perform well; the grade is purely a matter of style and cost. We call wood with clear grain and few to no knots “Select” grade. Wood with natural character markings like knots or bark pocket is called “Natural” grade.  Premium grade is a midpoint between these two grades.

4. Consider plank widths. Plank widths affect the price of your floor and they have a big visual impact as well.  Choosing a range of plank widths (known as “random widths”) is less expensive than requesting floor boards that are all 7″ wide, for example.  This is because the material does not have to be sorted as much or ripped to 7 inches. Figure 3, below, illustrates the look of a floor with random widths.  The plank widths are a mix of 9-14 inches.

Live sawn White oak flooring
Figure 3: Live sawn White Oak flooring from Hull Forest Products, in random plank widths of 9-14 inches.

Compare the look of the random width floor boards in Figure 3  to the floor shown in Figure 4, below, which features plainsawn White Oak floor planks that are each 10 inches wide.  This gives you an idea of the visual impact of random widths vs. equivalent widths.

White Oak wide plank flooring, all 10 inch wide planks, from Hull Forest Products, hullforest.managedcoder.com.
Figure 4: Select grade plainsawn White Oak wide plank flooring from Hull Forest Products, all 10 inch wide planks, with a satin sheen poly finish.

5. Do you want unfinished wood flooring or prefinished wood flooring? In some cases, such as an apartment in a high rise that doesn’t allow on-site wood finishing, this question may already be answered for you. It may depend on whether you are building a new home or already living in an existing one. The up-front cost of prefinished flooring is higher.  On the other hand, if you are hiring a professional to finish your floor on site, there is a cost and an inconvenience factor associated with that, too. Some people prefer the look of a site-finished wood floor because it will have a snug, square edge with no bevel, compared to a prefinished floor, which will have a slight microbeveled edge on the long sides of the planks.  You also  have a greater range of finish options when site-finishing your wood floor.  It’s up to you, so weigh your options.

Shop Our Wide Plank Wood Floors

Related posts:

Choosing a Wood Floor for Your Kitchen

Why Plank Length Matters in Wood Flooring

As always, we are here to answer your questions!  Happy browsing, and when you’re ready to find the perfect wood floor for your home, give us a call or send us an email.  1-800-928-9602  Browse wide plank wood floors anytime at hullforest.com.

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How to Choose a Wide Plank Wood Floor

wide plank white oak flooring from hullforest.com
Figure 1:  Hull Forest Products’ wide plank white oak flooring in a mix of 7, 8, and 9 inch widths with a semi-gloss poly finish in a Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts home. Floor #200.

Not sure what kind of wide plank wood floor you want? Flooring manufacturer Hull Forest Products recommends you ask yourself  four questions to help determine your style when choosing wide plank flooring:

1. Do you prefer a clear floor or one with some knots or other natural markings?

Clear floors, like the White Oak floor shown above in Figure 1, present a more uniform appearance. While all planks exhibit a natural beauty unique to the tree from which they came (there really are no two alike), there is a more obvious grain and color variation between the planks of floors exhibiting light to heavy character markings. (See Figure 2 below)

Natural grade White Oak flooring with character markings.
Figure 2: Natural grade live sawn White Oak with some character markings. This is the same species of wood as shown in Figure 1, but a different grade and saw cut. This natural grade of wood has character markings such as knots, bark pocket, and mineral streak.

In Figure 2 we have a natural grade of live sawn White Oak with some knots and other character markings that create a homey, less formal, atmosphere.

2. What kind of statement do you want your floor to make (or not make)?

If you want a floor that draws a lot of visual attention, you may like something with strong contrast between heartwood and sapwood, such as Hickory. Or you might prefer a floor that showcases the rustic beauty of character knots, bird peck, and other variations as unique as each individual tree.

If you want your floor to blend into its surroundings a bit more, you may prefer a traditional choice, such as 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 United States. We offer flawless Oak floors that showcase clear grain beautifully and we offer character grade Oak floors with varying degrees of rusticity.

3. If you are not sticking with the natural wood color but are planning to stain your floor, are you going for a color that is light, medium, or dark?

Many of our clients choose to keep the natural color of the wood. Others want a bleached floor, or a very dark one. In general, lighter floors lend an open and airy feeling and can make a room seem larger, while darker floors tend to have a vintage, more formal look. Of course you can stain your floor any color you like, but it helps to start with a wood that is close to the color you are trying to achieve. In addition, some woods, such as Oak and Pine, absorb stain more readily than others and can be stained equally well light or dark.

4. Where will the floor go in your home, and what is your tolerance for dings and dents?

All wood floors develop wear marks over time. This is part of the charm of wood, an organic material. Some people actually prefer softer woods because they develop this patina more quickly. For example, our wide pine is very popular among farmhouse and period homeowners because it quickly gives an “aged” feel (See Figure 3 below). Others do not find wear charming, and they tend to choose harder woods such as Maple, Ash, Red Oak, White Oak, and Hickory.

Figure 3: Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum in Massachusetts, uses our wide plank pine. They deliberately apply no finish to the wood so it wears quickly. This floor has been subjected to heavy public foot traffic for years, aging it very quickly so it looks older than it is.

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.

Your choice of finish will also affect the condition of your floor, with a poly finish providing more protection than an oil finish or no finish.

Placing area rugs over your wood floor in high-traffic areas will also help reduce wear.

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.

See Figure 4 for an example of a hardwood floor that is subjected to heavy public foot traffic but still looks great.

Figure 4 below shows the  floor of the Frye Boot flagship store on Spring Street in lower Manhattan. We made this floor for them out of ten inch wide natural grade White Oak planks, and they chose to stain it a very dark color.  The floor we made for Frye Boot  looks fantastic and it gets walked on every day by all kinds of shoes–including high heels.

Figure 4: Our White Oak flooring in the natural grade, Frye Boot flagship store, Spring Street, lower Manhattan.

Your own living room is unlikely to ever see this level of foot traffic, but I point it out as an example of what you might want to go with if  you really don’t want to see any dings or dents on  your wood floor. For those uncomfortable with any wear, a hardwood like Oak is a great choice.

Have questions or need more advice in choosing a floor?  Our flooring specialists can help.  Browse our wide plank floors.

Call us toll-free at 1-800-353-3331 or email us today.

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10 Reasons To Choose A Wood Floor

Why wide plank wood floors are a good choice for your kitchen
Wide plank flooring made from locally grown natural character grade White Oak on the kitchen floor in this timber frame home.

Top Ten Benefits of Wood Floors – And Why You Should Choose Them

1. Wood is the most abundant renewable flooring material available.

Trees create wood by harnessing solar power. Trees are a renewable resource and sustainable forest management makes it possible to harvest wood over and over again without any negative impact on the environment. Average annual net growth for hardwoods is greater than average annual removals, and hardwood growing stock in the United States has increased by 119 percent since the 1950s.  Wood is a natural, renewable, sustainable, and environmentally-preferred building resource. (Sources: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service; Woodisgreen.com; National Wood Flooring Association: woodfloors.org)

2. Wood floors improve indoor air quality.

Indoor air quality is better with real wood floors than with vinyl, carpet, or other flooring choices. Wood floors do not harbor animal dander, pollen, dust, and mold compared to other floor coverings. (Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Wood Flooring Association: woodfloors.org)

3. Wood floors are long lasting.

Wood floors last hundreds of years and don’t need to be replaced as often as other flooring options.  (National Association of Home Builders)

4. Houses with real wood floors sell faster than those without them.

In a national survey of realtors, 90 percent said houses with wood floors sell faster and for more money than those without them. (National Wood Flooring Association: woodfloors.org)

5. Wood floors save natural resources.

They use far less water and energy to produce than other flooring options. Every wood substitute requires far more energy to produce than wood. (University of Wisconsin Wood Products Program Life Cycle Analysis)

6. You can address climate change by using more wood, not less.

Wood is a carbon neutral material that produces oxygen during its growth cycle and stores carbon during its service life.  The growth of wood in renewable forests works to sequester and remove carbon from the atmosphere. (Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials www.corrim.org)

7. Choosing wood floors protect forests.

The use of wood creates demand in the marketplace, giving people incentive to plant more trees and maintain forested areas. Want to protect forestland right here in the United States? Buy local/native wood products. You will help conserve the landscape you enjoy by giving local forest owners incentive to keep their tree farms. (shoplocalsaveland.com)

8. Wood outgreens bamboo.

Trees take longer to regenerate than bamboo, which is often touted as an environmentally friendly flooring because it is rapidly renewable; however, longer regeneration time is a benefit because forests with trees of different ages promote biodiversity. In contrast, bamboo is grown in monoculture plantations which do not make as large a contribution to wildlife habitat, air, water, or soil quality. (Idahoforests.org)

9. Wood earns LEED points.

Wood is recognized by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for improved indoor air quality, material use, location proximity, and sustainably sourced materials. (U.S. Green Building Council)

10. Natural materials  enhance your home environment.

Your home should be a beautiful, healthy sanctuary.  Wood is a beautiful, durable, healthy choice for both the world’s environment and your home’s environment.  Bringing natural materials like wood into your home is also a great way to enhance your well-being and your indoor air quality. (Source: United States Consumer Product Safety Information)

We hope this information is helpful to you as a homeowner or builder/designer.  We love hearing from you, so let us know if you need a catalog or complimentary wood samples. And don’t hesitate to contact Hull Forest Products with your wood flooring questions.  Call 1-800-928-9602 to speak with a flooring representative, or email us today.

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