How to Select Hardwood Flooring
When considering hardwood flooring in your home, there are likely plenty of questions going through your mind. As a hardwood flooring industry insider, I love to educate homeowners to get them off to the right start.
The hardness and stability of each specie should be considered when selecting a hardwood floor. The harder the wood specie, the more susceptible to dimensional changes with fluctuations in indoor humidity. Hardwoods are most stable in 35-60% relative humidity, but will expand in width when humidity is high and shrink when the indoor humidity is very low. The exception to this is Quartersawn White Oak because of the direction the logs are cut; its dimensional stability is a perfect fit for damp basements, open windows all summer, and waterfront living. Alternatively, if you have widely variable indoor humidity, you need to carefully acclimate the flooring to your home before installation and use a narrow width hardwood flooring, such as 3” or 2-1/4”.
Active households with large dogs, young children, and boots inside the house will benefit from hickory or white oak, being the most resistant to denting. Less active households are less likely to notice reduced hardness with ash and red oak, but hardness does not impact the scratch resistance of the finish. Every wood floor will dent and gain “character” with time; wood floors with knots, mineral streaks, worm holes, and color variation age well because imperfections blend with the natural character. For this reason, we recommend textured or distressed flooring options for homes with pets.
Consider your lifestyle and personality when choosing your hardwood floor color and finish sheen. Like a car, dark and shiny is attractive but will show more dirt and scratches.
Ask your flooring retailer for samples you can take home to see in your own lighting and décor. We expect a solid hardwood floor to last the life of your home and likely won’t need to be refinished for up to 35 years, so pick a floor that you will be happy with for a long time. We want your hardwood floor to bring a smile to your face for years to come!