There are roughly 1300 different species of Acacia. Around 960 of them are native to Australia. The reminder inhabits all continents. Most of Acacia species are shrubs. The ones that are trees have beautiful, hard, sturdy wood.
Here is Mazama Acacia hardwood flooring.
Hi all,
Customers often ask that I weigh the pros and cons of glueing down of floating over a concrete sub floor. So here we go….
Glue Down: A glue down installation is generally considered a more tedious method of installing a floor.
1) Keep in mind you are dealing with multiple gallon pails of adhesive. It’s can get very messy, very quickly.
2) It’s unforgiving. Improperly placed boards are tough to remove and can add a lot of work.
3) Many adhesives contain VOCs (though low VOC products are now available)
4) Quality adhesives can be surprisingly expensive, and it’s not a product you should consider going low end.
Floating: A floating floor installation seems to be the DIYers method of choice.
1) Relatively easy install with either a click and lock method or small amounts or adhesive with a traditional tongue and groove install.
2) Pretty forgiving as improperly installed boards can be removed with relative ease.
3) No or far less adhesive is necessary, therefore no uneccessary VOCs.
4) A two-in-one underlayment is necessary but far less expensive than adhesive.
5) One complaint I hear is that some customers find a floated floor has too much ‘give’, attributable to the foam underlay. Glue down is the only way to avoid this with certainty.
Anyone out there installed a floor in either of these methods and want to give their 2 cents??
Cheers,
Tom
Hi all,
A common misconception I come across is mistaking grading for an indicator of structural integrity and/or performance in hardwood floors. While knots and mineral streaks may not be desirable in a smooth faced, unstained floor, they are generally desirable in a hand scraped and/or distressed floor. The later customer is looking for a natural, rustic character in their floor. Knots and such bring just that.
Another consideration is cost. Why pay big bucks for high end grade lumber only to a) cover it in stain, b) scrap the surface, c) hit it with a hammer, or d) all the above?
Cheers,
Tom
Sometimes I think that it is a pity to stain yelow birch; a natural color that is so rich and warm.
Here is another picture of white ash flooring. Durable, stable and beautiful flooring.
Hi all,
Colour variation is a topic I discuss with customers daily. It is important to understand that real hardwood floors are a natural product and as such, will exhibit a range of colour throughout the floor. This is not only natural, it is desirable.
Take Brazilian Cherry hardwood flooring for example. I can’t tell you how many customers I’ve spoken with who are in the market excitedly shopping for luxurious new Brazilian Cherry floors (just like their neighbors) who mid-way through the purchase transaction ask “there’s not a lot of coulor variation in this floor is there?” Yes, there is and there’s supposed to be. Brazilian Cherry is an extreme example as it is notorious for it’s wide range of colour but I do think colour variation is mistakenly associated with low quality for all wood products. This is simple not the case. Take a look at the photo of the Brazilian Cherry below. Look closely and notice the wide range of colour from plank to plank. For most, this is desirable and as you can see results in a great overall look.
Vanier Cosmopolitan Brazilian Cherry Natural
There is also the misconception that staining a product will eliminate of minimize colour variation. This is generally not the case as each peice obsorbs the stain differently resulting in differing shades. That said, it does go a long way to mask knots, mineral streak and the like. Here is an example of the colour variation that can be found in a stained hardwood floor.
Remember, variation is a big part of the natural beauty you bring to your home with real hardwood floors.
Cheers,
Tom
Hi all,
I stumbled upon an interesting blog entry (though somewhat outdated) about online shopping and warranties HERE. Worth a look!
Cheers,
Tom
Hi all,
Customers commonly ask how they should look after their hardwood floors. There’s really not a whole lot to it. Here’s a link to brief overview.
Cheers,
Tom
This is wood of choice for baseball bats. It has the best strength to weight ratio, and since most players do not want a bat greater than 32 oz. this becomes significant. For the same reason, it is used for tool handles, hockey sticks, and canoe paddles. Historically it was used for food bowls because it had no significant odor or taste.
I think that w eoften forget how beautiful this North American wood is.
Hi all,
When the housing market in the United States took a turn for the worse, the first victim in my product offering was Oak. As a long standing staple in North American flooring there is always a great abundance of Oak flooring stocked in warehouses across the country. When the housing crisis hit, this abundance quickly became a dangerous surplus. Naturally, retailers and distributors went into survival mode and began liquidating stock. All of a sudden cheap Oak was everywhere. A neighbor of mine bought a beautiful solid Red Oak floor for his home at auction for the price of a Laminate. It’s been this way for a little over a year.
Fortunatly, we may be catching a glipse of the light at the end of the tunnel…for Oak anyway. Over the course of the last two months we’ve experienced a renewed buzz around our Oak offering, and sales are following suit.
There’s no sure way to tell but it could be a sign that the surplus of Oak may be drying up around the country. This would mean a return to rational pricing. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to stay in business during this rough road could look forward to a spring and summer of reasonable sales. Here’s hoping!
Cheers,
Tom
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