Best Hardwood Floors

Wood floors come in a variety of styles, grains and colors. The look of your floor will depend a great deal on the species of wood you choose.

The variations in coloring of natural birch make it a popular choice for hardwood floors in homes and businesses. It ranges in color from creamy pale white to the deep, rich tones of red birch heartwood. Several different species of birch are used in flooring products, each with its own qualities. All are hard enough to withstand the punishment of an active family, and flexible enough to be workable for parquet and strip flooring.

Here are some specifics of birch wood floors:

Color: The color of birch is affected by both the species of birch and the part of the tree that is used. In general, the sapwood – younger and softer, is a pale, creamy tan. The heartwood, from the center of the tree, has a deeper richer color and may be golden tan to reddish brown. Paper birch, most familiar to consumers as a tree, is used seldom, as it is softer and lower in strength. Yellow birch is most commonly used, and the deep coloring of the heartwood is similar in color to fine cherry. Red birch is an increasingly popular floor choice because of its natural warmth and durability.

Grain: Birch has a fine, even, straight grain with a uniform texture. The natural variations in color between sapwood and heartwood make the contrast between pale yellow and deep, rich red particularly striking in combination. There’s very little waviness to the grain, making it an excellent choice in pieced floors when uniform color is desired.

Properties:

Strength: Birch is close in strength to oak and ash. It resists splitting and damage, and takes well to machine tooling.

Flexibility: Birch is mildly flexible, which makes it a natural choice for active floors.

Stainability: Though fine-grained, the porous birch takes stains and finishes well and evenly. A high gloss brings out the coolness of yellow birch, while a satin finish emphasizes the warm tones of the reddish heartwood.

Hardness: Wood hardness is measured using the Janka scale, a test that measures the force required to embed a steel ball into a sample of the wood. It’s an excellent measure of the durability and ability of wood to withstand everyday wear and tear. It’s also useful in determining how difficult it is to work with. Birch measures 1150 on the Janka scale, softer than ash or red oak. It’s hard enough to be durable, but soft enough to take nails and shaping well.

The durability of birch makes it a good choice for living areas that see medium to high traffic, or office floors. The red tones can warm a cool space, and lend it a touch of elegant coziness. It’s the perfect accent for traditional decor, but looks equally at home in a contemporary room with earth tones or bright colors.

Buying wood flooring online

Online wouldn’t be the first place most people would go to look for wood flooring, but now it’s essential to look online. Why? Simply because online prices are so competitive.

Think about it. An online store doesn’t need to position itself where it attracts local traffic, so it can house itself and store it’s products in low cost locations, thereby keeping costs down. That’s why online stores are so competitive. But make sure you look for a large reputable store.

LumberLiquidators.com is the biggest online flooring store. If you’re looking online for flooring you’ve got to check them out!