Is Brazilian cherry wood flooring for me?

First, the color and graining should be considered..These two factors seem to be the main source of popularity of this species of wood floor. Perhaps the biggest draw of this wood is its appearance. In our general opinion it truly is one of the most beautiful hardwood floors available today. Its coloration will range from the sapwood being gray-white, the heartwood is almost like a salmon red to orange-brown when fresh and becomes a much deeper and richer russet or reddish brown when seasoned. It is also enhanced by intricate dark grains that cross the wood in straight runs and subtle patterns. The grain is for the most part interlocked and has a medium to quite coarse texture (in the graining). Consider if the appearance of an installed Brazilian cherry wood flooring product is right for your tastes and your decor. If you feel good about that part then go on to other much less important considerations.

Next consider it’s dimensional stability rating. It is said to be about 1% more stable than Northern red oak. But do be aware that actual installations have shown significant movement. (though not excessive when compared to other hardwood flooring species.) Because of this a slightly longer than normal acclimation time is recommended. In general Brazilian cherry wood flooring is of better than average dimensional stability.

Other considerations are that a Brazilian cherry wood floor can be re-finshed or “screened and re-coated” with about the same difficulty as any other wood floor. Brazilian cherry also will hold the finish very well if it is applied properly. Also know that it will hold stain (although we cannot imagine why you would wish to change it’s beautiful natural color). Brazilian cherry wood flooring has the same care and cleaning as any other wood floor, and remember it’s original color WILL darken and “redden” over time.

Brazilian cherry hardness

The hardness factor (also referred to as Janka hardness rating) is nearly twice that of red oak for example so that means it is twice as resistant to deep scratches, scrapes, and dents, as well. However, the thing to be aware of with a hardwood floor that is as dense and hard as Brazilian cherry is it may be more difficult to work with and it may be in your best interest to hire a professional to install it. Remember that a wood floor with such a high hardness rating such as Brazilian cherry wood flooring offers some additional “protection” from dents and damage from normal household use. It will also stand up “better” to abuse, but please remember just like anything else we teach you here at The Flooring Professor. KEEP IT REAL there is not a flooring product available that you can expect to be BULLET PROOF!! Common care and reasonable expectation of performance must be considered.

Green friendly Brazilian cherry wood flooring?

Some consider Brazilian cherry wood flooring to be a green friendly product. I suppose that could be true as long as it is harvested in a sustainable manner. Unfortunately a measurable portion of these products sold in the U.S. may not meet green building standards. So if you are green sensitive and drawn to this product for its green friendly allure, be sure to verify that your Brazilian cherry wood flooring is being harvested responsibly. The best way to do this is to make sure you’re buying wood with a LEED qualification of MR7, designating it as a Certified Sustainable Harvested Wood. It could be very possible that if you do not check this out you could be purchasing wood that was illegally culled, meaning you’re actually supporting anti-environmental logging, rather than sustainable practices. Keep also in mind that a shortcut if you are using quality brand of pre-finished Brazilian cherry flooring the manufacturer is ensuring responsible harvesting before they put their name on it!

Brazilian cherry hardwood floor installation

As mentioned earlier on this page, the hardness of Brazilian cherry flooring can pose some installation challenges. It is important that you understand and be conscious of this and you may wish to have a qualified installation professional do the work to ensure you get a quality job. One of the most important considerations is the fastener. It is highly recommended you use a “cleat” nailer rather than a stapler. the hardness of Brazilian cherry wood flooring causes it to “push upward” if the fastener is even slightly above the tongue, rather than the wood compressing or conforming to it like with an oak wood floor and most others. This can cause the flooring to appear to have “bumps” where each fastener and will cause you to be unhappy with your job! The settings on your nailer, and cutting are other considerations to pay attention to. If you should decide to install your own Brazilian cherry wood flooring just be sure to be attentive to these ADDITIONAL issues and you should be ok.

Additional Brazilian cherry wood floor information

In recent years Brazilian cherry wood flooring has greatly increased in popularity. Mostly because of the reasons stated earlier on this page, and partially because the price dropped dramatically. it saw a huge spike in sales in late 2005 to early 2006 in the US, But sadly much of the material coming in was being harvested irresponsibly. After the local governments cracked down on those not following lawful harvesting, the supply went down and demand was high. This now makes Brazilian Cherry wood flooring a bit more pricy than most domestic brands. However, most feel it is worth the small extra investment to won one of these stunningly beautiful wood floors. After all we are of the opinion that this world has far to little of people doing the responsible thing when faced with the choice. Please be sure to realize that if you find a Brazilian cherry wood floor at a “phenomenal price”, it is likely (unless they are willing to supply proper documentation) it was harvested in a irresponsible manner and we suggest you try to refrain from supporting such activity. It’s just the right thing to do!!

Article by: theflooringprofessor.com

In the Calgary area, view the showroom at Signature Floors for many flooring options.  Also, CTC Distribution provides exotic Valentino hardwood flooring products.

If you’re on the fence and can’t decide whether to install hardwood floors (or maybe peel back your old carpeting and refinish the wood underneath), this list may be able to help. We’re going to take a look at some of the benefits of hardwoods:

1. Longevity

Thanks to durable finishes that are easy to repair, solid-wood floors can last for a hundred years or more. There are very few flooring materials that have been around as long as wood. Over the centuries, it has shown itself to be a lovely and durable floor choice. Other newer materials have yet to prove themselves.

2. Coziness and Warmth

Not only is hardwood more pleasant to walk on than laminate (which always feel cold and a little “plastic” underfoot), but it is naturally warm. Wood is an excellent insulator, thanks to its thousands of tiny air chambers per cubic inch, which hold in heat.

3. Hypoallergenic

Got allergies? Unlike carpets (read: breeding grounds for mold, mildew, and dust mites, all of which can be tough on anyone with allergies), wood floors don’t give pollen, animal dander, mold, etc. any place to hide and thrive. Even when you steam clean carpets, it’s impossible to get them entirely clean. In fact, getting them wet just makes things worse. Hardwood flooring is an excellent choice for anyone with any kind of environmental allergies. (And it makes good sense for everyone else too–who wants to lie down on a floor that’s hiding mold?)

4. Easy to Clean

A little sweeping and a little mopping, and your hardwood floors will keep looking nice for a long time to come. Even families with dogs and kids are realizing that it’s easier to mop a hardwood floor than try to spray/scrub/wash grape Kool-Aid out of a carpet. Another perk is that a scratch here or a gouge there really just adds character to wood floors (of course, you can always have them refinished if you prefer perfection).

5. Increase Home Value

Unless you’re going to be living in the same house for the rest of your life, you should think about how the flooring choices you make today will affect the price you can get for your home when you sell it. Carpet will look old and used in just a few years, whereas wood floors last a long time and add value to a home (if you’ve ever watched those house hunter shows on television, you’ve doubtlessly seen just about every potential buyer looking around hopefully for hardwood floors). Even laminate flooring, which looks like wood flooring, is a distant second choice for homebuyers. It just doesn’t have the same warmth and feel.

These are just a few of the benefits of hardwood floors. We didn’t even mention the aesthetic value: at the end of the day, they just look better than the alternatives. If you can afford to pay an extra couple dollars per square foot, go with hardwood. If you have hardwoods hiding under your existing carpets, tear those suckers up and get the wood refinished.

If you settle for laminate or just replacing the carpeting, you may regret it down the road.

For more information, visit the Hardwood Flooring section of the author’s Home Improvement site.

By TC Thorn

In Calgary, Signature Floors provides a complete selection of may flooring options.  Also, CTC Distribution is distribution source for exotic hardwood floors.

When replacing an existing flooring in your home what options have you open to you? Of course you’ve got your standard choice of carpet throughout or the more up to date favourite of wooden or laminate flooring both of which are still extremely popular, hard wearing and acceptable in the modern household.

But what alternatives have you got open to you that will set you apart from the normal crowd?

Flooring is big business, this makes sense really, every home has some kind of flooring whether it be carpet, wooden, laminate, vinyl or tiles made of varying materials.

Carpet has been not so popular in recent years, over the years the consumers demand for cheaper and cheaper product drove the quality down to such a level that people moved away from carpet to other types of flooring such as, initially laminates. The carpet market has seen an upturn in business and surprisingly, considering the reason for its down fall, the reason for its resurgence is a growth in the higher priced product, the luxury deep pile carpet. Carpet may have its down side as a floor covering but a luxurious deep pile carpet does take some beating.

10-15 years ago when laminate flooring first became popular it was the must have flooring for the home. DIY superstores had every imaginable shade of wood available as a laminate floor covering but as is the way of the market a price war broke out and the product got cheaper and cheaper and the quality suffered. At first the consumer accepted that laminate flooring was an affordable commodity but of course after the flooring being laid for a couple of years the consumer realised that it wasn’t built to last and then they have to go through the process of re-laying another flooring. In recent years in the same way the carpet market suffer before the laminate flooring market has seen a drop in business at the cheaper end of the scale but a rise in the better quality product at the higher end of the market.

Floor tiles are now a popular option for flooring certain rooms of the house although floor tiles do not suit every room in the house they do lend themselves well to the rooms where water may be present, bathroom [http://designer-bathrobes.com/The_News/Latest_News/Bathroom_Modernisation], WC and kitchen. These are the rooms that in the 1970′s and 80′s were covered in linoleum when the original tiles were ripped up.

The problem with floor tiles back then was that they were extremely cold to the touch, no one likes cold feet first thing in the morning and linoleum offered a warm to the foot and cost effective alternative to floor tiles. The fashion for a period was to fit cork floor tiles in kitchens but these were very difficult to keep clean so that fad soon moved away. In the 90′s under floor heating became more cost effective and this offered people an option to replace the vinyl or wooden flooring with original or modern floor tiles on top of an under floor heating system that does away with the problem of cold feet.

The trend for flooring certainly looks as if the battle has been won by the better quality products, laminates have been in a lot of cases been replaced by solid wood flooring, cheap carpets are still available but we’re seeing a growth in better quality luxury carpets and linoleum has been seen off by the introduction of under floor heating and the resurgence of floor tiles.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harwood_E_Woodpecker

At Signature Floors in Calgary, we offer a wide range of flooring options.  Visit our showroom.  at http://www.SignatureFloors.ca