Category: Hardwood Flooring

[Image source: Superior Flooring]

If you’re looking for a beautiful, durable hardwood that will stand the test of time, Hickory is a great option! This wood is native to North America and has been used for centuries in flooring and other applications.

Hickory is known for its unique grain patterns and natural color variations, making it a popular choice for family homes. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at why Hickory makes such a great choice to have in your home and some of the benefits that come with it!

The Origins of Hickory

Hickory is a hardwood that is known for its strength and durability. It is often used in the construction of furniture, flooring, and cabinets. Hickory is also a popular choice for smoking meats, as it imparts a distinct flavor to the meat.

The wood is native to North America, and it was originally used by Native Americans for a variety of purposes, including arrow shafts and canoe paddles. In the early 1800s, Hickory began to be used in the construction of wagons and carriages. The wood’s strength and flexibility made it ideal for this purpose. Today, Hickory is still prized for its many uses, both practical and aesthetic.

Durability

[Image source: Superior Flooring]

Hickory is an excellent choice for flooring, cabinetry, and furniture because it is so resistant to staining and damage. If you’re familiar with the Janka scale, you would be astounded to discover that Hickory wood scores a total of 1,820, which makes it about 30% more resistant than the average hardwood.

Learn more about the Janka scale here.

The wood is very hard, so it can withstand wear better than softer woods. That hardness also makes Hickory less likely to warp or bend over time.

Hickory is the perfect material for high-traffic areas or areas that are subject to wear and tear. In addition, Hickory is highly resistant to shock, making it an ideal choice for flooring in homes with active children or pets. For all these reasons, Hickory is a timeless choice that will add beauty and value to your home.

Beauty

Hickory is a beautiful hardwood that ranges in color from creamy white to rich brown. It has a fine, straight grain that is occasionally interrupted by darker streaks of color. The unique texture and color of Hickory make it a popular choice for both traditional and contemporary homes.

Hickory floors are especially striking, as the wood’s natural variations in color add depth and interest to the room. Varieties that are seeing an increase in popularity consist of Safari, Kahlua, Rainforest, and Biscotti.

Low Maintenance

[Image source: Superior Flooring]

Hickory is also prized for its low maintenance requirements. Unlike other hardwoods, Hickory is resistant to scratches, dents, and stains.

And because it is so tough, it doesn’t require the same level of care that other wood species do. Maintenance simply consists of sweeping or vacuuming regularly to remove dirt and debris. Our best recommendation is to purchase our MacDonald Easy Hardwood Floor Cleaner™ and the MacMop™. Other cleaning methods often leave residue and frustrating streaks. Our floor cleaner and mop leave nothing behind with your wallet’s best interest in mind. Call 800-639-3006 to place an order for our cleaning products.

Ideal For Flooring

When it comes to flooring, Hickory is one of the most popular choices on the market. There are many reasons why Hickory is such a great choice for flooring. As we discussed, Hickory is incredibly durable, lasting for decades with little maintenance needed. Additionally, we talked about how Hickory is very scratch-resistant, which makes it a great choice for homes with pets or young children.

And the largest appeal is its versatility – it comes in a variety of colors and designs. Whether you’re looking for a rustic or modern look, Hickory can help you achieve it. So if you’re in the market for new flooring, be sure to consider Hickory. It’s an ideal choice for anyone who wants beautiful and long-lasting floors.

Increases Your Home’s Value

[Image source: Superior Flooring]

Considering all the benefits we mentioned, Hickory is not only low-maintenance but also extremely valuable. Hickory floors can increase your home’s value by as much as 20%.

Not only that, but it also makes your home more attractive to potential buyers. Realtors especially like showing off homes that use hardwood for this reason. The homes will sell easier due to the increased attention brought by the hardwood flooring.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are many reasons why Hickory is a great choice for family homes. It’s not only durable and beautiful, but it also requires very little maintenance and uses sustainable materials. Beyond that, it increases the value of your home. Hickory’s resilience and durability are why we love it so much.

If you’re in the market for new flooring, start by reaching out to our team. We’ll help you make an informed decision for affordable flooring based on your unique needs. Thanks for reading.

Hardwood flooring may not be something you may be used to seeing as “trendy”. A theme for one year is often pretty much the same as the year before and the year after, right?

As it turns out, that’s not the case. Hardwood, in particular, continues to grow in popularity year after year, as cheaper quality flooring of various different types continues to degrade, forcing their owners to start looking for replacement options. More often than not, they will turn to hardwood flooring.

In this article, we will discuss the various leading trends for the year 2021 that people went with.

Buying Hardwood Flooring In General

For a long time, hardwood flooring had fallen out of style as people went with cheaper alternatives, such as notoriously cheap laminate wood and plastic tiles. It may have seemed like a good idea at the time to the buyer, with a rich number of ways to customize these that far exceed what wood is capable of, and the incredibly simple installation, but it came with a hidden cost.

As the years went by, the flooring would take the same wear and tear that any other type would, but much less well. In the case of the laminate flooring, made of nothing more than various cheap materials tightly pressed together, the beautiful design that they had printed onto it would often completely wear down and come off. Those fancy zebra stripes don’t look quite as good when they’re faded, peeling up, and covered in grime.

Water damage would also cause it to badly warp and even snap, with no real repair options besides tearing it all up and replacing it. These days, buyers have begun to rightly conclude that it isn’t worth all the hassle to continually replace it every decade or so.

Source: Macwoods.com

Engineered Hardwood

The first big trendsetter continues to be one of the newest ones. Engineered wood has a big appeal for many reasons. Unlike standard wood, it doesn’t have a tendency to warp, split, or crack over time.

Not only is it cheaper than using real wooden planks, it often exceeds the durability of unmodified wood. While it’s made of hardwood on the outside, it uses a special trick to increase the durability, where the wood is hydraulically pressed together under intense pressure, with a layer of veneer added afterward to seal the deal. This layer is built on top of a base of plywood going in opposing directions. Thanks to all this, when the wood does begin to show imperfections and wear down, you can simply sand it down to a new layer, just like regular planks. All this engineering can produce a floor that can be up to twice as strong as natural wood.

More than just cheaper, more durable, or environmentally friendly, engineered hardwood is also much, much easier to care for and maintain than real hardwood. While some do feel that they take away the “warmth” of wood, its benefits tend to outweigh that, at least for most who choose to use engineered hardwood.

Throughout 2021, the options for the different finishes, colors, and materials continued to increase. It continues to see increased use in parts of the house that would normally be forced to use a different material, particularly in kitchens and in bathrooms where moisture damage was typically a concern. Going into 2022, expect to see this trend continue.

Source: Forbes

Reclaimed Wood

Reclaimed wood sounds as straightforward as it is. It’s just old wood that’s been given new life and purpose. It is often taken from old buildings that were recently torn down or remodeled, like abandoned farmhouses and barns. Sometimes, the wood is actually existing engineered wood that’s been given new layers and treatment.

As of late, this wood has become harder to find through traditional means, so the producers have started using a clever trick, where they use the wood from just about any source they can find. The most popular source these days is to take it from old wine barrels that have fallen into disuse. Don’t worry, your floor won’t be smelling like wine!

This wood tells a story that can’t be easily replicated through artificial means. Each plank is potentially completely different from the other, ensuring that no two rooms with it employed appear the same. Not only are you saving the environment by using them, but you’re also giving your house a look that nobody can hope to match.

Source: Whole Log Lumber

American-Grown Wood Flooring

There was a period of time when it was just expected that the material used to build your home would come from the same country you’re building it in. As the world became more interconnected and international trade became even cheaper than producing at home, that began to fall away.

Now, there are a growing number of people who go out of their way to buy flooring that they know was created right here in this country. The reasons people would want this are numerous, but among the most popular are there’s a certain expectation of quality coming from American-made goods that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from foreign providers. You also get a sense that you’re supporting your local businesses, which is quickly becoming a big trend of its own.

There is no reason to suggest this trend will be slowing anytime soon. As Americans continue to rediscover their love for their own backyard, we expect this trend to continue to explode in popularity.

Source: Superior Flooring

Final Thoughts

2021 was a great year for trends. The pandemic forced many people to be in their homes far more than they had ever been before, which forced them to really take a good look at their surroundings. As a result, we’ve seen more radical changes in the past couple of years than we normally do in a full decade. As we begin to open up again, you can expect that urge for change in the environment to fade somewhat, but the lessons learned aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

[Image source: Unsplash]

Hardwood is one of the most attractive flooring materials you can get. No matter how you look at it, it will almost always add value to your house. In an ideal space, hardwood flooring can last anywhere from fifteen to thirty-five years, depending on how you maintain it. It is easily possible to do even better than that, as long as you invest some time and effort into periodic maintenance. 

There are many misconceptions that have formed over the years about the practicality of using hardwood flooring in a kitchen. In this article, we will be dispelling several of them and then go over our suggestions for what kinds of hardwood you may want to choose from.

Misconceptions

Many people feel that they are not allowed to install hardwood in their kitchen. It may seem as if this is a valid sentiment, but these fears are mostly unfounded. Let’s go over the misconceptions one by one.

They Can’t Handle Spills

While it’s true that wood isn’t great for constant spills, it is not anywhere near as bad as many believe. It’s one thing to have a spot that has dried out, that will definitely take more work, but generally speaking, you just need a broom or mop to get everything up. Even a large spill of something super sticky won’t require much more than standard cleaning supplies.

The bottom line is that unless you have a situation like a burst pipe, you won’t need to worry about it. Realistically, the worst-case scenario you’re likely to experience is needing a deep cleansing agent for something that permeated the wood.

They Can’t Handle Lots of Traffic

This myth is particularly ridiculous. It only makes sense in the mind of somebody who believes that there is exactly one type of wood in the whole world. If you use balsa wood as your flooring, it’s probably not going to last very long. The reality is that there are countless types of flooring geared for every situation you can think of, plus many different types of finishes to choose from that will further increase its durability. 

If the kitchen is one that is constantly in use, then all you need to do is choose wood that will stand up to that. There is no kitchen scenario, not even that of a restaurant kitchen, where foot traffic makes it impossible for any type of wood to be good for it.

They Stain Easily

Hardwood flooring isn’t much more stain-resistant than most other types of flooring. Very few materials can boast that they’re practically immune to stains, and just about none can say that they are fully protected. Just as is the case with spills, the best solution is to simply clean as soon as it happens. It holds up just fine as long as you aren’t purposefully leaving the mess around for extended periods of time. Use common sense and you won’t have any problems.

[Image source: Unsplash]

Our Suggestions

Solid Hardwood

Regular solid wood floors are a popular choice for kitchens. Like any wood, they trap in heat more, making it much more comfortable to walk barefoot on them. Not to mention that they give a sense of natural beauty to any kitchen, regardless of whether it’s a contemporary or traditional style. The soft sheen to a properly finished flooring will contrast wonderfully with the shiny surfaces and hard materials throughout the rest of the kitchen. 

Engineered Hardwood

Engineered wood resembles regular solid wood, and in fact, is mostly still made of it. However, it’s put together in such a way, with softwood bound together and the grain of each layer running in different directions, that the strength and resilience of the wood are greatly enhanced. The quality level of the wood can be determined by simply looking at the depth of the top layer. The thicker this layer is, the better it will be in every way.

This wood is perfect for a kitchen environment that expects to have frequent and large spills. The wood is designed to resist solid wood’s natural tendency to expand, contract, and even bend as moisture seeps into it, keeping its shape and saving you potentially thousands on potential repairs and replacements. We have a full article on all the great benefits of engineered wood here.

Reclaimed Hardwood

Reclaimed wood is another option. It can come from either pure solid wood or used engineered wood. In many cases, the wood that is used is salvaged from old torn-down buildings such as abandoned barns and farmhouses. For a kitchen environment, reclaimed engineered wood will be the best choice. 

With the proper finish applied to it, reclaimed engineered wood will give you both a strong flooring that’s highly resistant to wear and tear as well as giving a unique vintage look that is difficult to fake. It’s also good for the environment, as it means that you’re giving the wood a new lease on life as well as reducing by just a bit how many trees need to be cut down.

Laminate

If you’re desperate and in need of cheap flooring, laminate is an option. It is usually not recommended though for a good number of reasons. The first one being that it just doesn’t look or feel as good as real wood. All it really is are artificial materials compressed tightly together. There’s typically no real wood in it and is usually completely flat with a design printed on it. Naturally, it is the least durable of any flooring. 

Within just a few years of use, the design on it will wear down and start to come off. It’s pretty much impossible to repair cleanly due to the fact that you can’t replace the design on it once it’s gone. Laminate wood also cannot be reused easily due to it, again, being entirely artificial. Once it wears out, there’s not much to do with it besides throwing it all out.

All that bashing aside, there are still a few upsides. For one, you can have any design you want on it. It doesn’t have to look like real wood at all. You could have zebra stripes or a brick pattern on it if you wanted to. You may also find it the easiest to clean due to it usually being completely flat. It’s also very easy to install thanks to the way they’re designed, with many of them having grooves to easily lock together with others. If you’re looking for something that you can install yourself, it could be the easiest option.

If you want to know more, we wrote a full article on laminate flooring here.

Conclusion

As long as you keep a few things in mind like understanding the risks and limitations, hardwood flooring can be a solid option for your kitchen. There is no need to give up on using wood just because of some unfounded worries.