Flooring Types

hardwood flooring guide

The Ultimate
Guide To Your
Hardwood Floors

The Basics

Flooring Types

Flooring sets the stage for a beautiful interior view, especially when you take advantage of the many exciting options for hardwood flooring at MacDonald Hardwoods.

We are proud to offer you a wide selection of hardwood flooring, as well as some basic information to help make the design and purchasing process fun, creative, and easy.

Our extensive selection enhances any space, with an unmatched variety of options.

  • Widths – Traditional to Wide
  • Colors – Light, Medium, Dark
  • Species – Maple, Oak, Hickory, Ash, & more
  • Textures – Smooth, Wire Brushed, Hand Scraped
  • Styles – Solid, Enhanced, Engineered

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Wood Species

Each species of wood offers different strengths and looks. Review our selection
of hardwoods to learn more each species.

Oak

Maple

Hickory

Ash

Oak Flooring

Want a floor that is as strong as oak? Our team of flooring
experts at MacDonald Hardwoods specialize in oak flooring. Oak
has a reputation for being a strong, hard wood. The two main
types used for our oak flooring are referred to as White Oak and
Red Oak, and although they are similar, they have a few
characteristics that are worth comparison.

Red Oak Characteristics
Color & Grain: Color has a reddish tint, and an open, coarse grain
to it.
Stability & Durability: Red Oak is less durable than White Oak.

White Oak Characteristics
Color & Grain: Can be light brown, white or off-white, and may
even have a minute e amount of pink or gray to it. The grain
has longer, open rays as well as knots or swirling patterns.
Stability & Durability: White Oak is 1% more stable and 5%
harder than Northern Red Oak, so is more durable. Due to tannic
acid, White Oak is protected from insects and fungi.

Maple Flooring

One of the most common and widely used North American woods, the Hard Maple tree is found in eastern North American. While grown in abundance, it is more expensive to get the pure white sap wood. In flooring, you will get a combination of heart and sap wood in any hard maple. Hard Maple is a very clean looking wood with not much grain at all, and very little colour variation which gives a very consistent look. If you don’t like much grain and want a smooth, even tone to your floor, maple is for you.

Maple Characteristics
Color & Grain: Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown; sapwood is pale to creamy white. Closed, subdued grain, with medium figuring and uniform texture. Occasionally shows quilted, fid­dleback, curly or bird’s-eye figuring.
Stability & Durability: Average stability (more stable than Red Oak). Dense, strong, tough, stiff; excellent shock resistance.

Hickory Flooring

Hickory while not quite as stable as some of the other woods, is quite hard. The grain of the hickory is closed and tighter together, so if you like the look of a grainy wood, that isn’t as grainy as oak, then Hickory is for you.

Hickory Characteristics
Color & Grain: Pecan heartwood is reddish brown with dark brown stripes; sapwood is white or creamy white with pinkish tones. Hickory heartwood is tan or reddish; sapwood is white to cream, with fine brown lines. Pecan is open, occasionally wavy or irregular. Hickory is closed, with moderate definition; somewhat rough-textured.
Stability & Durability: Pecan, average (more stable than Red Oak). Hickory, below average (less stable than Red Oak).
Durability: Combination of strength, hardness, toughness and stiffness found in no other commercial wood; exceedingly high in shock resistance.

Ash Flooring

Ash wears well and scratches and dents are less noticeable than in other species. There is a strong grain pattern in the Ash and this hides natural imperfections well. There is a lot of natural color variation, which gives it a livelier appearance than maple.

Ash Characteristics
Color & Grain: Heartwood is light tan to dark brown; sapwood is creamy white. Similar in appearance to white oak, but frequently more yellow. Bold, straight, moderately open grain with occasional wavy figuring. Can have strong contrast in grain in plainsawn boards.
Stability & Durability: Above average (more stable than Red Oak). Elastic, hard; excellent shock resistance. Remains smooth under friction.

Glossary

MacDonald Hardwoods would like to credit the National Wood Flooring
Association for this comprehensive glossary of wood flooring terms.

ACRYLIC/WOOD
The generic name for wood-plastic-composites utilizing wood impregnated with acrylic monomers and polymerized within the wood cells by gamma irradiation. Some versions are cured by heat radiation. (In the case of acrylic/wood parquet, a semi-built-in finish is developed.)
Base Shoe
A molding designed to be attached to base molding to cover expansion space. Similar to quarter round in profile.
Check
A lengthwise separation of the wood that usually extends across the rings of annual growth and commonly results from stress set up in wood during air drying or kiln-drying.
Decay
The decomposition of wood by fungi. • Advanced Decay – The older stage of decay in which destruction is readily recognized by soft, pitted, or crumbly areas. Decided discoloration or bleaching of the rotted wood is often apparent. • Incipient Decay – The early stage of decay that has not proceeded far enough to soften or otherwise perceptibly impair the hardness of the wood. It is usually accompanied by a slight discoloration or bleaching of the wood.
Eased Edge
The chamfered, or beveled edge, of strip flooring, plank, block, and parquet at approximately a 45 degree angle.
Feature Strip
A molding accessory for parquet floors utilized to separate squares into patterns larger than the individual parquet units. It is available in widths from 5/16″ to 2″, the same thickness as the parquet, and is available in various lengths. The strip is flat and may have grooves on both sides to match the tongues of adjacent plank or parquet.
Hardwood
Generally, one of the botanical groups of deciduous trees that have broad leaves in contrast to the conifers or softwoods. The term has no reference to the actual hardness of the wood.
Intumesce
To expand with heat to provide a low density film; used in reference to certain fire retardant coatings.
Joist
One of a series of parallel beams used to support floor or ceiling loads and supported in turn by larger beams, girders, or bearing walls.
Kiln
(Pronounced “Kill”) A chamber having controlled air flow, temperature, and relative humidity for drying lumber, veneer, and other wood products.
Laminated Wood
An assembly made by bonding layers of veneer or lumber with an adhesive. May also refer to edge-glued lumber items such as treads, etc.
Manufacturing Defects
Includes all defects or blemishes that are produced in manufacturing, such as chipped grain, torn grain, skips in dressing, hit and miss (a series of surfaced areas with skips between them), variation in machining, machine burn, and mis-matching.
Nosing
A hardwood molding used to cover the outside corner of a step, milled to meet the hardwood floor in the horizontal plane, to meet the riser in the vertical plane. (Usually used on landings.)
PARQUET
A patterned floor.
Quartersawed
The annual growth rings form an angle of 45 Degrees to 90 Degrees with the surface of the piece. In Quartersawed strips the medullary rays or pith rays in ring-porous woods are exposed as flecks which are reflective and produce a distinctive grain pattern.
Raised Grain
A roughened or fuzzy condition on the face of the flooring in which the dense summerwood is raised above the softer springwood, but not torn or separated.
Sapwood
The wood near the outside of the tree. Usually lighter in color than heartwood.
TONGUE & GROOVE (T&G)
In suip, plank, and parquet flooring made from strip, and some mosaic parquet; a tongue is milled on one edge and a groove on the opposite edge. As the flooring is installed, the tongue of each strip, slat, or unit is engaged with the groove of the adjacent strip or unit.
UNFINISHED
A product which must be sanded and have stain and/or a finish applied after installation
V-JOINT
A term used in plank flooring to indicate that edges are eased or beveled to simulate cracks in floors of early Colonial American homes.
WARPING
Any distortion of a piece of flooring from its true plane that may occur in seasoning.

cleaning solutions and equipment

The Original
Do-It-Yourself Store

Our affordable cleaning solutions and equipment are
available for rent or purchase. Check out our Easy
Hardwood Floor Cleaner™. Just ask one of our flooring
experts for advice on which hardwood floor cleaning
product would be best for the wood in your home. We even
offer instructional classes!

KEEPING HARDWOOD FLOORS BEAUTIFUL

Cleaning And
Maintenance

For more than three decades, customers have relied on our MacDonald Easy Hardwood Floor Cleaner to keep flooring beautiful – no streaks, no residue!

Check out our entire cleaning system, including cutting-edge quality and design products. We’ve put together a top selection of products over our 30-plus years in the industry. These hardwood floor care products enhance your home’s beauty while still keeping your budget in mind. Drop by our showroom to see the many options available.

Wood Flooring Cleaning Tips

Properly cleaning your hardwood floors is important to maintain the sheen
and glossy finish of your floor. Keep your floor looking new by reading
through some of our hardwood floor cleaning tips.

THE DOS
  • Vacuum or sweep your floor regularly to remove dirt, dust,
    and any loose material. We recommend the MacDonald
    Hardwoods Mac Vac™.
  • Remove spills promptly. Use your terry cloth mop cover or a
    clean, soft cloth with MacDonald Hardwoods Easy Floor
    Cleaner™ to clean up wet spills. Use a vacuum or broom to
    pick up dry spills and abrasives.
  • Placemats at exterior doors to trap sand and grit from
    incoming traffic.
  • Install felt floor protectors on the “feet” of all furniture.
  • Use area rugs on high traffic areas: at ends of steps, near
    doorways, etc. All rugs should allow your wood floor to
    breathe. Avoid rubber-backed or non-ventilated rugs. When
    rugs are impractical, periodically check your floor for wear.
  • Maintain the relative humidity in your home between 45%
    and 55%. Excessive humidity or extreme dryness can cause
    your wood floor to swell or shrink, creating cupping or cracks

THE DON’TS
  • Do not let sand, dirt, and grit build up. They can act like
    sandpaper and actually abrade and dull your floor finish.
  • Never damp mop a wood floor. Excessive amounts of
    water can cause your floor to swell and cup. No matter
    what you’ve heard from family and friends, do not wet
    mop with water and vinegar to clean hardwood floors.
    This can dull your floor and finish over time.
  • Avoid walking on wood floors with high heels. They can
    severely damage wood floors. Keep heels in good repair.
  • Keep pets’ claws properly trimmed to avoid excessive
    scratches and gouges.
  • Do not use wax, oil soap, liquid polish, or other household
    cleaners on your polyurethane finished wood floor. The
    use of these products can dull today’s floor finishes and
    make refinishing difficult.

some things to consider

Humidity And
Hardwood Flooring

Colorado and the surrounding mountain states are among the most challenging regions for all wood products because of our extremely dry climate. The concerns of relative humidity control have been addressed by all major wood flooring manufacturers and are clearly documented by them and the National Wood Flooring Association. You should consider the following.

It is the responsibility of the homeowner to keep the relative humidity within a constant and acceptable range. Consideration of an appropriate humidification system should be given when a home is designed, or when hardwood flooring is added to an existing home. A floor moisture barrier will help you keep moisture from under your home from seeping into the wood. If you live in a dry climate, it’s a good idea to understand how to increase humidity in a room. Here’s why.

  • Experts differ slightly on the range they feel is the most
    appropriate, but a consensus would be between 25% and 40% relative humidity. Any in-home environmental conditions at the low end of, or below, this range will probably result in drying and cracking to some extent of most woods. Without additional humidification, in-home relative humidity can drop below 20% during the heating season because our Colorado winters are so dry.
  • Even if the atmosphere is generally controlled within this range, there will still be some movement as the seasons change and the relative humidity moves up or down.
  • Wood is a natural product and its limits must be respected. Because extremely low humidity has such a profound effect on properly manufactured and installed wood flooring, manufacturers do not consider some plank separation or cracking to be defects that would be covered under their warranty.
  • Engineered wood flooring is more stable than solid wood flooring and will not shrink or expand as much. However, it is still an all-wood product that will react to swings in humidity.

  • Solid wood floors generally will expand and contract more than engineered floors resulting in larger gaps between the flooring boards during dry times of the year.
  • Extremely dry conditions (those below 25%) will result in gaps between solid wood planks. The size of the gaps will depend upon the size of the planks. The wider the plank, the wider the gap.
  • Extremely dry conditions (those below 25%) will also result in gaps between engineered planks. However, they will not be as wide.
  • Extremely dry conditions may also result in cupping of engineered planks. (Dry cupping is caused when the top of the board is dryer than the bottom.)
  • Extremely dry conditions (those below 25%) may also result in cracks and checking in the surface of both engineered and solid planks. These are not considered defects and are not covered under manufacturer’s warranties.
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