Hardwood flooring is one of the most popular types of floors chosen by modern homeowners. The main reasons for this is that hardwood is generally durable, beautiful, versatile, and easy to maintain and clean. If you have decided that Wood Flooring in NYC is your Wood Species, it is important to know about the traits and characteristics of wood species used in constructing hardwood floors. The following will cover the some basics about what affects the characteristics of wood and examples of three of the most popular choices in hardwood.
What affects wood characteristics?
The age of the wood affects its rings which also affects its appearance. Where the wood is cut from also affects the characteristics. Heartwood is the center of the tree and is darker than the surrounding wood, called sapwood. Sapwood is softer than heartwood and is found under the bark layer referred to as the cambium. Heartwood and sapwood are mostly used in manufacturing wood planks used for flooring.
Popular Wood Species Traits
Maple
Maple wood is dense, tough, and shock resistant. It is often used in bowling alleys due to its strength. It features a close grain pattern that is barely noticeable and uniform in nature. The heartwood of maple is light reddish brown to creamy white and the sapwood is very pale to creamy white.
Red Oak
Red oak has a coarser grain that is more noticeable depending on how it is cut and machined. The heartwood of red oak is a reddish hue and the sapwood is similar in color. It is popular for flooring because of its wear resistance and high density and strength.
Walnut
Walnut is an interesting wood species. The heartwood of walnut trees can range from a purplish black to a deep brown color and the sapwood can range from tan to almost white. It is common for manufacturers to steam the lumber from walnut trees to darken the sapwood for uniformity of color.
Other types of Wood Flooring in NYC can be manufactured using cherry, hickory, maple, and oak wood species. The traits and characteristics of wood species can also affect the price of the flooring you choose as some patterns and figuring within the wood is rarer and more valuable.
As the leading provider of quality hardwood flooring and wood flooring repairs in New York City, NYC, New York Wood Flooring has a wide variety of options to meet your need for premium wood floors.
