Hardwood Flooring Products Columbus Ohio

Well Chosen Hardwood will Increase Warmth & Beauty in Your Home

“Wood is universally beautiful to man. It is the most humanly intimate of all materials.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

Benefits of Hardwood Flooring Products

If you believe that beauty sways the mind then there is no finer foundation for your personal sanctuary than site-finished hardwood floors. Site-finished hardwood flooring products is the canvas upon which beautiful living spaces come alive. This canvas, or space, is a collection of individual boards – with no two being identical, like snowflakes. One of the things that make both this hardwood floor installer/salesman and my hardwood floors beautiful is that each is the result of a random act of nature – making each unique to itself, slightly imperfect, and beautiful in their own way. I try to spend as many hours in the woods as I can; it is from this time with nature that I attribute my keen eye for color, space, and beauty.

As Frank Lloyd Wright observed “Study nature, love nature, and stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”

Besides Their Warmth & Beauty

Value – In Marshall & Swift’s Residential Cost Handbook (a reference guide for appraisers), hardwood flooring products adds $9.79 per square feet to the value of a home.
Longevity – Not only do they outlast most other floors, but hardwood floors never go out of style.
Health – Consumers are removing carpet and putting in hardwood flooring to fight allergies and pulmonary ailments.
Environment – Hardwood floors are manufactured from a sustainable resource. Harvesting timber for the purpose of making hardwood floors is environmentally responsible. They are truly a green product.
Local Economy – Hardwood floors return money to the forest community, therefore increasing the viability of properly managed forests.
National Economy – Hardwood floors spur the American economy. The forest industry ranks among the top 10 employers in 40 states.

Species, Grade, Cut & Width

Among the advantages of being a small company – where the same person makes the appointment, writes the contract, and oversees the installation – is that I also man the booth and hear the questions of home and garden show attendees. Often asked is, “what is the difference between the species?”

Hardwood Species

Hardwood Species

Species is a fancy word for the different kinds of wood. Buckeye Hardwood sells hard woods. Each type of wood has a hardness rating derived by measuring the force required to embed a .444” steel ball down to half its diameter into the wood. This is called the “Janka” hardness test.

The majority of hardwood flooring in the U.S. is red oak, which has a hardness rating of 1290.

This prevalence of red oak, as flooring, has shown to wear well and resist dents. For this reason, my recommendation is to choose a species as hard or harder than red oak. No species of wood will resist dents completely. This Janka hardness rating has nothing to do with the scuff resistance of the finishes, and vice-versa.

Should you choose one of the softer species, regardless of how great the applied finish may be, the wood will still be susceptible to dents. No matter what finish is placed on a marshmallow, it is still a marshmallow.

A 120 pound woman exerts over 2,000 pounds per square-inch with each step. This results in – what I call – “cow trails.” Even the hardest woods and best finishes cannot withstand this force.

Hardwood Species
Different Hardwood Flooring Products Colors

True Hardwood Species

Buckeye Hardwood does not install pine, fir, or poplar flooring. After all, our name is Buckeye Hardwood .

Beyond hardness, appearance is the next major concern of our clients. I point-out that the forest is much like a Crayola Box. Each tree, like each crayon, has a different color.

The request I do not understand is from the client who wants his/her hardwood floors to match the other woods in their home. I can’t understand; why, because both are wood? It is still a floor. One doesn’t try to match tile, carpet, or linoleum to the other woods in a home. A site-finished hardwood floor is still just a floor, and like other types of flooring, it should compliment – not match – the other décor. One matches automotive paints or the outfits of twins. Remember, each strip of hardwood flooring is unique as it is subject to the hazards of nature; variations in color, size and number of knots, irregularities in the grain, etc…

If for some reason a client feels the need to stain their floors, the workability of that species becomes a factor. Not all species of woods accept stain. Not all stains are compatible with all flooring finishes. You cannot just go to Sherwin-Williams and buy a stain because you like the color. Staining a floor adds additional time to the installation. Stain, depending upon the amount of red in it, can take up to 72 hours to dry. Stains, unlike the finishes we use, contain solvents. These solvents are not VOC compliant. For these reasons, there is an up-charge for staining any floor.

Hardwood Grade

Another decision to make which affects the appearance of our hardwood floors is which grade of the wood to choose. Flooring grading rules, recognized by the FHA, VA, and the Department of Commerce as the standard for the industry, are formulated by the NOFMA (National Floor Manufacturers Association).

Though each species has its own specific set of rules – for the purpose of this website – we will only address oak.
Select Oak – A minimum number of character marks, burls, knots, and pin worm holes are allowed. These boards will only have slight color variations. Only the slightest imperfections on the face-side are permitted. The average length is no less than 3¼’.

No. 1 Common Oak – This grade allows for prominent variations in coloration, varying wood characteristics, heavy streaks, and solid knots. Open characters are admitted and readily filled. Extremely dark pieces are not accepted. The average length is no less than 2¾’.
No. 2 Common Oak – The purpose of this grade is to furnish a floor that is suitable for general utility use, where character marks and a contrasting appearance is desired. Pieces with out tongue are admitted. The average length is no less than 2¼’.
Rustic (Or “Tavern”) Grade Oak – Open and unfilled characters are admitted. Finish irregularities which are accepted include large broken knots, excessive bad millwork, shake, advanced rotting, and similar unsound defects. Pieces may have as little ¼ of their full tongue. Minimum average length is 2’.(NOTE: Characteristics of a higher grade are accepted in lower grades.)

Using these grading rules, Buckeye Hardwood does not install flooring below the No. 1 Common grade level. The reason is simple; our clients are not going to be happy with a surface that is structurally unsound. No. 2 Common and Rustic/Tavern grade floors are a residual product. I have often said that these companies who insist on advertising Tavern grade flooring are in search of the customer with a belly full of Tavern liquid. Builders and re-modelers like to steer their customers toward these residual grades because they are much, much cheaper.

Another pet-peeve of mine is that there are distributors that want to use their own terms to describe these lesser grades. If these distributors are brazen enough to rewrite the nationally recognized industry standards, what other lies do they tell? There is no such thing as “natural” grade and, furthermore, since when did “natural” become synonymous with “trash”?

Hardwood Width

Another decision to make which affects the appearance of our hardwood floors is which grade of the wood to choose. Flooring grading rules, recognized by the FHA, VA, and the Department of Commerce as the standard for the industry, are formulated by the NOFMA (National Floor Manufacturers Association).

We Appreciate Our Great Customers!

There isn’t a better floor company in Columbus! I’m talking these guys take it to a other level. If you want your floor done right by someone who truly cares and puts everything into making sure you get what you want and what’s going to look best and be the best fit for you.

Dave D.

Tom worked a miracle in our old house and we love our new white oak and Epay hardwood floors. Quality work and full attention to detail. Tom is a true craftsman. Honest pricing and reliable!

Anne T.

Tom and his crew were punctual, professional and they did an amazing job. My floors were badly scratched and had some water damage and they were able to bring them back to their original beauty. I highly recommend them!

Lindsey H.

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