LAKE CABINET & FLOORING, INC.

The Warmth of Real Wood Flooring

• What's Hot
• Basics
• Construction
• Cuts
• Edges
• Width
• Finishes
• Grades
• Species & Hardness

Links

Nothing beats the beauty of real wood. We at Lake Cabinet & Flooring carry the finest in factory finished wood flooring from the leaders in the wood industry such as Mannington, Kahrs, Robbins, Bruce, Lauzon, Mullican,  Chelsea Plank, Hartco, Award, Johnson, Terra Bella, and Weyerhaeuser Lyptus.  We simply offer you the best, with the finest woods and finishes in UV-cured polyurethane finished red and white oak, various maples, jarrah, beech, cherries , ash, cypress, mahoganies, redwoods, rosewoods, kempas, amberwood, lapacho, tigerwoods, larch, various teaks, Brazilian cherry, hickory,  lyptus, merbau and Bamboo. From solid wood to engineered planks, including some of the most technologically advanced systems available, we have it all. We can help you choose from various widths, thickness, edge profiles, stains, finishes, as well as help you understand the differences between solid and engineered wood, strips, planks, beveled, and eased edges, nail down, glue down, and free floating installation methods.

Contact us today and we can help you select the best wood floor for you.  Or use the guide below to help you get started selecting the perfect wood floor for you and your family. Please click on the underlined links above to visit some of our featured brands of wood flooring. 

Hardwood flooring adds beauty, quality and value to your home.  It's a smart investment that most people can enjoy for a lifetime.   Hardwood flooring is real wood and provides warmth, character and sophistication to your home.   Also, visit our Care page to learn how to properly maintain your wood flooring.

What's Hot !

• Low gloss finishes.

• Exotic woods like Lyptus, Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba), Merbau, Kempas & Patagonian Rosewood.

• Earth tone medium to dark browns and reds.

• Hand carved finishes.

• 3" or wider widths 

Be sure to check out the Great Deals page for some spectacular wood flooring specials!

Basics of real wood flooring (Wood Flooring 101)

The term Hardwood flooring applies to varieties of wood that are made entirely of wood.   There are two standard forms of real hardwood flooring.  Solid and Engineered. 

Construction types:

Which is better ?  Engineered or Solid ?    Do you know the answer ?  Click here you might be surprised.

Solid Wood- 100% solid wood sawed directly from timber can be used above grade only and is stapled or nailed down.  Can not be used in basements or over concrete.  Can normally be refinished many times.  Solids are normally 3/4" thick but also are available in 3/8" for applications where floor height or cost is heavy factor.

Some basic advantages of Solid hardwood 

• Lifespan anywhere from 50 to up to over 100 years.
• Due to it's thickness it can span slight indifferences in sub floor height better than thinner engineered flooring.
• Produces a good solid floor structurally.
• Usually available in longer lengths than engineered flooring.
• Usually less expensive than a high end engineered flooring.
• Can be sanded and refinished new again if needed.
• Increases the value of your home.
• Hardwood flooring does not cause allergies, recommended to use by allergists.

Engineered Real Hardwood-  many people unknowingly confuse engineered wood flooring with laminate flooring.  Laminate flooring is in fact made from a form of plastic and paper, where as engineered wood flooring is made from 100% solid wood bonded in a multi-layer cross-grain wood.   Engineered wood can be installed on, below, or above grade, (basements ok) and glued, nailed, or stapled down, some can even be "free floating" such as the Kahrs brand.    These floors deliver enhanced stability and tighter joints that block out dirt.  Most engineered floors guarantee at least one sand a refinish (more than 90% of us need).   Engineered wood flooring in normally 3/8" to 9/16" thick and works very well for remodeling projects that require a lower floor height where the new wood floor would touch adjoining rooms.  It also may cause less of a concern with your refrigerator height or "trapping" your dishwasher when used in a kitchen remodel.  
 

Some basic advantages of Engineered REAL hardwood  

• Engineered floors have a Lifespan anywhere from 30 - 100 years.
• Using an engineered wood floor allows you to have a wood floor on any grade level.
• Can be used on wood sub floors or dry concrete slabs.
• Less susceptible to moisture.
• Better suited for humid areas of the country.
• Engineered floors are easier to install.
• Engineered wood floors are more dimensionally stable than solid wood floors.
• Engineered floors are available in many different sizes, colors and styles.
• Some engineered floors can be sanded and refinished new again if needed.
• Increases the value of your home.
• Hardwood flooring does not cause allergies, recommended to use by allergists.

 

Sawn, Sliced or Rotary Cut:    Now here is something to pay attention to.     (Go ask someone in a home center about the difference between sawn, sliced and rotary cut hardwood flooring .... good luck.)  

These are the methods in which the hardwood is achieved or taken from the timber.         To simplify the manor in which the log is cut into flooring.    

Sawn-  Think of this as the "old fashion way" and (also the best).   The log is sawn using saw blades to cut the timber into pieces of solid wood.   These pieces can be used for solid wood or as the top veneer of a engineered flooring.   The advantage of sawn will be more understood when you read about the other types.   Sawn flooring remains natural more stable and also looks nicer because it maintains it's natural appearance.   There really is no disadvantage to sawn lumber other than in usually costs a bit more than the other methods because of the waste factor saw dust from saw blade's thickness and the unusable round edges of the log,  usually about 20% waste.    Higher end wood flooring companies like Lauzon only use the saw cut method.

Sliced- Basically instead of a saw blade a knife is used to slice the log into pieces.   This eliminates the waste created by the blades.   The down side to this is that the timber has to be soaked with water, heated, sliced, and then dried out.   This process can be a bit damaging to the structural integrity of the wood.    On the upside sliced wood flooring is usually a bit less expensive than sawn if all other factors remain constant.

Rotary  Cut-  this is a process similar to slicing but instead of the blades slicing straight into the log they "peal" it like an apple.   This method is only used for engineered flooring This method eliminates almost all waste associated with the other two methods.    The only upside to this method is a cost savings.   To help you better understand the down side ... did you ever notice on a map of the world the countries of the extreme north and south are distorted and in fact much larger than there actual scale.  This is because when you take something round and try to make it flat it has to spread out at the top and bottom.   I hope this analogy makes sense.    What happens is that the wood is stretched a bit and the grain is opened.    Rotary cut floors can look a bit less natural and will be less stable and more prone to grain raise, splitting and cracking in the future.         

Edges and Ends:

Square-  Squared edged products have a straight cut where the boards meet each other.  One great advantage of a square edged product is that there is no groove or bevel for dirt to collect.   Thus making these products more maintenance friendly. Also square edge products give the floor the look of one continues surface, not drawing attention to each individual piece of wood but a smoother, larger and more contemporary look of one more uniform surface.   Because it takes more precise machinery to mill square edge products you will typically pay a little bit more for a square edge (if everything else is equal) as compared to a micro beveled or Beveled edge.

Bevel or Full Bevel- Bevel edge planks and visual interest to the floor drawing more attention to each board.  Bevel edges gives the floor a casual, less formal and warmer appeal.   Combined with the finish and color can give the floor a more country or even cabin like appearance.  )  Bevel edge floors are best kept clean by the use of a canister vacuum.  (See our care page for more details.)

Eased and Micro bevel- Like a bevel to a lesser degree. These products have a small bevel or a slight rounding of the board edges.  This draws more attention to each individual board and gives the floor a warmer and more earthy appearance.  Eased and micro-beveled edges are the most common.  In fact many of the exotic species are only available in micro bevel.    Micro bevels tend to be more cost friendly in most circumstances.    

Board Width:

Wood flooring comes in multiple widths, commonly 2 '1/4", 3", 4", 5" and some even 7".    2 1/4" is the mostly common board width for two reasons.  First because it visually expands the width of the room  and because it utilizes the most of the timber and is thus generally more cost effective.   Wider boards can visually enhance a larger room such as 3" or 4".   Alternate widths of a 2 1/4" & 3" or even 3", 5"  & 7" can also be used to create a rustic appearance.  Typically as the board gets wider the price goes up.

Finishes prefinished vs unfinished:

We sell both prefinished & site sanded and finished or what we call unfinished wood flooring.   Which is better ? The truth is that quality products, with quality finishes and installation can be very similar.   All said and done when comparing apples to apples they are also close in price.  We believe that prefinsished flooring has more advantages as you will read below.

Unfinished- Site sanded and finished floors a one main small advantage.  With a quality finisher any color and finish may be obtainable.  Many people believe that a site finished floor is less prone to water damage because the board ends better sealed.  This for most part is a myth.  The truth is that any seal would break as the floor expanded.  The truth is that liquid can get into the joints on both types of plank, strip or parquet flooring.  Site finished floors can cause a big mess with the dust and exposure to fumes,  especially in a remodel application.   Also site finished products generally do not carry the same warrantees.

Prefinished-  Factory pre-finished hardwood flooring is easier to install and performs better over time.  In order to produce the highest quality hardwood flooring, stains and finish coatings are applied and dried in a controlled factory environment using specialized equipment not available for on site finishing.  High performance aluminum oxide urethane coatings get as many as seven passes of ultra violet light to cure the finish to the wood, creating an extremely durable finish.   We here at Lake Cabinet feel that prefinished wood flooring has some distinct advantages including these listed below.

• Factory cured UV finishes and top coats
  (some with Aluminum Oxide, Titanium or Teflon, much harder that most site finish top coats).

• Ready to walk on minutes after installation in most cases.

• Factory backed name brand warrantees.

• Less dust and mess.

• No exposure to fumes from top coat application.
   

Finishes Gloss Level:

Semi & Satin- Floors with a satin or semi gloss finish are more suitable for areas of high traffic because small  scratches are not as noticeable.  This type of finish also shows less dust, dirt and shoe scuffing.   Lower gloss flooring also gives the room a less formal more earthy warmer appeal.    Satin and low gloss finishes also draw a bit less attention to the floor and are used to compliment the other room decor.

High gloss- although they can be used anywhere, these floors are more appropriate for area with lower traffic.   They are also more formal and tend to draw more attention to the floor itself.   High gloss wood floors is the right setting can have a more formal and sophisticated appearance.   

Grade:

There are industry standard  "grades" to solid wood flooring.  Typically engineered flooring does not follow these grades.    Some manufactures put their own spin on the grading system by offering "levels" like "good, better, best" or "bronze, silver, gold".   These labels can be directly related to the industry standard grades or they can mixtures or specific blends of those grades.   The grades are basically determined by the character of the wood.   In other words by the way it looks, its tightness of grain, the amount character marks such as knots, and it's color uniformity.   Most people see the higher grades of wood as being "better", but since the grades are based more on appearance than anything else (like, structural integrity, hardness or moisture content) this is simply a perceived value and the truth is that going for the overall appearance and aching a look you are after could be the best approach to selecting a grade.   Again, as described below these are industry standard grades.   Bellow is a basic chart to help understand the grading.   Although most of this page pertains to prefinished flooring it is also good to understand the unfinished grading because many prefinished floor manufactures specify what grades of wood flooring are used in there products. Also keep in mind that in most cases the grade is directly relative to the price.   So if your looking for a high charter appearance we normally offer Country and Cabin grades at very low prices.   Be sure to check out are Great Deals page for some great wood specials.

Clear Grade - Most uniform in color, longer lengths, virtually no blemishes or knots.
Select & Better - Very uniform in color, longer lengths virtually no blemishes or knots.
Country or Cabin Grades - Boards starting to show the natural character such as lighter and darker boards, shorter board average, small pinholes and tiny knots possible.
pinholes and knots possible, small checks allowed. Overall board lengths cab be shorter.

Unfinished Wood Flooring Grades

Clear Grade - Most uniform in color, longer, lengths, virtually no blemishes or knots.
Select & Better - Very uniform in color, longer lengths, virtually no blemishes or knots.
#1 Common - Board starting to show the natural character such as lighter and darker boards, shorter board average, pinholes and knots are present.
#2 Common - Boards show a lot of natural Character such as light and dark boards, larger knots and checks allowed. Over all board lengths are shorter.
 

Which is better ?  Engineered or Solid ?

Solid Wood

Engineered Wood

In looking at these pictures, what's your first reaction? Like a lot of people, you probably said to yourself, "the solid wood must be better because it's twice as thick".  Well, guess what, you're not correct. Before I go into why, let me explain the black line drawn on an angle on the picture of the solid wood. This represents where a nail would be driven into the floor during installation. Now allow me to explain. 

When comparing solid wood to engineered wood, we tend to think about resurfacing or "refinishing" the floor years down the road. This of course is directly related to the longevity of the flooring. Thinking about resurfacing the floor sometimes is the reason we may be mislead into believing that the solid floor is better or will absolutely last longer. This is not so. Let's refer back to the pictures above. While there is no question that the solid wood floor is much thicker, take a look at where the nail is. When doing your resurfacing, maybe on the second or third resurfacing about 60 to 80 years from now, you are going to run into (literally) one of two things. It will be the nails with the solid wood floor, or the plywood core on the engineered floor. So, with that statement, now do you believe that the solid wood will really last longer?

There are also other important factors to consider. A solid wood floor is usually less stable than an engineered wood floor. When I say less stable, I am referring to moisture and expansion related to that moisture. When you get climate changes in your home, which you absolutely will, wood flooring expands and contracts. This is true more in this part of the country than anyway in the U.S.  We have a large swing in both temperature and humidity levels.  You may have or noticed a solid wood floor that has shrunk in our low humidity, dry, cold winters.  Solid floors that are nailed down my show large cracks where two boards meet.  This condition usually lessons in the summer when the boards swell shut.   With solid wood flooring, it generally expands and contracts a lot more than the engineered wood, especially in the width dimension.  solid wood floors that where installed in the summer tend to open in the winter.  Those installed in the winter sometimes even buckle or peak in the summer when they expand.  Engineered wood flooring is constructed to be dimensionally stable, while most solid wood floors are simply cut pieces of wood from a tree. Engineered flooring is more stable because the layers are crossed counter act the width growth.   Considering solid wood floors are cut pieces of wood, there is a lot more room for error or "cabin grade" type wood to be used. What we're saying here is that if you happen to see a solid wood floor real cheap, you are probably getting exactly what you are paying for, junk. While the same holds true for engineered wood floors, there is a lot less cabin grade around. 

As we mentioned, the solid wood floors expand more than the engineered, and they expand vertically as well as horizontally. While you get little to no vertical expansion with most engineered wood floors, you may get a lot of this vertical expansion with the solid floors. Vertical expansion is when the boards will actually grow up and shrink down in addition to the side to side or horizontal expansion and contraction. The end result of this can be raised boards that sometimes catch your shoes and become a trip hazard. When looking at wood flooring samples, you will notice that most solid, pre-finished wood floors have beveled edges. These beveled edges counteract the raised boards that can become trip hazards, and sort of act as a smoother for the joints. The down side to this is the appearance. The beveled wood floors are not as natural looking. Also, when you get horizontal contraction, when the boards may shrink slightly, unfortunately the bevel edges tend to accentuate these gaps or basically make them look bigger. We have also heard complaints from customers who have had this type of wood flooring, that the bevels seem to hold the dirt when trying to clean the floor. This could be true depending on the depth of the bevel. 
 

Engineered wood floors are available in styles that have different installation methods. They include floors that can be installed using staple down, glue down, or free float methods. Additionally, with other installation methods you get those uneven gaps due to the standard expansion and contraction that we talked about previously. With floating engineered wood floors, when they expand and contract, they do so as one whole unit, not as individual planks so you see no change.  Please remember that solid woods can only be used on grade (ground level) or above, while engineered wood can also be used below.

A basic hardness chart (hardest on the top)   and brief description

• Bamboo - Unique!  Bamboo is actually not a wood at all but a species of Grass from Asia. Bamboo known for its hardness is a readily available resource with a quick growth life of approx 20 years to which it's then harvested.

• Patagonian Rosewood - Also known as Brazilian Tigerwood is by far the hardest wood used flooring in fact it is three times as hard as oak.   Colors range from reddish brown to black.  It is also 25% more stable than Red Oak.  A great buy.

• Jatoba or Brazilian Cherry - HOT! Grows in South America. Colors range from reddish browns to medium orange. Brazilian Cherry is a very dense, heavy wood that has a wonderful deep reddish brown-black hues with soft subtle graining.  Brazilian Cherry darkens quite a bit over time and this darkening is sped up by it's exposure to light and heat.   200 Times harder than Red Oak.

• Lapacho or Brazilian Walnut - Unique brownish to greenish hues with a opulent look.  Slow growing, a worldly treasure.

• Grapia and Ivorywood - these are actually two different species.  Ivorywood has a more maple-like grain and a greenish hue.  Grapia has more color variation and a more orange like hue.    

• Santos Mahogany -  Grows in South America. Colors of this fine-grained wood range from medium reddish brown to dark reddish brown with pronounced contrast in the tones of the growth rings. Very hard, durable and stable wood species.  71% harder than red oak.

• Merbau - Merbau is a very popular Exotic wood species used for wood flooring. Noted for its deep rich medium orange to dark reddish black colors and distinct more open grain.

• Jarrah - Jarrah is noted for it's being a very hard and durable wood . Rich medium to dark reddish tones in color with fine graining with boards of contrasting color. Provides a wonderful rich look that would go great with any decor.

• Purpleheart - A purplish-red  colored grainy wood from Africa.

• Hickory & Pecan - Very popular wood species used for wood flooring in older and newer homes to obtain a dramatic look and feel. Noted for is light creamy tan to medium dark brownish colors and distinct grain.  Hickory has a lot of color variation and many natural characteristics.   Can give a warm rustic look.

• Hard Maple - Hard Maple is very hard and dense wood species making this flooring very popular in heavy trafficked areas. Maple which has minimal graining is also very whitish - tan in color with the possibility (depending on grade) of having light to medium dark mineral streaks. Stability is moderate and is more susceptible to expansion and contraction during prolonged relative humidity changes.  Maple has a natural yellowish hue.  Maple also can have a much different look depending on it's grade.  Clear maple especially in a natural finish and high gloss can look quite contemporary, yet in a character grade can be quite rustic or
  traditional.

• Amendium or Brazilian Oak- European favorite with an oak link grain and varying color patterns 

• White Oak - White Oak has a more formal look with light browns and golden hues than red oak, it is usually much more dense in cellular structure, making it harder, more durable and more stable than red oak.   There is something to be aware of in white oak.  Quite often Red & White oak trees are harvested together.  Some floors use both red and white oak combined but Red oak is much more common, so as the flooring mills use the red oak the white oak is "put off to side".  Because of this even though white oak is less common, harder and stains more neutrally it can actually can be less expensive.  

• Ash - Ash has large defined graining similar to the red oaks. Ash color is more of a light tan, cream color. Very distinctive attractive, durable flooring.

• American Beech - very hard and dense wood species making this flooring very popular in heavy trafficked areas. Beech which has minimal graining has a cast of pinkish grayish tan colors. Stability is moderate and is more susceptible to expansion and contraction during prolonged relative humidity changes.

• Red Oak - The most common and popular wood species used for wood flooring Noted for is durability and beauty with its light reddish tan colors and distinct grain. The Hardness rating is 1290 making it a hard and dense wood species.

• Yellow Birch - Similar to look Maple but a bit softer, and naturally more of a pinkish hue, very common to Canada.  

• Walnut - Perhaps one of the richest natural colors available. Walnut has deep brownish black colors. Used to add richness and beauty in any decor.

• Teak - Very hard and dense hardwood with a range of colors varying from tanish to reddish browns and known for it's natural oils and moisture resistant property and stability.

• American Cherry - American Cherry is definitely one of the most desired wood species sought after due to it rich reddish color and wonderful graining. Over time American Cherry darkens to a deeper reddish color. American cherry is a softer wood species with a hardness rating of 950 making it a softer wood species than red oak at 1290 or maple at 1450.  Also American cherry darkens quite a bit over time.

• Pine - Softer yellowish rustic wood of American tradition.