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LAKE CABINET & FLOORING, INC.
The Warmth of Real Wood Flooring
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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,
Hartco,
Peverco, Johnson, Terra Bella, Weyerhaeuser Lyptus, and
the Out of Africa collection by
Columbia. 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.
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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.
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.
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.
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Factory cured UV finishes and top coats
(some with
Aluminum Oxide, Titanium or Teflon, much harder that most site finish top coats).
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Ready to walk on minutes after installation in most
cases.
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Factory backed name brand warrantees.
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Less dust and mess.
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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. |
| Prefinshed 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.
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.
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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.
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A basic hardness chart (hardest on the top)
and brief description
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Lapacho or Brazilian Walnut - Unique brownish to
greenish hues with a opulent look. Slow growing, a worldly treasure.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Purpleheart -
A purplish-red colored grainy wood from Africa.
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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.
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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.
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Amendium or Brazilian Oak- European favorite with an
oak link grain and varying color patterns
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Yellow Birch -
Similar to look Maple but a bit softer, and naturally more of a
pinkish hue, very common to Canada.
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Walnut - Perhaps
one of the richest natural colors available. Walnut has deep brownish black
colors. Used to add richness and beauty in any decor.
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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.
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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.
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Pine - Softer yellowish
rustic wood of American tradition.
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