hickory solid hardwood flooring

16 years ago

We are planning on installing solid unfinished hickory floors in most of the house. The only rooms that will not be getting it are the utility, both baths, and the WIC.

I am undecided on the width I want. We like the look of planks (who doesn't) but are concerned about cupping and price. We are thinking about 4-6", but how to choose??? Any suggestions?

Can we use tung oil to finish hickory?

Also, has anyone ordered from Hurst Hardwoods (www.hursthardwoods.com)? They have good prices and claim NOFMA certification and that they are members of NWFA.

Any other recommendations on places to buy unfinished hickory floors?

thanks,

michael

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Comments (10)

sierraeast
16 years ago
Hey mikeyvon,

You might also run this by the flooring forum. We are going with 3-1/4" oak.
Flash
16 years ago
We also plan to install solid hickory and love the wide planks, too. We will probably go with 4-1/4" to be safer from the cupping but haven't completely ruled out random widths that include 4-1/4", 5-1/4" and either one size larger or smaller than them.

Someone here (can't remember who, sorry) posted picks of her beautiful hickory floors a while back. She said she got them from Baird Brothers in Ohio.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baird Brothers
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I have hickory floors, but I went with an engineered wood by Hallmark floors. We got a handscraped, distressed look. I have three active boys and my floors are also in my kitchen. We've had it a year and the floors look great. I really like the character in the hickory and it seems to take abuse. We live in a harsh climate and I haven't seen any damage at the entries or after one of the boys drops something heavy (and that happens, a lot). We talked to a lot of flooring professionals...I think we went to every floor dealer in a 30 mile radius....when debating whether to go with engineered or solid. One of the more reputable dealers said they no longer did solid hickory in wider planks because of a lack of stability. She said hickory was especially prone to this. I am not sure what she meant by lack of stability (cupping, maybe?), but it might be something to ask about.
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I too cannot see the savings of remove+replace. A sand/refinish averages $5/sf. It is minimally disruptive (ie. it does NOT involve demolition) and it will cure in 10 days (assuming you are using a high-end water based finish). Now an engineered hardwood is SUPPOSED to be more expensive than solid. Yah. I said it. Engineered (same cut, width, thickness, installation method) should be more expensive than solid. Hmmmmmm. My spidy senses are tingling. Now on to the cost of hardwood upstairs. Carpet removal/disposal = $1.50 - $2/sf (depends on where you live). Repair and prepare the wooden subfloors (usually 'bad' underneath carpet...carpet hides the WORST subfloors) $2-$4/sf. Yep. Just ASSUME you will be spending $3/sf for the subfloor prep upstairs. Now for the cost of solid hardwood (regular 3" width) = $5/sf. Installation + finishing = $3-$4/sf. Right. A regular solid hardwood (nothing special) with install = $8 - $10/sf. Now compare that to a 'sand and refinish' of $5/sf. Wow. It is CHEAPER to do the sand and refinish. Hmmmm. Now imagine the COST of demolition for the HARDWOOD....yep. You can add MORE to that cost. And again the subfloors have to be looked at. More costs. Now imagine the cost of a MORE EXPENSIVE engineered hardwood....$8 - $12/sf for material only. Installation is extra ($3-$4/sf for factory finished hardwood). I tell ya. The $5/sf sand/refinish is looking REALLY GOOD right now. Ignore the width of the planks. They are classic and are probably appropriate for the age of the home. It is your money and your home. If you believe an engineered hardwood is CHEAPER than $5/sf sand and refinish (including install and subfloor preparation) then you are welcome to find out the reality of the situation. We are going to tell you the 'cheap' wide plank engineered hardwood is not going to give you the 'life expectancy' that a 'regular' 3" wide solid hardwood ($5/sf material). It just won't.
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My home has had floating laminate plank flooring for nearly a decade. The finish is still flawless, and I love it. It is very easy for the care routine, just vacuum and spot clean with water.
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feedingfrenzy
16 years ago
If you go with the wider planks, you should consider having them pegged.

Also, make sure that whatever flooring boards you buy are thoroughly dried. I know people who had a beautiful (unpegged) hickory plank floor installed and it started cupping within a few weeks. The owners had bought direct from a mill because it was cheaper, but the planks (unbeknownst to them) hadn't been thoroughly dried.
ponydoc
16 years ago
Hi Mike

I am the one with the Baird Bros Hickory. Ours is prefinished character hickory.

I can't say enough about Baird Bros. They can help you with whatever hardwood questions you have.
Flash
16 years ago
Ponydoc - I thought it was you that posted about Baird Brothers but wasn't positive. Would you, please remind us of the width that you have. I really LOVE the look of that.
ponydoc
16 years ago
They are 4 inch. We got the prefinished. It went in really quickly and I thought the price was pretty darn reasonable too. We did almost our whole first floor, up ( and down) the steps and the upstairs hallways. Probably about 2000 sq ft.

They have been pretty easy to care for so far. You can use the swiffer wet- and it works great. We also have a central vac.

I must admit though..... I just spot clean from time to time. I have a housekeeper once a week....... I work a lot.... I stink at housecleaning.

PD
brickeyee
16 years ago
The wider the boards the more they WILL move.
No fastening method can stop the movement of wood as the moisture content changes.
Double fastening of wide boards often leads to splitting if they dry out further after installation.

Chapter 3 of the Wood Engineering Handbook provides a lot of data on how wood changes dimension and shape with moisture.
Figure 3.3 shows how cupping occurs, along with other shape changes with moisture content.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Engineering Handbook, Chapter 3
lejbuzzcut_aol_com
13 years ago
project at my own house. unfinished hickory flooring. going to use tong oil as a finish. This forum is makeing me nervus!!!! Going to use 8" boards is there a problem with after all this work that the board will cup and ruin the floor??Buying wood from Hurst hardwoods.Going to staple floor, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP
LEW
julzrd
11 years ago
Hi! This is my first post:)! I was doing an online search for Baird Brothers character grade hickory hardwood flooring since I think (at this point) this is what my husband and I plan to install this spring on the first level of our house, and I came across this forum and saw ponydoc's beautiful flooring... also character grade and from Baird Brother's. I am hoping to ask ponydoc a few questions. How have the floors held up? (we have a very active household with 4 young kids) What kind of coating did you get- satin or semi-gloss? (baird brothers sent me samples of both). Not sure if you will receive this as I am new to this forum and this is my first post. Hope to hear from you. By the way, your floors are gorgeous!
phoggie
11 years ago
I am using hickory with gunstock stain...I did not want such a drastic color change.

hickory solid hardwood flooring

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sierraeast

Flash

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