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Brazilian Teak or Walnut Floors

15 years ago

We're building a home and it's time for us to make our floor selection. We've narrowed it down to Brazilian Teak or Brazilian Walnut for the main level. Does anyone have either floor in their home? If so, would you offer suggestions or care to share a photo? Thanks, E.

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Comments (4)

Christine Clemens
15 years ago
We have had BR-111 Brazilian Teak for several years. It has a good bit of variation, probably more than my DH wanted but I actually enjoy it. We tried to find something that would work with our existing den paneling. The floor has brown, gold and red in it but it is not a red floor like Brazilian Cherry. The floor has held up very well but it is possible to scratch it. I did it with a staple in the bottom of a chair leg. :( We will probably be installing it in the rest of the main floor of our house, including the kitchen. We are in the process of updating our kitchen and we felt that a painted cabinet would look better with this floor because it is fairly dark and because of the variation. I think my interior designer would have preferred that I use a distressed floor with a more uniform color that would not show anything. I decided not to worry too much about the floor and just enjoy it. It is 3/4" Brazilian Teak after all. I wish it were cheaper!!! I hope the photo link works. Please forgive the worn out furniture and the bits of popcorn. Good luck with your decision.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34162691@N03/
Christine Clemens
15 years ago
kbayexpress,

Check out this thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cumaru thread
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Sadly I have a comment. This is an old thread. But I got 3000 ft of Brazilian Walnut flooring and wasn't as wise to really check it out. After buying prefinished and encountering scratches we paid again to have it sanded and resurfaced with an ebony stain and then water-based polyurethane and it is still scratching easily. The lesson is 'slick on slick don't stick'. The wood is just too hard to absorb the stain and polyurethane coating whether it be oil or water based polyurethane. I was told by perhaps the wisest person I talked to (after the fact) that if you have brazilian walnut best thing to do is just put turkish oil on it. For now we are trying to learn how to use pens and so forth to touch it up, but it is heart breaking because we have a large floor and this is sad. Our medium/large size dog nails scratch it (and fake nail they just chew off), chairs scratch it fairly easily and yes right through the stain. I wish I had done this research. This wise man explained to me it is like putting a polyurethane coating on a slick garage floor. He says "slick on slick don't stick." I was advised ahead of time to put oak. I did not listen. No more oak was allowed in house bc I already had some and it isn't my favorite grain. I love my floor that I have, it is GORGEOUS. BUT...it scratches terribly through the grain. I'm not taking mine out, I will learn how to touch it up. But will have lots of carpets under chairs, maybe even breakfast chairs or will put little rug pads beneath each and every chair leg.
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Several years ago we installed clear grade Cumaru in an area inside a hotel lobby. It stained quite well and made a beautiful floor. I didn't take any pictures but you can see a bit of the floor here: http://www.pgaresort.com/photo-gallery Look under iBar. The first two pictures shows the Cumaru floor. With Cumaru, the biggest issue for many is the wide range of color. Did you look at the Sapele I recommended to you earlier?
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Look at the treads to see the condition theyre in. If anything you might only need to hand scuff them with 100g or 120. Then for finish use a water borne urethane. First a sealer then 2 finish coats Before you apply the sealer wipe down the tread with denatured alcohol. This will help remove the surface oils.
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Mairin, no wonder I loved the width of your floors. The 4" width is my favorite board width and if I ever meet someone and buy a new home, I want solid 4" width boards. Right now I have 5" wide Engineered BR-111 Brazilian Cherry floors that I love but I still prefer the 4" width the best. I love Teak but I could not find any in the engineered wood when I was looking and I needed that due to living on a concrete slab since my home was built in the preserved wetlands so there can be no basements here. Surprisingly my slab was very dry. I just LOVE your backsplash so much! You have exquisite taste. Thanks for sharing.
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kbayexpress
Original Author
15 years ago
I like the look of your Teak floor. Thanks for the pictures and the link.
gmillion
13 years ago
I am building my dream house and need to pick out the wood for my floors. I am really torn; Brazilian Teak or Brazilian Walnut Floors? Price is not a concern. I just want the best! I think the problem is that I have not seen either wood installed in a room. ...just small areas at the retailer. Sounds like they are both beautiful and they are both resistant ware.

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