I wouldn't mix widths (3/4/5"), but I would go with the widest possible. Can you do all 5"? If not, I'd do all 4".

Hi,
We have select and better hickory in our kitchen--installed this past June. It is 3/4/5. Ours was site finished as well. Right after it was installed it was beautiful!! I absolutely loved it. It was smooth as glass, However, when the humidity came in mid summer, it started to cup"....We were told "that's the nature of hickory. It will flatten out in the winter" Well, the humidity has gone down around 40% and personally, I don't see much change. Now don't get me wrong, it isn't hideous, but it sure doesn't look like it did right after install. In the afternoon sun, you see every seam.....So.....I guess I kind of wish we had been told about this ahead of time.
Oh, and the wider the board, the more likely it is that it will "cup" so I really would not do all 5".
I think you might google this topic of hickory and cupping and find some info.
We still love our floor, don't get me wrong. Hickory is beautiful wood.

I love the look of variable width but I think you need to have pretty wide planks for that to look good. We are planning on variable width wood floors in 6-10" in pine. pine is very soft and will ding easily but that doesn't bother me. I don't know anything about hickory, we've always had red oak and it's held up well to abuse. Are are planning on keeping the red oak in those areas or removing it?

No matter what you choose you will love it over the carpet!!!

I should mention, that we kept our red oak floors in the LR which is wide open to the kitchen/dining area; just ran the hickory perpendicular. It looks good together and kind of defines the areas, since everything is so open.

blueiris24,

We used to have hickory floors in our previous home. I liked them really well and never had a 'cupping' problem. We lived in a pretty "moist" area also. I don't think I would go with anything wider than 4" but that is just me. Be prepared, too, that the hickory is a very "busy" floor. We had alot of it at our former home and I guess I got a little tired of all the color variations. With our new build we put in white oak in a #2 common which is similar to hickory, just not quite so much color variation and it is a 3 1/4" width.
HTH

As far as widths, I prefer wider flooring. We have black birch flooring in our farm house in several rooms, and it looks like cherry. The vast majority of people don't see any difference. As far as hardness - it is hard enough for our taste. We don't treat our wood floors as "precious", they are there to be used. At any rate, hickory sounds like it would be very pretty also.

Here's a link to some issues with hickory--I did read it before we put ours in, but went ahead anyway--like I said, we just like the way it looks--variations and the 'wildness' of the grain.

Here is a link that might be useful: Possible problems with hickory flooring

I have local cherry and went with the 3/4/5. I had a sense that it would be less formal...don't know why. I have a high threshold for variability and pattern, so the mix works for me. If a person likes a calm, uniform feeling in their environment, maybe a consistent size plank is the best option. It is interesting to think about hickory in this context since it a wood with a great variety in tone.

I think it's just a personal preference. Have you been able to find pictures of both? I love the look of the mixed width floors, so if the price was the same, I'd likely go w/ 3/4/5. Everyone is right in that hickory is hard, but also not very stable. The wider the width, the more movement you will see/possible cupping or gaps. I keep a humidity gage in my kitchen, yet it is tough during season changes to keep the floors perfect in my home (5' hickory). Because the floors are not that dark and already have a lot of character, I don't think the movement is a visual problem. Good luck w/ your decision.

When I remodeled in 2005, I installed select red birch throughout the whole house (except for bathrooms and foyer). The flooring was finished on site; it is not an engineered floor. I did not stain the flooring, as I love the color, and pattern of the wood grain, and wood burls...it is so lovely.

In selecting the wood, I asked what the owner recommended for board width(he's been in the wood flooring business for over 30 years, so has valuable experience). He was quite emphatic that the best results come from boards that are no wider than 3.5 inches. Anything wider than that is very prone to warping, or being affected by the changing humidity and temperature throughout the year.

So, while I really liked the looks of the wider boards, I'm a very practical person, and given the cost of installing the wood flooring throughout my home, I decided to follow his recommendation....my boards are 3.5 inches wide.

The floor is beautiful! I love it as much today as when it was installed 4 years ago. It is softer than some floors, but when I drop things on the floor, I figure I'm just gradually distressing the floor while I live in this house for the next few decades.

I also like it because the flooring is so visually warm...and, doesn't look like so many of the other wood floors one sees. Red birch is not frequently seen.....and I'm glad I used the "select" grade.

Good luck making your decision. Your wood flooring will be floor art, so choose what you love.