Red, I'd ask on the flooring forum.

I forgot there was such a forum.

I know I love hickory, but that's about it, regarding knowledge, lol.

We had hickory cabs in the first house we owned, and I adored them every single day (we were in Phoenix, so practically zero moisture). Hickory floors would be awesome. Is there another wood that your Amish guy recommends, that is similar to hickory, but better behaved?

We have hickory and they're beautiful. No issues here, but I'm sure there are so many different types that there's no way to say there wouldn't be issues elsewhere. I'd trust the installer, if it were me.

Dame...my sister has hickory cabinets and they are beautiful. Better behaved, hahaha? He likes just about everything but hickory. My next choice is white oak, I think. He was good with that.

htwo...would love a pic. Thanks.

We didn't consider hickory but did see it installed at a showroom connected to a local floor milling operation. Noticed gaps right away and the man that owns the mill told us that's the nature of hickory. We were going back and forth at that point between red and white oak but they had every possible species all installed and finished in the same large room so you could walk them and compare.

So is Hickory flooring just an unwise choice, all around? Any climates it would be good in? Or is this a wood species that should just be limited to smaller applications like cabinetry, furniture, and home decor?

ILoveRed, this is the best one I can find right at the moment.

A properly conditioned house with HVAC that pays attention to humidity should eliminate shrinking and expansion, no? With efficient homes - moisture management is more and more important and needs to be part of your indoor air quality / comfort plan. Your hickory floors will thank you!

We have site-finished hickory floors. We used 3/4" solid hardwood in 5" planks. We are not having any issues with gaps, cupping or anything else and it's been down and finished for over a year. But, we live in a climate where the humidity doesn't fluctuate much. I will say that hickory is difficult to sand (it's very hard) and it's difficult to stain (doesn't take up stain very easily). If you go with hickory and you do not want orange/yellow tones or undertones, you're going to have to go dark with the floor and it's going to be difficult to get it to stain dark. So, you will need someone who is familiar/comfortable with working with hickory or you are going to have to be prepared for difficulties in getting the wood to do what you want. We do like our floors, but, lol, I would go with oak next time because it just seems like it would have been less trouble. Plus, for whatever reason, most everyone thinks that our floors are oak, anyway.

I think your Amish fellow is giving you good advice.

Note: the picture doesn't do it justice, as the floor is sooo dusty with construction mess still. But its a wonderful medum brown with both shades of green and red, so a perfect compromise between my love of greeny-walnut shades, and his love of red-mahoghany.

"A properly conditioned house with HVAC that pays attention to humidity should eliminate shrinking and expansion, no?"

I agree. We have prefinished solid hickory. There have been no issues with shrinkage/gaps, but we always have HVAC on w/ humidity controlled.

Htwo...beautiful!! Thanks for the advice.

lookinto...beautiful as well. Are your doors hickory. Assuming you are doing stained doors with white trim. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Lolauren...I would love a pic.

ILOVERed - the doors are Thermatru fiberglass doors, that we have stained a similar color.

And yes, stained doors with white trim!

ILoveRed Hickory is very temperamental and less forgiving than other wood species like White Oak. If you live in a climate that has lots of temp and moisture swings take a look at a high quality Engineered Plank. They are available unfinished now too so you can have the best of both worlds. Stability of Engineered but the look of site finished.

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