Width of hardwood in an open concept home
marylonn27
2 years ago
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Comments (10)
Lyn Nielson
2 years ago
mojavemaria
2 years agoWe dont have solid hickory but do have engineeted in 3,4,5 inch and this is what ot looks like. It doesn’t seem like too many lines to me but your opinion is the one that matters.
marylonn27 thanked mojavemariaRelated Discussions
Thoughts on width of hardwood?
Comments (4)Wider boards will move more throughout the year with changes in humidity. No finish can stop it, only slow the movement. One of the reasons for using narrower strips is to reduce the width of the inevitable gaps that open and close. Below is a link to the 'Wood Engineering Handbook,', Chapter 3 that deals with wood movement. Figure 3-3 shows how wood movement is affected by the location the wood was in before being cut from the log. Correctly dried wood should not have excessive movement, but it is going to move. Radial sawed wood holds overall shape best (it changes thickness more than any other dimension but keeps shape) and flat sawn wood is the worst (it changes width and shape). Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Hanndbook, Chapter 3...See MoreHardwood - What width boards?
Comments (10)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....See MoreExtending hardwood in open concept space
Comments (16)Sadly we do not have time to paint before the floors are done. I get that that's not the best order of things, but we move in in three weeks so the floors need to be started now, or we have nowhere to put our two small dogs. The floors need to be not walked on by them for a while after they are finished, so the only way is to do the floors NOW and then cover them really well for the paint. I know it's not ideal, but it is what we need to do. If the house had walls, we could keep the dogs in a particular room. But the entire first floor minus the foyer is being re-done. There's no way to do it with the dogs (and we don't have anyone to watch them for weeks; trust me. It's an issue.)...See Moreneed help! hardwood or tile in open concept kitchen
Comments (32)see if SJ McCarthy can come in and comment. She is the flooring guru and I believe she is in Can. look her up, send her a message, and have give her a link to this dilemma. She'll pop over. I'm sure the two 'installers' you spoke to are not flooring refinishing experts. They are probably just flooring installers. Big difference. It's not cheaper. It's costs more to tear out and buy all new. And of course that's what they told you because they're the ones taking your money! You need someone who refinishes wood floors. nothing else. Call up a wood flooring refinisher. call in 2 or 3. Talk to someone who knows what they're doing, not some random flooring guy. new flooring. $5-$10 sq ft for wood flooring, solid or engineered. (yes there is cheaper, and it's crap) now add on about $4 a sq ft to install. don't forget new baseboards. demo all of the old stuff, prob $4 a sq ft. do the math. now, match up new flooring,,$5-7 sq ft for the new wood to lace in, few more bucks for labor, plus a few thousand to completely sand and stain everything at once. (I don't know what your sq footage is) it's cheaper to leave what's there, and pay to have it matched and redone. And, you get to keep your original floors and have them look brand new....See MoreUser
2 years agoThis is solid hickory in the 4 inch size. We also have a long, open space great room and I have never gotten the feeling that the runs are long. I think the variance in the wood pattern breaks up the lines.
marylonn27 thanked Usermarylonn27
2 years agoThanks to everyone for the input! I can't seem to make a decision lately. I think it's because I'm afraid to make the wrong one when spending a lot of money. I've got to figure it out because the prices are rising.
Picture of what I have currently. It was damaged by the ice maker line leaking.
All 3" width currently
marylonn27
2 years agoUser
2 years agocraljh
2 years agoUser
2 years ago
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