Hickory Flooring
What do you want in a hardwood floor? Most people want beauty, durability, strength, and shock resistance and there is not any hardwood that can deliver this set of criteria better than Hickory. Even the U.S. Forest Service agrees, they have stated that while there are hardwoods that are stronger or harder, there are not any that have the combination of hardness, strength, stiffness, and toughness that is found in Hickory, more so than in any other commercial wood. That is quite an endorsement and while most that seek out a hardwood floor focus their attention on the beauty, of which Hickory delivers plenty, it is nice to know that a choice for Hickory flooring is also a choice for the best of the best.
In fact Hickory has had its tensile strength compared to steel. But do not let this deceive you, while tensile strength is an interesting factor, tensile strength is a measure of how well something can be stretched and that is the one strain that your floor will not incur. But the opposite of tensile strength is compression strength, and when you look at charts showing compression strength parallel and perpendicular to the grain, the types of multiple compression stresses that a floor is subjected to, there is no stronger a hardwood than Hickory. This goes the same for shear parallel strength, Hickory is amongst the top. Overall, when you look at the strength measurements they support the statements form the US Forest Service.
Of course all of this is not really the first thing people think of when they are buying flooring. They normally think of the way the floor looks and the way in which it compliments their overall decor. But as we all should know, form follows function, and it is important to know that a choice for Hickory flooring is more than a decorative choice, it is a choice for the best and strongest hardwood available.
When you shop for Hickory you will find that there are several types of Hickory available and these are normally split into two primary groups. True Hickories and Pecan Hickories,. Just for knowledge sake you can note that the true hickory is a self pollinating species of hickory while the pecan hickory must cross pollinate between two trees. Even though many sales people will tell you there is a specific density or color difference between the two, you should know that the color and density tolerances in the gradings of the woods vary so greatly between mills that you should not make any portion of your buying decision on whether it is true hickory or pecan. This also goes for grading of the woods, unless you are comparing gradings within a single mill, gradings for hickory between different mills is not useful. Unfortunately, a “select” grading from one mill can be better than a “select or better” grading from another mill. You would be better served looking and comparing each mill individually and disregarding whether they call it true hickory, pecan, or how they grade it.
Due to the differentiation between mills and the lack of differentiation between types of hickory, unless you are going for lower grades like rustic or country, you should always look at various samples of the wood from each mill and then look at an exact sample of the one you plan to order. It may even be useful to look at multiple samples of the same grade and type of wood form the same mill in order to understand the natural differentiation that you may end up with in your order. The key to ordering a hardwood like this is to make certain that once you choose the mill and exact specifications, that you order all of the wood you need for your entire project, as well as some extra, in one single order. You can also ask the mill if they will be able to get that order made in a single run and from a single or similar source. This is the only way that you can ensure the best likelihood of getting a full run of hickory flooring that has a consistent look across the entire floor. This may sound a little difficult, but in actuality it is not. Ordering like this and making certain the mill is serving your needs simply shows you are an educated buyer. They will not be upset by this, they will understand and respect you as a customer because you are showing an understanding and appreciation for their business.
This leads us directly into installation. When it comes to installing a beautiful and quality hardwood floor I would highly recommend that you use an experience craftsman. This is especially true if you plan to stain the floor in any way. Though I would recommend using the mill or factory to do the staining before delivery. There is no way even the best craftsman locally can match the pristine staining conditions that are present for factory staining. This is even more important because Hickory comes in a variety of densities and you never know exactly what you are going to get in your order. As a result, a person that is staining it may get a result far from what is expected due to a density that was not expected. The mills and factories have the ability to account for this and therefore it is highly recommended that you do not do the staining yourself, nor trust it to a local contractor or crafts person.
The installation, as noted above, should be done by a crafts person. The word craftspersons is important because this is more than you local flooring contractor. Hickory, as also note earlier, is a very strong and tough wood. As a result it is less forgiving than other materials on installation. This means that the installer must be very skilled and ensure a very precise installation. This is different than the average flooring job where they can make adjustments during installation due to forgiving materials. The hickory installation needs to be done by someone experienced.
In the end you can read everything here and think that it is going to cost a lot more money to choose Hickory flooring over other woods. The reality is that yes, it will cost a little more money, but not as much as you would think, and then when you add into the equation the superior quality or wood, look, installation, and longevity you will get from this floor, you will know that a little extra money is worth it. Think about how long a quality floor lasts, many over 100 years, when you look at it that way you know that choosing Hickory Flooring is the only choice for true quality and lifetime enjoyment.
