Episode 10 – The Value of Wood Floors

In today’s flooring market, there are a flood of products either calling themselves wood, replicate wood or have a paper-thin veneer that consider themselves ‘waterproof’ wood. How is the consumer to decipher what product is the best for their home?

In the recent past, lesser expensive products have made their way into the flooring market. Products like luxury vinyl plank splashed into the market with the look of wood at a low price point and the promise of a waterproof floor covering. Over the years, the manufacturers have seen performance issues with these low-cost platforms and have had to upgrade the core materials to withstand the variations in temperature and humidity that exists throughout the country. With this increased cost of raw materials, the price of these products has reached that of an actual wood floor.

Homes with hardwood floors are not only easier to sell, but they also offer an average return on investment of around 147%. That’s because 54% of buyers are willing to pay more for hardwood floors if they are in good condition. With correct installation, proper maintenance, and refinishing, hardwood floors have the longest life span compared to other flooring materials. It’s an expense that most experts say is well worth it. While this may seem a little pricey for an initial investment, you must take into consideration the fact that these floors can outlive you.

In this article – Aging with Grace: The Sustainability of Wood Flooring – Libby Johnston (Publisher of the Hardwood Floors Magazine) and other hardwood flooring industry professionals talk about the Life Cycle of a wood floor, being able to Refinish Instead of Replace and the Sustainability of wood flooring. Partnering with other associations, research institutes, and consulting firms, the wood flooring industry is getting the word out to the consumer regarding the benefits of using wood instead of imitations.

This is currently being done through print and electronic marketing campaigns. One well designed printed piece is ‘The Homeowner’s Handbook to Real Wood Floors’.  Additional information on this campaign can be found by contacting the NWFA or read this article regarding its launch.

Now that we understand some of the benefits of wood flooring, how do you weed through all the real wood flooring options? To clear up some of that confusion, the industry has classified wood flooring into three categories:

1. Solid wood flooring is a solid piece of wood from top to bottom.
2. Engineered wood flooring is real wood from top to bottom and is normally made using multiple wood veneers or slats of wood glued together at opposing directions.
3. Composite engineered wood flooring contains real wood on the wearable surface only. The backing and core material may be made up of any type of composite material.

In the above-mentioned categories, there are variations that could add additional value to that category:

The ability to refinish a wood floor not only makes it a multi-generational product, but it also ensures it will never go out of style. The color and sheen can be updated during the remodeling process or to suit the taste of a new homeowner, providing a completely new look.

In some cases, these thin wear layered products are being compared to a ¾” solid or engineered wood flooring with a sandable wear layer. When it comes to value, there is a big difference between a wood flooring that has a paper-thin wear layer that cannot be resanded, then one that can be resanded 1, 2 or even 5 times.

It has been said that a wood floor look alike (LVP/Laminate) may last about 10-15 years. A thinner engineered wood floor may last your lifetime. A solid or engineered wood floor with a sandable wear layer can last generations and could be sanded and stained a different color to suit your future generations or have that added value to the next homeowner.

What happens to all these products when they are at the end of their service life? As the carbon footprint conversation becomes more of a noteworthy topic in the production of a material, so does the ability to recycle it after its service life. Your wood look alikes will most of the time end up in a landfill since the mixed media the manufacturers have used to make them more stable, has caused the inability to be recycled. It will remain in the landfill for 100’s of years.  As for a wood flooring product (if it has not been repurposed as a reclaimed decorative surface covering), they will decompose in 1-5 years. In the end, having a much greener overall story.

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Episode 5 – Variation in Engineered Hardwood Flooring.

Wood is usually chosen as a flooring option because of the natural beauty, distinct color and graining characteristics. While a more traditional graded and sorted material is still marketed, a good amount of today’s factory finished engineered hardwood flooring is made from a live-sawn cut of the log (see Info Bulletin #150 for more information). Each board is unique in its characteristics and can vary in color and grain appearance from piece to piece. With all that beautiful variation, unfortunately a small sample board (even an 18” x 24” display panel would be considered a small sample), may not show all the variation the flooring could have. Below are a few reasons these variations can exist.

Natural Board Variation

In the above opening paragraph, we explained that the live-saw cut has become more commonly used to produce factory finished engineered hardwood. With this cut, the manufacturers can maximize the yield out of a log, allowing all color and grain differences. In most cases, there is little to no grading in this cut; you receive all the beauty the log provides. Each plank can vary from a clean to rustic visual and contain small to large filled knots and splits, sap wood, and a high contrast within the natural and lighter stained visuals. Texture variation can also exist depending on the surface treatment. If the collection has a wire-brushed texture, some planks may have more texture due to the density of that particular plank.

This can also vary by specie. It is important to take heartwood and sapwood into consideration before choosing your floors. The difference between the inner part of the tree (heartwood) and the outer part of the tree (sapwood) can be seen as variations of light and dark. The natural contrast between heartwood and sapwood plays a major role in the color of wood floors. Variations can occur from board to board, as well as in the same board. This occurs naturally, and is not an “unfinished” board. This sapwood is depicted in the Oak flooring image below. The Sapwood is light/yellowish mineral streak in the photo. Some species will have greater levels of variation, for example, Hickory or Maple. Two examples of specie variation are shown below.

Natural Color Changes Over Time

Older display panels that have gone through this natural change may be different from new flooring being delivered to the jobsite as the new flooring has not been exposed to the same conditions. In time, when exposed to similar conditions, the floor should catch up to the sample panel.

Regional/Seasonal Harvesting Variation

In addition to region, the time of year that the lumber was harvested can also change its color due to the amount of natural sugars and oils traveling through the tree at that particular time of year.

All the above scenarios can create a slight variation between batches of the same collection and/or color.

Fuming Characteristics

There are multiple ways manufacturers can accentuate the natural beauty of wood. Some manufactures utilize a process called Fuming. Fumed hardwood is a natural accelerated aging process used to enhance the dark to light subtleties within every wood plank, batch and region. The deepening in color and variation is created by adding a natural oxidizing agent in a controlled environment to react with the naturally present tannins in the wood – Time, Temperature & available Tannins (naturally present in the wood) mix to create one of kind planks that are added to the color options of a collection. While this process is done in a very controlled environment, it is not 100% precise. As mentioned in the previous section, Regional/Seasonal Harvesting Variation; every region, grove and tree produces an individually unique and high contrast color palette. This fuming process can accentuate that contrast. The finish system usually used with this process is natural oil which can cause additional contrast. Additional information regarding the different finish systems is explained in the next section.

The below image is an example of a natural oak vs. a fumed oak.

Different Finish Systems

There are multiple finish systems that manufacturers utilize to create their collection of colors. Some finish systems can change the overall color of a floor as it ages or oxidizes. As mentioned above, some may start with a reactive type of coloring process like fuming, and then add penetrating oil to provide a two-tone or layering appearance. While this may provide the color and ‘raw’ appearance that has become popular, this finish system can come with inherent risks. A fumed, naturally oiled floor will have the most variation and can experience a large color change over time. Most retailers will purchase a box of flooring to sample to their prospective customer as their display sample panel may not show the overall variation well.

Another finish system would be a more traditional stain/urethane finish system. Some also utilize stains, glazing or tint coats in a urethane system to produce a layering effect similar to a fumed/oiled system that can be more consistent between batches. These systems can also minimize the color change due to UV exposure or oxidation. In these multi-layered urethane systems, they have a very low sheen to provide that ‘raw’ appearance.

So How Do We Sell Wood Flooring?

After reading this, you may be asking yourself, how am I supposed to sell wood flooring? Well, first off, knowledge. The whole reason this information bulletin exists is to help inform you about the natural varying beauty of hardwood flooring. Wood flooring is the most replicated appearance in other flooring types. From laminate to LVP, even ceramic tile has imitated the look of wood. But none will ever be able to claim the true natural beauty or variation that a real wood floor will have, as no plank and/or floor for that matter is really ever the same. Real wood floors will never have a repeating pattern across the floor. Continue learning about real wood floors by reading our other Information Bulletins or Did You Know Episodes.

Content for this episode (including some written content and images) was sourced from the websites of Naturale Elegance Flooring and Hallmark Floors. Additional information can be acquired from the manufacturer’s technical department of the products used on your floor. The National Wood Floor Association (NWFA) can be an additional resource. They can be reached at 800-422-4556 or online at www.woodfloors.org.

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