Time to buy! What do I need to know? Part two
Ok the budget is in place. You have left plenty of lead time for us to product your custom milled floor (anywhere from2-8 weeks) and now we can go shopping. Our flooring divides up into two main categories, reclaimed wood or newly sawn wood. As you would expect the reclaimed wood will be more expensive due to the manufacturing process required to make it. New wood flooring does not require the intensive grading and processing that reclaimed does so it tends to be about half the price.
So what look are you going for? If you are headed towards a rustic look there are basically three types of "rusticity" to consider. To simplify the process here we will focus on our reclaimed oaks.
Our remilled grade is our lightest colored reclaimed oak floor. These planks come from deeper in the beams and boards and so experienced less direct UV exposure and thus are lighter in color. The plank faces here are completely smooth. You will still see a wonderful assortment of knots, nail holes and general rustic character.
Distressed grade means you are getting a darker coloration of wood due to UV exposure but for the most part the flooring planks will be smooth.
Our Highlands Plank will have roughly 50% of the plank face covered in saw kerf rendering the overall look darker. It is important to note that saw kerf in flooring, once oil is applied, will darken significantly. You do have the option of choosing a water based finish which will leave the flooring lighter in overall color. This floor will also have high spots and low spots that help to give it that look of having been walked on for a hundred years.
Full on rustic floor right there. 100% of the plank face is covered in saw kerf. Lots of high and low spots throughout the flooring. As mentioned previously saw kerf darkens once the oil is applied so expect this floor to range from dark browns to blacks.
So that covers what we can call rustic grading especially in the oaks. It really comes down to how much rustic character you want on your flooring what will look best with the decor. Now if the budget is not there for the reclaimed wood you have a great option.
New wood with a skip sawn look.
This photo of our skip sawn oak is a perfect display of the difference in wood once finish is applied. The skip sawing on the plank face darkens the flooring just slightly to give it a more rustic appearance. This option is a more budget friendly choice that still has lots of character. You can get this option in hickory and walnut as well.
If the rustic is not your game we have lots of options for you to consider. Lets take a look at some of our new wood options.
New white oak in either character or select grade.
The floor above is our character grade white oak finished with a minwax golden oak stain. Character grade means we leave in a certain amount of knot content for a very slight rustic look.
Select grade oak means, as the picture clearly shows, a practically knot free floor. Select grade will work for more refined looks where a clean and lean design is the order of the day.
So when considering new wood flooring think about how much or how little character you want in your flooring. This also applies to reclaimed wood. What might surprise you is that while the flooring is a major element of the overall design it always ends up balanced by your other interior design choices. So even if you choose the most rustic option as many do you will offset that strong look with the art, furniture and lighting that fill up the room. Check out our full offerings here
So when making your choice we recommend you narrow it down as much as possible. Ideally down to one or at most two options as it is easy to get lost in the choices. We will send you our samples with the finish of your choice on them and you can then see exactly what you can expect from your new flooring. Have fun shopping and be sure to ask us as many questions as you can because we always prefer an informed buyer.
Recent Articles
- October 31, 2019Happy Halloween!
- September 11, 2019Learn the true story of how we came to have wood floors
- August 8, 2019Stop what you are doing and be amazed at these trees
- July 16, 2019Prepare to be floored. A gallery of some mind blowing installations
