Flooring & Stairs Wood Species

Solid wood flooring can be used to complement almost any decor. It has been used for hundreds of years in New England and around the world. Unlike modern materials of dubious longevity, many colonial farmhouses still wear the original floor boards from over 200 years ago.

Since solid wood floors are long-lasting and rarely need replacing, they add to a house’s value.

This page describes the wood species we offer for flooring and stairs, the effects aging has on wood color, and varied appearances due to grain. To best determine the ideal species for your flooring or stairs projects, it helps to familiarize yourself with colors, grains and other characteristics of each wood species.

As with all our products, all wood species are sourced from managed forests.

Need help choosing the best wood species for your next flooring or stairs project? Contact us for recommendations.

Ash

Ash Wood Species

Predominant grain, but lighter than Oak.

Light sapwood with grey to brown heartwood. Suitable for anything from a Danish modern setting to an English cottage. Open grain yields even more dramatic effect when stained. Similar properties to the Oaks.

Grades

Select: Clear of knots but still a mix of lighter and darker colors
Prime: Clear, and only the lighter sapwood

Typical Sizes

Widths 4″-7″ (as narrow as 3″ in Prime)
Lengths 6′-10′ (up to 12′ may be available on special order)

Shop Ash

Basswood

Basswood Wood Species

Similar to Pine but without the knots or pitch.

Basswood is a soft wood, similar to pine but without the knots or pitch. Makes a great painted wall or ceiling paneling (sample above is painted white), or can be used in low traffic areas such as a bedroom or study as flooring. As it is mostly very light in color and even grained it also accepts stain well, so your decorative options are almost limitless.

Grades

Select: Clear of knots but still a mix of lighter and darker colors

Typical Sizes

Widths 3″-8″
Lengths 6′-10′

Shop Basswood

Birch

Pale white to reddish-brown or yellow.

You have a choice of all heartwood (known as Red Birch), all sapwood (Sap Birch), or a colorful mixture (known as Natural Birch). Even grain but slightly open.

Grades

Prime Red Birch: Clear, and only the darker heartwood
Prime Sap Birch: Clear, and only the lighter sapwood
Select Natural Birch: Clear of knots but still a mix of lighter and darker colors

Typical Sizes

Widths: 4″-7″
Lengths: 6′-12′

Shop Birch

Bird's Eye Maple

Bird's Eye Maple Wood Species

An exotic experience awaits.

The swirling grain makes the wood appear as if ripply, but when you touch it, you will be surprised to find it’s as smooth as a baby’s cheek.

Grades

Prime: Clear, and only the lighter sapwood

Typical Sizes

Widths: 3″-8″
Lengths: Mostly 6′-10′

Shop Maple

Cherry

Cherry Hardwood Floors

A moderately hard wood with unmistakable color and tone.

A slightly less expensive alternative to Red Birch, Cherry stands on its own merits as well, charming countless homes with its rich warm hues.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with sound knots and strong color variance
Select: Clear of knots but still a mix of lighter and darker colors
Prime: Clear, and only the darker heartwood

Typical Sizes

Widths: 4″-7″
Lengths: 6′-10′ (up to 12′ may be available on special order)

Shop Cherry

Hard Maple

Hard Maple Hardwood Floors

One of the hardest woods available.

Light, almost white sapwood, grey to brown heartwood. Very tight grain, practically indestructible in almost any application. Hard maple is the choice in professional gymnasiums because of its durability.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with sound knots and strong color variance
Select: Clear of knots, mostly light sapwood, small amount of darker heartwood
Prime: Clear, and only the lighter sapwood
Select Heart: Mostly clear of knots, lots of darker heartwood

Typical Sizes

Widths: 3″-7″
Lengths: mostly 6′-10′ (up to 12′ may be available on special order)

Shop Maple

Heart Pine

Southern Yellow Pine Floors

A golden brown/orange color with tight knots.

The center of Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) trees have a golden brown/orange color to them, and nice tight knots; we call material selected with at least 50% of this character “Heart” Pine. Because of the resins stored in the heartwood, as well as the non-heartwood portions of heart pine flooring which are largely quartersawn, the hardness is considerably more than standard SYP. In fact, the United States Forest Service rates Heart Pine as only about 5% softer than Red Oak.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with sound knots and strong color variance, and at least 50% of the face is heart

Typical Sizes

Widths: 7″-11″
Lengths: 8′-12′ (up to 16′ may be available on special order)

Shop Pine

Hickory

Hickory Wood Species

Light sapwood, reddish heartwood.

The hardest wood we offer, it will hold up to almost anything you can throw at it. Lots of character, whether from dramatic heart/sap contrast or the knots and ingrown bark.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with sound knots, bark pockets and strong color variance
Select: Clear of knots but still a mix of lighter and darker colors

Typical Sizes

Widths: 4″-9″
Lengths: 7′-12′

Shop Hickory

Eastern White Pine

Warm colors, large knots.

Eastern White Pine is not the most durable wood we have to offer, but it is one of the most popular. In addition to the sentimental value of being one of the first widely used flooring materials of our colonists, the warm colors and large knots produce a character unavailable in any other material.

Looking for a harder and more durable Pine product? Consider the clear Southern Yellow Pine or knotty Heart Pine which are approximately twice as hard as the Eastern White.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with mostly sound knots
Skip Planed: Like Country, but with circular saw marks left on surface

Typical Sizes

Widths: 5″-9″ (narrow), 11″-15″ (wide), 16″-17″ (super wide), 19″-23″ (limited availability)
Lengths: 6′-12′ (up to 16′ may be available on special order)

Shop Pine

Southern Yellow Pine

Clear of knots, and a pleasant warm tone with strong grain definition.

With a hardness rating approximately twice that of its northern counterpart Eastern White Pine, Southern Yellow (SYP) is sometimes called “Hard” Pine and is well suited as use for flooring. The strong grain pattern in SYP is all the character you get in our beautiful Select grade that will complement any warm accented décor. SYP is also available as a special sort called Heart Pine which is even harder and has more character.

Grades

Select: Clear of knots mostly light with rare dark streaks.

Typical Sizes

Widths: 7″-11″
Lengths: typically 8′-16′

Shop Pine

Red Oak

Beautiful in wider widths.

Though often given a bum rap because of extensive use in tract house strip flooring, Red Oak is beautiful in its own right, especially in the wider widths.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with mostly sound knots and strong color variance
Select: Clear, predominantly the darker heartwood; occasional small stripe of sapwood
Select Quartered: Like Select, but sawn for its secondary “ray fleck” graining figure and extreme stability
Select Rift: Like Select, but sawn for its exceptional straight grain and extreme stability

Typical Sizes

Widths: 4″-7″ (up to 9″ available on special order)
Lengths: 6′-12′

Shop Oak

Walnut

Dark, elegant mix of light and dark colors.

While it may seem extravagant to walk on Walnut, by the time it’s milled, installed and finished the total cost is not a lot more than any other quality hardwood. While it may be too dark for some rooms, it can set off a den or family room very nicely.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with mostly sound knots and strong color variance
Select: Mostly clear of knots but still a mix of lighter and darker colors
Prime: Clear, and only the darker heartwood

Typical Sizes

Widths: 4″-7″ (up to 9″ on special order)
Lengths: 6′-10′ (up to 12′ may be available on special order)

Shop Walnut

White Oak

White Oak is strong, beautiful, easy-to-work, and economical, representing exceptional value.

Known more for its preeminence in the Arts & Crafts furniture movement, White Oak not only takes a stain very nicely, but the character is unique.

Grades

Country: A rustic look with sound knots and bark pockets
Country Quartered: Like Country, but sawn for its secondary “ray fleck” graining figure and extreme stability
Select: Clear, and predominantly the darker heartwood; occasional stripe of sapwood
Select Quartered: Like Select, but sawn for its secondary “ray fleck” graining figure and extreme stability
Select Rift: Like Select, but sawn for its exceptional straight grain and extreme stability

Typical Sizes

Widths: 4″-9″
Lengths: 6′-12′

Shop Oak