There are many different kinds of wood available for professionally installed wood floors.   I’m going to go over a couple of them today – starting with the traditionally used domestic (native to North America) woods.

Oak and Maple are two of the most common domestic woods used in flooring today.  Maple Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown.  It is strong, dense and durable and often used in high traffic areas such as hallways and kitchens.  Maple wood is not meant to be stained, but is often kept in its natural finish.

Oak is usually divided into White and Red Oak based on the color.  White oak is the standard by which all other woods are measured.   Oak has a naturally acidity that helps protect it from insects and fungus.   Oak wood is a great wood to stain, as it takes stain evenly and uniformly.

Walnut wood is also a very popular choice for domestic woods.   It ranges in color from dark reddish brown to almost a purplish black.  Dark woods can lean towards a very traditional decorating scheme.  Walnut wood is moderately dense and very strong.  However, because of its natural dark color it is recommended to keep the walnut in its original finish, and not try to stain it.

In future posts, perhaps we’ll explore exotic woods sourced from around the world in flooring.  What would you like to learn about exotic flooring (non-native to North America)?