The gold standard in wooden floors has long been solid hardwood or softwood boards, milled to tongue and groove edges and nailed into a wooden subfloor. Yes, it’s old-school, but still just as valid today as when this method was first introduced hundreds of years ago. Installation techniques have improved vastly, making this a much easier job than the old nail-and-hammer days. This has kept solid flooring at the forefront, still actively competing with pre-finished engineered flooring—an upstart in the long history of wooden flooring.
But how do you go about selecting unfinished solid flooring? Let’s take a look at some key considerations before you begin your flooring project.
Solid or Engineered Flooring
Solid flooring is exactly what it sounds like: a single board milled from a tree. It will reflect all the knots, grain variations, and color differences inherent in that tree, especially toward the edge cuts. The center cuts, or heartwood, will offer the straightest grain and fewest anomalies. As the tree is milled, the boards are separated into various grades that reflect their character. We’ll discuss lumber grading shortly.
The most common thickness for unfinished solid flooring is ¾”, which provides plenty of depth to sand and finish—not only initially but several times over the life of the floor, which could easily span a century. This is a crucial factor to consider if you plan on owning your home for a long time. Solid flooring can also come in other thicknesses, starting as thin as 5/16” and going up to 3/8” and ½”. Some of the exotic imports from Asia and Europe use these thinner thicknesses. These aren’t necessarily bad, but it’s something to consider for the long run. Remember: thicker boards = longer lifespan.
Solid flooring is best installed on above-grade floors and nailed into wooden subfloors. It is not recommended for below-grade or basement applications. A solid and level subfloor with a nailed solid floor provides a solid, great-looking result.
Engineered flooring is a relatively recent innovation, but it is sparking a new wave of do-it-yourselfers (DIYers) who appreciate the easier installation and pre-finished surface. Engineered flooring is constructed on a plywood substrate, making it less prone to the vicissitudes of wood, such as warping, checking, or buckling.
Additionally, it uses a veneer of hardwood as the top layer, which is usually pre-finished, saving both time and labor. Be sure to pay attention to the thickness of this top layer, called the “wear layer,” by inspecting the flooring from the ends. If you plan to refinish your floor over time, you might want to opt for a thicker (and more expensive) flooring option that features a thicker top veneer.
Perhaps most appealing is that engineered floors are designed to fit and “snap” together with minimal effort. The newest trend is the Lock and Fold joining method, where the two boards feature locking male/female edges that lock into place without the usual blocking and tapping associated with older styles.
Ok, you’ve looked, you’ve learned, you’ve seen the samples, and you’ve decided to select unfinished solid flooring. Good for you! Now, let’s get started.
Various Lengths, Various Widths
There is no standard length or width for solid flooring, but there are some popular sizes. For example, a traditional width is 2 ¼”, which you’ll see in softwoods like Douglas fir, and hardwoods like red oak and maple. But you can also find solid flooring in widths as large as 18-20 inches—especially from custom mills. However, be warned: solid boards this wide often display more movement and warping tendencies than narrower boards.
Wide plank floors are making a huge comeback right now, with floorboards ranging from 6” to 12”. They offer a warm, early American or rustic look, depending on the wood, the grain, and the installation. For example, you can top nail these floors using reproduction forged nails for an authentic look, or peg the floor, where a hole is drilled and a different species of peg is inserted before finishing, mimicking earlier pegged floors. Although pegging is purely decorative, it’s a beautiful recreation of early craftsmanship.
At a lumberyard, you can select boards all in the 84” range, but you must remember to stagger the ends to avoid an “end-seam” running laterally across the floor. End seams are both unsightly and less stable than measured or random-length staggering—keep end seams at least 6 inches apart.
More likely, you’ll buy a bundle of wood that will contain both long and short boards, sometimes as short as 12”. This is fine too, as it helps ensure that you’ll have a nice, random staggering of lengths as you lay out your new floor. Imported and exotic woods tend to be bundled in shorter lengths, presumably for shipping purposes.
Making the Grade
While pre-finished wooden flooring is seldom graded, you will see some variation in each bundle. By and large, however, it’s still a premium product. The exceptions are cabin grade or tavern grade, which look exactly as they sound: rustic, rough, and not all select grade. However, the price can be well worth it for less formal applications, like cabins or taverns!
Selecting unfinished solid flooring is all about the grade, so it pays to know what you’re buying. The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (NOFMA) has established certification and grading protocols for unfinished flooring, which are detailed on their website as follows:
Clear
Select
Number 1. Common
Number 2. Common
The primary differentiator between these grades is the degree to which natural characteristics, such as knots and mineral streaks, or manufacturing marks, such as sticker stains, are allowed. The prominence and frequency of these characteristics increases from NOFMA Clear to NOFMA No. 2 Common.
For example, “NOFMA Clear” is mostly uniform in appearance, with a limited number of character marks, and is predominantly heartwood. “Select” also has a uniform appearance, but this grade contains more natural characters, such as knots and all the color variations associated with heartwood and sapwood. The common grades will contain even more natural characters and manufacturing marks.
Be sure to see samples of these grades at the lumberyard or store, and look at pictures of finished floors to make an informed decision. Solid wooden floors can last a lifetime, so take a few extra minutes during the selection process.
