"Cracking" Pecan Flooring
Pecan hardwood flooring will last a long time. Consider your options, ranging from a rustic pecan to pecan parquet floor. It's softer than some of the hardwoods, but it's beautiful.
Pecan trees have long been associated with the Deep South and the days of antebellum plantations. Pecans falling to the ground and people sitting around cracking them are natural occurrences in the South. And that is what most people think of when they think of the pecan tree. Pecan trees are grown all over North America, but most people assume that the South is the most common area.
Pecan trees make beautiful flooring that will look great in any room of your home. Pecan flooring is a great way to add warmth and interest to your home. The coloring of pecan flooring ranges from a pale brown to a dark, reddish brown that is sure to go with any decor.
Some flooring manufacturers combine the pecan wood with hickory wood in their flooring manufacturing. This gives a great variation of color and makes for some very durable flooring. Pecan and hickory wood are both very durable woods and are shock resistant. This means that if you are in the kitchen and you drop a pot or pan, it is less likely that a ding will be left in the wood. In addition, if you have children, the hardness prevents their playing from doing any damage.
Pecan hardwood flooring is particularly susceptible to frost and decay. It is very important to keep unfinished pecan wood dry because when it gets wet, it may shrink as it dries. This shrinkage is usually minimal, however, and will not occur if your floors have a finish coat on them to protect them.
Pecan is an extremely hard wood. It may be hard to work using hand tools and does not take to nails very well. Screws or glue may be the best way to apply this flooring in your home. This hardness is one of the greatest benefits of this wood, however.
Pecan wood is used for purposes other than flooring too. It is used for veneers, furniture, cabinets, fuel wood, and sub-flooring too. It has been used for centuries and is an extremely durable wood that is great for just about any use, especially for floors! Due to the high shock resistant qualities of pecan, it is also used for baseball bats, ax handles, and many other items!
If you are looking for a country looking floor for your home, then a rustic pecan floor would fit the bill. Like hickory, it is used in log cabins because the color of the wood complements the pine log walls. This floor will instantly make any area of your home feel warmer and more welcoming. Pecan hardwood flooring will definitely enable you to enjoy your home more because of its ease of use and low maintenance.
If you are looking for a great way to make your home more cozy and warm, then pecan flooring is definitely all that it is cracked up to be for you!
I am using horizonatal grane "Carb" stained bamboo for my open floor paln in for kitchen cabnets and was thinking of using a Pecan Classic from Crownin Co.for the rest of the house. Do you thing this would compliment each other? Will it be hard enought for 2 kids and a dog? Thanks Floor Lady,
Perla at March 26, 2008 4:25 PMPerla
How well is your bamboo holding up? The reason I ask is that because it has a hardness rating of 1642 while pecan is rated at 1820 -- in other words the pecan is harder than the bamboo. If it's truly pecan you are getting you'd be set as far as durability.
Not all wood sold as pecan is truly pecan, so you have to trust your supplier.
I'm answering your questions backwards -- it's that kind of day. The best way to determine if they'll be complimentary is to get a sample of the pecan and see how it looks in your home with the bamboo. Your lighting, colors and bamboo color will all impact the final results with the pecan.
Not all bamboo is the same, even within the same company. As with fabrics and paints, different lots have different colors; that's partially due to working with natural ingredients.
And one final comment, to help you understand your bamboo a bit better, read the article we have on bamboo flooring so you understand the horizontal cut you have is a stronger cut than vertical, and the carbonized color isn't a stain but comes from a heating process. The color comes from cooking the sugars in the fibers.
I'm curious as to what you decide to do. Write back and let us know.
The Flooring Lady at March 26, 2008 5:13 PMThank you, I have received 2 samples in the mail, today. Will let you know. thank you
Perla at March 28, 2008 12:40 PMPerla
Flooring lady. I am about to buy a small bungalow style house in Phoenix.I have been studying flooring and have to go with engineered hardwood with exception of bathrooms. While looking through clearance lot sales a thought occurred to me. None of the lot sizes were in the quanity that needed.A thought then occurred to me...probably a poor one but I thought I would run the idea buy the floor lady. Have you ever heard of buying small lots of clearance flooring,same depth of course, same company (maybe) , and mixing the species and sizes into a wooden floor mosaic of various species, stains, and widths. Any clue what it would look like? Any one you know ever try it? I do want something unique and different...could this be it or just a waste of money and make myself a laughing stock and scornful comments from the floor people intelligensia? Let me know your thoughts.
steve dollar at September 21, 2008 5:07 PMHi Steve,
LOL! Great questions! Yes, you can do this and get away with it. No telling how it would look since I wouldn't have a clue as to what different floorings you would be buying, the dimensions of the room, pattern you'd be trying for, etc. I would recommend buying from the same company and product line (maybe) as different companies have different locking systems. In other words, different brands of flooring probably aren't going to interlock correctly with other brands.
Look at your whole concept in this light: when completed, who's going to know that the effect stemmed from being thrifty rather than intentional creativity? Great idea!
The Flooring Lady at September 22, 2008 6:41 AMWe are in the process of restoring an old pecan wood floor that has been covered with carpet for over 40 years. When we removed the old carpet we realized that several areas will require replacement wooden flooring. I am going to need to get several square feet of wood for that. Can you help me?
Nathan McCreery
nathan mccreery at February 2, 2009 9:58 AMHi Nathan,
The Flooring Lady at February 3, 2009 7:37 AMI'm sorry, I can't help you - this site isn't a flooring sales site. I would suggest that you find a local lumber mill - they can probably accomodate you with what you need and probably wouldn't cost very much. What's nice is that they can cut the wood to your specifications. ;~)
Dear Floor Lady,
I have a small one bedroom/Loft that I'm trying to update. I think a good start would be the floor. My question to you is, can I use wider floor planks (6.5" vs 5") in a smaller space ? would the floor look out of scale? room size roughly 20'x25' ???
Ray from the O.C. at March 27, 2009 12:55 AMThank you,
Hi Ray,
The Flooring Lady at March 27, 2009 8:21 PMEither one would look fine. That's actually considered a good-sized room, so you'll be fine.
i have purchased an older house in louisiana, and have found what i thought was oak flooring to be pecsn. as i intend to raze the building in the near futre i am curious if there is a market for my used pecan floors. they are 3inches wide by 16 feet long and 1inch thick. thank you
bob byford at July 16, 2009 5:39 PMHi Bob, That's a good question. I would recommend contacting local flooring dealers as a place to start. They should be able to point you in the right direction.
The Flooring Lady at July 17, 2009 12:14 PMDear flooring Lady, I would like a wood look floor in my master bath. I'm finding differing opinions on using laminates for that purpose. What is your recommendation? Thanks.
whiteiris787 at July 19, 2009 8:38 AMHello Whiteiris,there really are a lot of options for flooring in a bathroom. You can even get vinyl that looks like wood flooring. If you decide upon using laminate, I recommend reading my article dedicated to laying laminate in a bathroom here: http://www.theflooringlady.com/installing_laminate_flooring_in_a_bathroom.html.
The Flooring Lady at July 20, 2009 10:22 AMAbout a year ago, we installed pecan hardwood flooring in my parent's house. Around the fireplace, they have recently had a leak in the ceiling that they have since had fixed, however, the hardwood flooring next to the hearth has now got a 'moldy' looking stain on it. Is there a way to fix this stain without having to take the flooring up completely and/or replacing it? Could we cut back about 4 inches from the hearth and put down new boards? (If we did that, the new boards would have to run vertically and not horizontally as the original boards do.) What would you suggest?
Dwayne Conner at July 29, 2009 7:21 PMDwayne,
I would consult a professional as the leak could of done more damage then what you see or it could be as simple as refinishing the affected flooring.
The Flooring Lady at July 30, 2009 8:35 AM