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Hickory Flooring
Hickory flooring has a distinctive look that may complement your home decor. Whether you go with hickory wood plank, antique hickory, or even hickory manufactured wood flooring, you are in for a treat. Hickory hardwood flooring is durable and a good fit for your well-used floors.
Nuts About Hickory Flooring
Are you just nuts about hickory? Hickory flooring is a beautiful and easy way to add warmth and character to your home.
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This beautiful wood flooring is a hard wood (Janka rating of 1820), which makes it extremely durable for daily wear and tear. If you are searching for a way to make your home look more rustic, then hickory hardwood flooring is a great choice for you. The beautiful tan to reddish colors looks great in any home, but most especially in homes that have more of a country feel.
Hickory wood plank flooring is manufactured mainly in North America. This wood is not only used for flooring though. Hickory wood is used for veneers, cabinets, furniture, and even baseball bats and skis! Due to the high shock resistance value of this wood, it is excellent for items like ax handles, baseball bats, and golf clubs. It has been used for centuries for all different kinds of uses and it is even used for cooking. If you need a wood that will be extremely durable and will last through years of daily use, then hickory hardwood flooring is an excellent choice for you.
Due to the hardness of hickory wood, it is difficult to work with hand tools. It may also be difficult to sand due to the density of this wood. Hickory wood is 41% harder than red oak, which is the most commonly used wood in hardwood flooring. This makes it a wonderful choice for use in any room, but especially in rooms that see a lot of traffic like the kitchen. The kitchen is also where pots, pans, and other cooking utensils may be dropped on the floors and this flooring can withstand this use. A family room is another great place for hickory floors. If you have more than one child, you have seen the way that kids throw their toys around each other and at each other! These extremely durable floors can stand up to this kind of mistreatment and still look beautiful.
Log cabin builders especially love hickory hardwood flooring. The color of the hickory floors complement pine log walls beautifully and the rustic look of the flooring gives the cabins an old world feel that consumers love! The look of antique hickory flooring gives great character and warmth to any home, but it gives log cabins a character of their very own that you will love.
Hickory manufactured wood flooring is a great choice for any home, but if you are looking for a floor that will give your home that country feel then hickory is the wood for you. The hardness of this wood will make it able to withstand anything that you can throw or drop on it and it is easy to clean and take care of. The beautiful color variations from tan to red make it a unique and beautiful choice for any home.
If you are nuts about the color and durability of hickory wood, then why not try hickory flooring?
Comments
Hello, We are building a new home with an Old World Tuscany design. We have a lot of traffic and my husband loves hickory for its hardness and beautiful blends of color. I have yet to see photos of hickory stained any darker colors which I had in my mind for the interior design and future furniture coordination. How do I keep it from looking too country and add some rich color to it.
Janice at August 11, 2009 06:59 AM
Janice,
There are other hard woods that are darker and will darken over time. Wenge and Brazilian Walnut to mention a few. Both rate high on the Janka scale and very hard wood. You can find more information on Brazilian Walnut HEREon our site.
The Flooring Lady at August 11, 2009 04:33 PM
Hello, I am trying to decide between a distressed oak floor and a smooth hickory floor. Both floors are a dark brown. I have a small dog, and want to get the floor that will be the most durable. I hear that distressed floors are more durable, but I really prefer the look of the smooth. If I get a smooth hickory, will that be durable enough to withstand scratches from my dog's nails?
Kara at August 26, 2009 06:29 PM
Kara,
Both of those floors sound fabulous. With your dog being a concern for you I would lean toward the Hickory. Oak flooring when it is exposed to heavy traffic tends to scratch and dent and any excessive moisture can damage the Oak floor.
I have an article here on our site Oak Flooring that will give you more information on Oak flooring and the pros and cons associated with using it in your home.
The Flooring Lady at August 27, 2009 11:17 AM
On the other hand, Kara, consider an alternative opinion. Your dog is going to distress any flooring you choose to install. Either go with a flooring that's already distressed so you won't see the claw marks, or start with something new and let the dog do the distressing.
There really isn't a right or wrong answer here, just opinions on what you're going to like. Based on the reading I've done on TheFlooringLady site, she doesn't like distressed wood so would make a very different choice than you will.
Sam Norring at August 27, 2009 07:10 PM
Hi, we are going to take up carpet and replace it with wood flooring in the bedroom, great room, and dining area.Our home already has a rustic feel with wood walls in the great room. Would Hickory be a good choice?
My husband is ill and cannot leave the home when this is being done; although, we can move him to another part of the house. Would you suggest pretreated wood, or are there ways to keep dust and toxins down. We would also be using a lift and wheel chair in the bedroom. The wheel chair would also be used in higher traffic areas.
Thank you.
Karen at October 20, 2009 08:34 AM
Karen,
Pretreated wood would take less work after installing, and may be a good choice since it would be difficult to be moving room to room. I would be sure to ask the supplier about whether or not the high traffic areas will need additional protection for the wheel chair, but hickory is extremely durable and should work well. Also using a rug under the lift, if possible, may be a good idea to prevent damage to the wood.
The Flooring Lady at October 22, 2009 09:18 AM
I have a beautiful hickory floor in my kitchen and family room. Where it has dented and even between the planks (especially the short ends) I am getting black--black in the dents and black between the planks. Its not dirt but moisture does seem to make it worse as the worst areas are around the sink and diswasher. To me it looks like wherever the finish has been damaged or is not totally sealed the planks, the wood is turning black. Anything I can do to repair and prevent it from doing this further?
Donna at November 13, 2009 03:52 PM
Donna,
If the wood is ruined with water damage it should be replaced.
If it is not ruined, you may be able to sand or screen and refinish the floor. You would want to be sure that areas prone to moisture are well sealed, and to be sure that whatever is causing the water damage is fixed.
The Flooring Lady at November 20, 2009 09:30 AM
Donna, It sounds like your flooring has discolored from minor water exposure where the finish has worn. If there is not extensive water damage you can bleach the wood with oxalic acid. You can buy it in liquid form, normally labeled as wood bleach or you can sometimes find the oxalic crystals and mix it yourself, this is usually much less expensive. The wood will lighten and you will likely have to bleach it several times by keeping it damp with the solution. Hopefully your flooring is a ntural color and not stained. You will want to reseal the flooring well with the proper preparation.
Lucy in Alaska
Lucy at November 20, 2009 03:35 PM
