Hi,

I'm getting ready to put down hardwood for my upstairs (1000sq ft). My wife and I like the redder colored woods and have looked into Jarra and the Brazilian Cherry. We also like the look of Santos. The area has a number of windows and will get a lot of light and we will likely be using some area rugs. My question is how much color change do you get? I'm worried about variation under the rugs and in the light exposed areas. My father in law has some strong misgivings about cherry ( he used to run a lumber yard so I trust his opinion). Is there a change resistent wood with similar color and hardness (we have young children).

TIA

Kupe

We recently chose santos mahogany over br cherry. supposed to be very stable (movement wise). less hard than br cherry still pretty hard to a point where hardness is a non issue. it is hardly any light sensitive and would not change in color that is noticable. very uniform in color still enough to give a natural wood floor, stater rich look, great mix of vertical stripes and figure boards,... btw, price diff was within $1 sq.ft but worth it. we love this new floor.

we also considered jarrah from austrilian Boral Timer. It was nice too. sydney blue looked nicer. both were more money but we preferred santos and are happy with it.

thanks. Can I ask what brand of santos you ended up getting and how much it cost?

K

It was unfinished 3/4" X 3 1x4". There was no brand name stamped on the back. My contractor got it from a very reputed distributor in the area.

Contractor gave a lumpsum for the whole project that included red birch for 2nd floor with sand and finish install. So I do not know what the cost of material for santos alone was. I guess it must have costed him in ~$5 because I think he charged me $11+ sq.ft installed. This guess is based on his initial quotes of Vertical Grain Br cherry $10.50 sand and finish installed, with santos lil bit more.

I think Santos has 80% boards 3'-4.5' in length with about 30% vertical grain(Quarter Sawn?).

Both Santos and Braz. Cherry will change color over time. Santos is a little more consistent in color (brown), while Braz. Cherry is more red and will have more variation in color. As far as hardness goes, they are both so similiar, it is a non issue. About your rugs, the area under the rug will be a little different when you decide to move it. However, that area of the floor will catch up to the rest of your floor; especially if you have a lot of sunlight coming through the windows. You can't go wrong with either floor. Good luck!!!

Color change was one of the drawbacks why we did not pick Br Cherry. AFAIK, the difference between the two in terms of light sensitivity is day and night. It was clear from the sample display cabinets where Br cherry had noticable color diff in the area exposed. But santos and most others had none.

Source BR111-
"Cabreuva’s color is mostly unaffected by exposure to light."

"A photosensitive wood, Jatoba's original color darkens to a deep red with exposure to light. Color stabilizes approximately three months after installation."

Source http://www.exoticwoodflooring.com

"Santos Mahogany undergoes a slight degree of color change with a
slight muting of the color range over time"

"Brazilian Cherry will change dramatically over time from the yellow/tan/salmon color when freshly milled into a deep rich reddish color. In direct sunlight, the color change will occur within a few days. Out of sunlight, it will oxidize slowly over six months. Water based finishes tend to retard the color change while oil based finishes enhance it."