Hello All,

I have been browsing this forum for a while now trying to soak up all of the knowledge that exists among the members here. It has been a great resource.

My wife and I are building a new home in Lewisburg, WV and are planning on going with a solid 3/4" hardwood throughout. The lavatories and laundry rooms will have tile.

Our criteria for selecting a new floor is as follows:

*we want something more unique than the basic hickory, oak, birch, maple, etc. Something with more wow factor.

* we want a durable floor and like the fact that many exotics have advantages in terms of density and hardness

* neither of us prefer a "red" tone and therefore we have ruled out many mainstream exotics (tigerwood, mahogany, braz cherry, etc.)

* we would both like a wood with some character and not one with a strictly uniform appearance

* color wise, we would like to gravitate towards a lighter-to-med color wood (ruling out IPE)

* our builder's allowance is a conservative $4 per s/f, and we do not want to go too much over this. We are estimating covering 1,600 s/f, therefore we pay $1,600 for each $1 over the $4 s/f allowance.

One of our favorite looks is the Australian Spotted Gum, but supply seems to be limited on this species and we have been unable to find any material in a 3/4" plank.

Our second choice is the Brazilian Teak. Unfortunately, as this forum has pointed out you cannot shop on wood species alone as different manufacturers present vastly different looks even within the same species.

I really like the look of the BR-111 BT, but this is out of our price range in the Indusparquet 3/4" solid.

Fortunately, I have found a distributor in Winston, Salem NC who has the BT in 3" - 5" planks and the pricing is within our allowance. My question is whether I should be hesitant to buy from them at this seemingly "too good to be true" pricing. The material is select clear grade with a micro beveled edge. I hesitate to mention the name of the distributor as I do not want this post deleted per the forum rules. I am trying to get some feedback from other customers who have purchased this product and am also considering a trip this weekend to evaluate whether the coloration is in line with our preferences.

Also, I was wondering if it would be feasible to utilize 3" and 5" planks, alternating rows. In my mind this would contribute to a more unique appearance (there is a large open great room/kitchen/dining room in our home plan). Has anyone had any experience with this and if so, could you provide feedback. Both positive and negative would be welcome. I would like to make an informed decision.

Lastly, if anyone has any general recommendations or advice on the installation of Braz. teak please advise. The flooring will be installed over 3/4"Advantec (over a crawl space).

Thanks in advance for any assistance with these questions.

B.Teak (cumaru) is hard and susceptible to tongue split, so great care needs to be used when nailing. Follow the NOFMA guidelines for nailing a solid over a wood subfloor http://www.nofma.org/Portals/0/Publicat ... Floors.pdf
Mixing widths is common and looks good, IMO. Can't comment on the wood you found. I suggest getting samples and any and all info you can on that particular flooring you found. Ask about returns and if the flooring is "seconds". Is it prefinished? If so, get all the info about what the finish is and how to maintain it. Choose your installer with care. Most hourly general contractor flunkies are complete hacks and will ruin your flooring. You want a experienced, professional hardwood flooring installer that is licensed and insured with references.

Gary,

Thanks for your kind reply and good information. I have printed out the NOFMA installation guidelines and will review in detail. The person doing the install has just divested their interest in a flooring store and they seem to be very knowledgable, but I will use the NOFMA guidelines as a standard for determining this.

The flooring we are considering is a select grade prefinished cumaru with a micro bevel on the sides, but not the end. The finish is a 30-40 scale aluminum oxide finish (7 layers) + 4 layers of UV protection (not sure of the exact chemical).

A few questions:

1.) Some sites have mentined that due to the hardness of the wood pre-drilling should be considered. Would you recommend this? I would guess this would mean that the floor would be subsequently hand nailed and I doubt that this is the plan from my contractor. That would probably add a great deal of labor cost to the job.

2.) Is the aforementioned finish acceptable?

3.) Is it a concern that the end of the planks are not micro-beveled?

4.) The 3/4" advantec is not covered in the NOFMA literature. This is supposed to serve as a moisture barrier. Should felt also be utilized prior to installation? If so, 15# or 30#?

Thanks for your assistance

One thing that you should know about braz teak aka "cumaru" is that it will move more than a traditional oak floor. It is important that the hvac is up and operating prior till the install and the floor is aclimated to expectted live in conditions. It is also important that the rh of the house is constant at around 40 to 45% year round. personallly i would even look into an engeneered product if i was stuck on that specie.

Kevin, thanks for your input.

If I understand you correctly I shouldn't consider BT in a 3/4" solid unless the relative humidity in my local area is a constant 40 - 45%? It is 61% today so this doesn't hold true (just moved here in Jan, so I am not terribly familiar with the local weather metrics).

I really do not want a laminate so would you rule out the BT based on this data? Again, my choice was made due to the criteria listed above.

I don't want to turn this discussion into a "what wood is best for me.." thread as it will then be in the wrong forum. But I would like to ensure that if we move forward with the BT that it will be suitable for our conditions and not be subject to warping or separating.

Not the outside rh i am talking about inside the home. The solid is fine as long as it is properly handled. If your gonna spend the money dont let some jackleg push you into doing something that you will regreat later. Done correctly and maintained correctly it's a killer looking floor just giving you my opinion. For what its worth there are some really nice engineered floors available now with long lenghts and heavy wear layers that are indisguishable from the solid version. I would mention a few but something like the "owens" brand that sold here is top notch.