I'm having a hard time deciding between three different species of floors. As I search the internet for reviews I find pros and cons in all, but its hard to determine which cons were related to poor installation and not the wood species. Any input from this board would be greatly appreciated or links to references or reviews.
Base facts - I live in central Indiana and will be installing this floor over a 23/32 OSB subfloor, throughout the entire first floor expect for kitchen, laundry, rear entry and half bath. The house is 10 years old. I run HVAC year round, in the winter I maintain 72 degrees in the summer 72-75. Currently the RH is 35%, probably drops as low as high 20%'s in the dead of winter, and I'm not sure about the peak RH in summer. I'm looking to install when the RH is consistently between 40-45%.

1. Brazilian Teak (Cumaru); Mfg by Home Legend - 3.25" width, 3/4" thick solid T&G, I like the fact that the Janka rating is over 3000, my concern is installing and a flooring nailer having trouble with such a hard wood. A few posts I saw said the wood is extremely prone to gaping, but don't know if this is a result of poor install, environmental conditions or just a trait of the wood.

2. Hand Scrapped Maple Saddle; Mfg by Home Legend - 3.5" width, 3/4" thick solid T&G, again I like the hardness of this wood at 1450ish, again my concern is some reviews on the internet mention that maple flooring is prone to cracking and splitting, but I'm not sure if this is natural characteristic of the wood or a result of poor install or inappropriate environmental conditions.

3. Oak Bourdeaux; Mfg by Tarkett - 3.25" width, 3/4" solid T&G. This is just a standard oak, and is my fall back if the above two are too risky of materials.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Thanks

I have found that if you ask 15 different wood floor mechanics you will possibly get 15 different answers to this topic. Each may be correct because they are speaking from their own experience.

With that said. I will give you my thoughts. The final decision is yours to make after you consider all the answers you receive.

1. Brazilian Teak in my opinion esthetically needs an elegant decor which will balance out the strength of the color in the teak. If it is installed in a small contemporary home for example I would think it would feel a little too overpowering. My experience has been that it's hardness is hard on the saw blade when it is cut and often turns black at the cut. I also found it is hard to face nail at the starting row and end rows.

If you ever get to the point where it needs to be refinished dealing with the compatibility with the oil in the wood and the finish can also be an issue.

2. I try to talk people out of installing any kind of machine "hand scraped" pre-finished wood flooring. It seems like a great idea at first. I asked someone in a flooring store who was selling it and he pointed the obvious disadvantage of it. Since the floor is not a flat surface by design, the high points get more wear and more PSI stress than the rest of the surface. Eventually, this leads to spots of wear. Refinishing the floor down the road eliminates the "hand scraped" texture which one pays a premium for.

3. I would steer a homeowner towards this option if I was considering these three choices. I have had a lot of success with Tarkett flooring over the years.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

I am guessing many people are at a quandary as to what the best choice of flooring to put down. We are getting ready to build a new home. Our current home has a natural pre-finished maple flooring thinking this was our best choice. (We have multiple dogs.) The floors are 9 years old and scratched like crazy. It looked pretty good for about 5 years. I was reading somewhere that using a wood with more grain to it, such as oak, might be a better choice since the grain helps to 'hide' the scratches. I also read that it's not so much the wood but the finish that really matters. AND, to finish when installing versus pre-finished due to the ability to re-finish down the road. We were considering bamboo thinking it was harder than the maple but I haven't found anything saying such. I don't want to pay more money for something that isn't going to hold up any better. What are your thoughts on bamboo...other than being a better 'green' choice? And thoughts on finish versus wood hardness for holding up to wear?

Hey, Janem as you said oak can be better than others its true, but the main thing is there is no scratch-proof floor with time and years it gets scratches. Therefore, the best thing is to keep extra care of your floor.

I would agree w/ woodfloorist, and not surprised that you are getting conflicting opinions. His points are right on.

Regarding teak, yes, does tend to gap more than the others, and if you go 3 1/4" plank vs. 5", that will help. And, yes, it's more challenging to refinish than oak. And, it's more challenging to cut and install. (BTW, you could also try Braziian Walnut which is similar/has similar characteristics, but a bit darker and less gapping).

Handscraped or distressed is a stylized and taste specific choice, so only you can make that choice - you like it or don't. But, do consider how long you will be there and when you would resell as this might limit the interest in your home. This might also depend on geography. Here in NY area, most people do not like this look.

Solid oak is always a great choice and it can be refinished - either by you or next owner and the colors changed easily so it's widely appealing and practical. It also tends to show scratches less than teak.

Regardless, I would look into your subfloor. OSB is not a great base. I would recommend 3/4" plywood instead, regardless of which hardwood you install.

Debbie Gartner aka The Flooring Girl
http://TheFlooringGirl.com
Westchester, NY