Hardwood Flooring Species

Selecting the right hardwood for your flooring home improvement project can be a complex decision. Wood has a number of components that make each species different. Some are difficult to cut, others are difficult to finish, while others have grain and color variations that make matching the boards very difficult. The following tables should aid you in making the right decision for your application and home improvement project.

The information for each hardwood flooring species is divided into four tables:

Table 1A

Color, Grain, Variance

Table 1B

Stability, Origin, Availability

Table 2A

Milling, Sanding, Nailing

Table 2B

Finishing, Comments

Where a number is used within a category: 1 is poor or low and 5 is excellent or high.

Table 2A

Species	Milling	Sanding	Nailing
Ash White	Mills well	Sands satisfactorily if the correct sanding sequence is followed.	No Problems
Bamboo	Cuts easily with most tools.	Due to its unique, fibrous structure, bamboo should not be sanded across or at at 45-degree angle to the grain. It will show swirl marks, other sanding marks & finish imperfections.	No problems
Beech	Mills well - difficult with hand tools.	Sands satisfactorily if correct sanding sequence is followed.	Tongues split easily.
Birch	Mills well - difficult with hand tools.	Sands satisfactorily if correct sanding sequence is followed.	No problems
Brazilian Cherry	Milling is difficult due to high density; requires frequent re-sharpening of tools. Milling is difficult due to interlocked grain. Can be machined to a smooth surface.	Scratches are easily seen. Each sanding must carefully remove the scratches from the previous cut, or sanding marks will be visible in the finish.	Due to hardness it is very important that the angle of penetration be adjusted carefully. If using a pneumatic nail gun, the air pressure should be adjusted.
Cherry (Black)	Mills well - difficult with hand tools.	Sands satisfactorily if correct sanding sequence is followed.	No problems.
Cypress (Australian)	Good machining qualities.	Tendency to clog paper due to high resin content. Hard-plating & screening may leave swirls; screening more than twice may be necessary. The knots are extremely hard & may cause wave in the floor. a 12-by-18 inch oscillating sander is recommended.	Can be brittle (like Brazilian cherry); splits easily.
Douglas Fir	Hand tools are easier to use on soft pines.	Sands satisfactorily if correct sanding sequence is followed.	No problems.
Hickory	Difficult to mill and to use hand tools.	Difficult to sand because of density, and because light color makes sander markers show more than on darker woods.	Tongues split easily when nailed.
Mahogany (Santos)	Moderately difficult due to hardness.	Sands satisfactorily.	No problems.
Maple Sugar/Hard	Difficult to mill.	Extra care must be taken during sanding and finishing, as sanding marks and finish lines are more obvious due to maple's density and light color. The species also burnishes, dulling fine paper and screens and making it difficult to cut out.	No problems
Merbau	Sawing is difficult; wood gums saw teeth and dulls cutting edges.	Sands satisfactorily if correct sanding sequence is followed.	No problems.
Mesquite	Mills well.	Plain-sawn can be sanded to a smooth surface. End-grain requires a coarser abrasive to flatten; it is recommended that it be flattened by sanding at a 45-degree angle to the grain.	Tongues split easily when nailed.
Oak (Red)	Mills extremely well.	Sands satisfactorily if the correct sanding sequence is followed.	No problems.
Oak (White)	Mills extremely well.	Sands satisfactorily if the correct sanding sequence is followed.	No problems.
Pecan	Difficult to mill and to use hand tools.	Difficult to sand because of density, and because light color makes sander markers show more than on darker woods.	Tongues split easily when nailed.
Pine, Antique Heart	Easy to use hand tools and mills well.	Tendency to clog paper due to high resin content; Abrasives will need to be changed frequently during sanding. Beginning with a coarse grade is recommended.	No problems.
Pine, Southern Yellow	Mills well.	Resin in wood tends to clog abrasives; frequent sandpaper changes are required.	Good holding ability and resistance to splitting.
Teak, Brazilian	Works well, but is very hard - use carbide blades and bits.	Difficult. Scratches are easily seen - each sanding must carefully remove the scratches from the previous cut, or sanding marks will be visible in the finish.	Pre-drilling and hand-nailing are preferred.
Walnut, American Black	Mills extremely well.	Sands satisfactorily.	No problems.
Wenge	Difficult due to rapid dulling of tools; carbide tooling recommended.	Moderately difficult. Particular attention should be paid to removing the scratches from the previous sanding.	No Problem.

Table 2B

Species	Finishing	Comments
Ash White	Difficult to stain
Bamboo	All surface-type finishes have been used successfully with bamboo. Darker colors may tend to show lap marks-moving quickly during application and applying finish quickly around cut-in areas can minimize this effect. Filling is recommended.	Most available factory-finished. Because product is rigid, careful attention should be paid to flatness of sub-floor.
Beech	Difficult to stain.
Birch	Difficult to stain.
Brazilian Cherry	Due to hardness it is very important that the angle of penetration be adjusted carefully. If using a pneumatic nail gun, the air pressure should be adjusted.	Coating with oil-modified polyurethane may occasionally cause white spots or specks, as well as white end joints, to appear. This may be avoided by buffing in a clear oil sealer or neutral stain, then buffing on satin polyurethane.
Cherry (Black)	No problems.
Cypress (Australian)	Knots may cause drying problems with some finishes	Potential for respiratory/allergic reactions
Douglas Fir	Some boards develop a slight pinkish to bright salmon color when finished with some products. Because of tendency toward color change, care must be taken to avoid over sanding when refinishing an existing floor. May be difficult to stain.	Radical color change upon exposure to sunlight.
Hickory	May be difficult to stain	Pecan and hickory are traditionally mixed by flooring mills.
Mahogany (Santos)	Oil residue may be a problem. This can be eliminated by wiping with the appropriate 100% pure (not recycled) solvent before the sealer is applied.	Some respiratory, allergic reaction potential. Carbide tooling recommended.
Maple Sugar/Hard	Takes neutral finish well; May be difficult to stain.
Mesquite	No Problem.	End-grain block usage results in a hard, high-wear surface. Produces only shorter-length boards.
Merbau	Takes neutral finish well. May be difficult to stain.	High resistance to termites. Carbide tooling recommended.
Oak (Red)	Stains well & demonstrates strong stain contrast. Red oak generally works better than white for bleached floors because it is more porous, and because tannins in white oak can discolor the floor.
Oak (White)	During the finishing process, tannins at the surface can react with some liquids to turn the wood green or brown. This effect tends to be more pronounced with products that have a high water content, such as wood bleach & water-based finishes.	Stains very well and accepts stain evenly.
Pecan	May be difficult to stain.	Pecan and hickory are traditionally mixed by flooring mills.
Pine, Antique Heart	No problems.	May be difficult to stain. To reduce the wood's tendency to repel finish coats, surface resins may be removed with a 100% pure solvent that is compatible with the finish to be used. Do not use water based stains.
Pine, Southern Yellow	A durable finish can help minimize wear.
Teak, Brazilian	Test all products before using them on the actual job site. Oil-modified finishes may not dry when applied over this wood if standard procedures are followed. Moisture-cure urethane, conversion varnish and waterborne finishes are generally more successful.	Has been known to cause contact dermatitis.
Walnut, American Black	No problems	Frequently used as a highlight material for borders or other inlay techniques.
Wenge	Staining may be difficult.	Dermatological and respiratory allergic potential.