Congratulations on your purchase of a Historic Wide Plank Floor! You’ve made the choice to install a floor that will add character and value to your home or business for as long as you own it, and for many years after that. As a supplier of wide-plank wood flooring in the United States, Historic Floor Company has supplied you with only the finest materials available which we have coupled with our unique and time-tested installation and finishing methods. If you follow this guide step-by-step, you’ll end up with a floor that will astonish your friends and intrigue every guest that enters your home. It is important to remember that the character and natural beauty of real wood gives every floor a unique and custom look that you’ll not see replicated in any other home. Mineral streaks, knots, and other character marks are inherent in a natural wood floor, and only add to the warmth and patina of your Historic Floor.
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What’s the difference between White Pine and Southern Yellow Pine?
Southern Yellow Pine was extensively distributed throughout the Colonies / United States during the 1700’s and 1800’s. According to the National Wood Floor Association and the many wood handbook reference guides, Southern Yellow Pine, in hardness tests comes in at 690-870. White pine comes in at 290. Hardness is measured by the load required to embed a 0.444 inch solid steel ball to one half its diameter into the wood. Known as the JANKA Test, this best measures the ability of the species to withstand denting and normal wear-and-tear. Southern Yellow Pine is up to three times as hard as white pine, yet Eastern White Pine is considered more stable than SYP. Both are considered quality floors.
Does Southern Yellow Pine make a good floor…is it too soft?
Although considered a “soft” wood rather than a “hard” wood such as Oak, Southern Yellow Pine is the hardest of all pine species. Like all wood species, it is susceptible to a normal amount of wear-and-tear. All wood species are by nature imperfect. Customers that elect a Southern Yellow Pine floor from Historic™ Floor Company accept the historical significance of this age-old material and appreciate the inherent beauty, warmth and charm of an aged floor made with these planks.
Is SugarPine (white pine) too soft for a floor?
SugarPine (New England white pine), although considerably “softer” than the yellow pine family, was and is still used today for two primary reasons– one, to replicate the federal and colonial styles of extra-wide planks (up to 20″ face widths) in the New England motif for period replication and secondly, due to longer length boards (up to 14′ long). This specie of pine is the most dimensionally stable flooring known for its widths, meaning little expansion with seasonal changes. It also has the most mellow grain pattern in the pine family when staining. This makes a great floor where a natural distressed look is desired since it acquires a great deal of bumps and bruises with normal foot traffic. SugarPine is sometimes called “poor man’s Cherry” because it has the grain structure of Cherry but is much lower in cost.
Are Heritage™ wide plank floors from Historic™ Floor Company face nailed?
The process of face-nailing replicates how planks were installed in the great homes of Early American dwellings—most noted in cities such as Boston, Williamsburg, Charleston and Savannah. Our Portsmouth™ cut nails imitate the method of using hand-forged nails which kept the boards from “cupping” or “buckling”.
Are Historic’s plank floors kiln dried?
Yes. In fact, we ensure that moisture content is under 10%. Additionally, we air dry for long periods of time. We recommend that our materials acclimate at the job site so that they take on the ambient humidity of your homes normal living conditions. This ensures very minimal shrinkage, splitting, cracking or gaps and produces material that is very stable.
Are Historic™ planks made from solid wood?
Not always. You can choose from solid ¾” or engineered materials.
What is the average length of our planks?
The average length of Historic™ planks are 8 feet in length. However, many of the planks installed will be 10 and 16 feet in length provided the home allows for such expanses. Our hardwood species also come in smaller plank lengths and meet NFWA guidelines for hardwood flooring.
Are Historic™ floor planks tongue and grooved or square-edged?
We offer our planks in both tongue-n-groove (end-matched) and square-edge material. You will need to specify.
How long will a Historic™ wide plank floor last with foot traffic?
A lifetime or two, or three. Since these are exact replica floors, they too, will last as long as the original floors still found throughout historical cities. If you visited such great cities today and took a historical tour of these wonderful homes, you would see that these wide plank floors have withstood the test of time beautifully and wonderfully.
How are these floors priced in comparison to the more common, pre-fabricated wood floors of today?
Surprisingly affordable. In fact, a Historic™ wide plank floor is priced about the same as selecting a common floor that is mass-produced.
