Hardwood

Natural Beauty Coupled with Durability

If you’re looking for flooring that stands the test of time, it’s tough to be hardwood. You can choose from various species like oak, red oak, maple, and hickory. Each comes with its unique character and graining. For example, oak features a straight-grained look that adds linearity to your floors, making it great for traditional homes. On the other hand, Hickory offers unique, inconsistent graining that presents a more rustic appeal. Best of all, hardwood holds up to scratches and dents thanks to the density of the wood. Plus, it’s easy to maintain — just a regular sweep and occasional mop will keep your floors looking beautiful for years. You can even refinish hardwood floors to make them last your lifetime. So, where do you start when it comes to selecting the right hardwood for your home?

Solid or Engineered Hardwood Flooring?

TWO DIFFERENT CONSTRUCTIONS. BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND DURABLE.

Should you go with solid hardwood or engineered hardwood? Both types of hardwood flooring are made with real wood and available in a range of species, styles, and levels of durability—but they’re constructed differently. The type you choose will depend on personal preference and where you plan to install. Here’s a closer look at each type of hardwood flooring.

Solid Hardwood Flooring

Solid hardwood flooring is milled from a solid piece of 100% hardwood and topped with a protective finish. These floors are valued for their long-lasting beauty and durability. While they can be sanded and refinished several times if desired, you can also enjoy a look for life. Hardwood flooring is installed over wood subfloors and is perfect for rooms on first and second floors—living areas, bedrooms and even kitchens. All Bruce® solid hardwood flooring is made in the USA with domestically sourced lumber.

Engineered Hardwood

Engineered hardwood uses a layered construction, with the top and bottom layer being 100% real hardwood. The middle core comprises layers of crisscrossing plywood that are bonded for extra strength and stability. This structure makes engineered wood floors an excellent choice for installation on any floor of the home, including basements, and over concrete subfloors and radiant heating systems. Some engineered hardwoods that have a thicker top layer, so they can be sanded and refinished.

Engineered Hardwood – Densitek™ Core

Another form of engineered flooring, Densitek™ core is constructed with a 100% real wood veneer top, Densitek™ core, and 100% wood bottom. Densitek™ core is an engineered wood composite material created by compressing real wood fibers. It is more dense and less porous than solid wood or wood veneer, offering greater dent resistance, dimensional stability and moisture resistance.

Hardwood Colors & Style

TURN ENDLESS OPTIONS INTO ONE PERFECT LOOK.

To arrive at a design that fits your vision, you’ll have choices to make. How do you feel about each of the hardwood flooring features below?

Color

What colors and tones work with the overall look you’re trying to achieve? There’s a whole spectrum of single- and multi-tonal designs to choose from. For example, maple flooring features lighter tones that make it great for contemporary homes.

Gloss Level

Like things shiny? High gloss flooring looks polished, but may not hide scratches and dust. They also require more maintenance than low-luster floors. Low gloss hardwood flooring looks natural and can show less wear on your floors. That makes a great choice for living rooms, hallways and other heavy traffic areas. You can easily clean a low-luster floor with a dust mop or microfiber pad and nontoxic, hardwood flooring cleaner, even if children or small pets play on the floor.

Character

What are your thoughts on floors that show the natural character of the wood—variations in color, graining, streaks and filled knots and splits? Character varies across wood species and collections. The less natural character that’s visible, like oak or maple, the more uniform the overall wood floor appears.

Texture

Do you prefer smooth and traditional hardwood like oak, red oak or maple that work for a modern-style home. Or do you like the added texture that comes from a wire-brushed or hand-scraped wood floor. Both lend themselves to a more rustic appearance.

Width

The width of individual hardwood planks affects the overall style and also how spacious a room feels. You can go more traditional with narrow strips of less than 3″ or create more open feeling space with wide planks up to 7-1/2″. Floors with multi-width planks create a more rustic feel with your hardwood floors.

End/Edge Shape

How defined do you want each plank to be? Square ends and edges create a seamless look. Micro-beveling offers subtle definition between boards. Scraped edges look rustic, and each plank stands out.

Two dark brown hardwood flooring swatches
Hardwood Species

APPEARANCE AND DURABILITY VARY AMONG SPECIES.

Wood species refers to the type of hardwood used to make either solid or engineered hardwood flooring. With Bruce® you’ll find Oak, Hickory, Maple, Birch, Cherry and Walnut. Some are more durable than others. For example oak, maple and hickory are some of the harder wood species, making them better at resisting dents and scratches. Some hardwoods show more natural character than others. Natural color and graining patterns vary and impact the wood floor’s overall look.

Range of hardwood flooring color swatches
Durability

SEVERAL FACTORS AFFECT A HARDWOOD FLOOR’S RESILIENCE OVER TIME.

When deciding what type or style of hardwood flooring is best suited for your project, you can narrow your choices quite a bit by answering these three questions:

Where are you installing?

Engineered hardwood is best for rooms that have moisture potential, such as basements. They can also be installed over a concrete slab or radiant heating. On the other hand, solid hardwood flooring is a great choice for dry, above-ground installations where they encounter less moisture concerns.

What kind of foot traffic is expected (including the four-legged kind)?

Some Bruce® hardwood collections are perfect for everyday wear while premium flooring options offer our highest level of scratch, stain and water resistance. Harder wood species like oak, maple and hickory might be better in high-traffic areas.

Looking for a lifetime investment?

All of our hardwood flooring products have comprehensive warranty coverage, including our Limited Lifetime Structural Integrity Warranty. Premium products come with our highest level of protection, guaranteed for life.

Oak Maple and Hickory species hardwood flooring swatches

All Hardwood Products

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