In standard installations, our Colonial Cabin and Selected Clear grades,  an additional 5%-7% is recommended for cutting and fitting. 10% or more should be added to our Heartwood Rustic grade.

However an increase in your waste percentage will be necessary to accomplish any of the following: Installing on the diagonal, angled cuts, borders and pattern work, or selecting for specific color, character, or lengths. In these instances, the waste factor may run between 15% to 30% or even greater.

The higher the waste percentage you allow, the more selective you can be during the installation process, providing added assurance that the finished project will be to your ultimate satisfaction.

In a word, yes. Trees are a valuable renewable natural resource, and as long as we manage this renewable resource on a sustainable yield basis it will continue to supply our wood resource needs indefinitely. In the United States the annual volume of hardwood growth exceeds the actual volume of hardwood timber harvested. Unlike petroleum, steel, and stone based products, we continue to reforest our hardwoods for our future wood needs.

Also, the harvesting and processing of timber products requires far less energy than the processing of these other building products. We also recycle wood that was used years ago in building barns, factories, and warehouses into beautiful antique flooring. Wood flooring is a very sound environmental choice for floor covering. For more information about forestry in the United States, please feel free to contact us.

We offer random width flooring for several reasons. First we manufacture for the greatest achievable yield from random width kiln dried lumber. We try to keep planks to the maximum width and length that each board processed will allow. This helps us keep costs down and keeps our flooring reasonably priced.

Second, we don't want to be like everyone else and supply the run of the mill commodity strip flooring product. We think that customers, like you, want a quality hardwood flooring product that is different from the standard 2-1/4 Red Oak strip product. All of our products fall outside the commodity strip flooring box.

Finally, random width flooring helps our customers reproduce the look of an earlier floor. Up until the latter part of the 19th century all wood floors were random width. Only in the late 19th century and through the 20th century have we evolved to the standard boring strip floor. Our random width flooring will help you to affordably create the look of an early American floor in your home today.

End Matching is the process of double end-trimming each plank and through a special process, precision milling a tongue and groove on the plank ends.

End Matching is typically required on strip or narrow width flooring and with and large commercial flooring mills that utilize 9" to 40"average lengths that are left over from other manufacturing processes.  This is the industry accepted size range for most commercial hardwood flooring.

At TinyTIMBERS, we start with full grade lumber- not just leftovers. This results in a more consistent grain and color appearance while yielding extremely long planks, especially  in comparison with our commercial countertop.

End matching eliminates the need to cut each plank end, greatly reducing the installation process. Unless otherwise stated, End Matching is now included in both our Colonial Cabin and Selected-Clear Grade Flooring lines. Our precision End Matching process will  yield  planks with a 10' maximum with 4-1/2' minimum  length average.

Hardwood flooring will last more than a lifetime which is why you should be selective in the placement of the individual planks. Consider installing the most interesting or figured planks in a visible area to be enjoyed and select the planks that are least appealing in closets, under planned furniture of area rug placement. Since selection is highly subjective, we recommend that you are present at least for the initial installation process to relay your preferences to the installer.

When installing random widths, try to stagger the different widths to avoid the appearance of a repeating pattern. Each order is shipped with a width tally which provides the total lineal feet of each width. This report will help you in planning your random pattern.

Click here to view our step-by-step installation guidelines.

 

Although we strive for excellence in our products, no wood flooring is absolutely consistent or perfect. The irregularities that exist are perfectly normal as a product of nature and is in large part what makes real wood flooring so appealing. Natures beauty ensures that no two boards are exactly the same. This results in a wonderfully attractive floor with genuine character and warmth which cannot be duplicated in artificial flooring materials. If your preference is for a floor that is absolutely consistent or perfect, options other than real wood flooring should be pursued.

Pine, poplar, sassafras and certain other "softer" hardwoods can be good choices for flooring depending on your tastes and needs. There are White Pine floors still in use today in New England that are over 300 years old. They do show the nicks and dings of age, but this just adds to their character, history, and patina. Pine, poplar and sassafras  are by no means as hard as Oak, but the worn character that can  occur during normal flooring use  will in no way shorten the lifespan of the floor. If it is important for you to maintain a new and unblemished appearance, then you should consider a hardwood with a higher janka rating.

Yes, hardwood flooring can be successfully installed over a radiant heating system. However, narrow planks with a 4" maximum width is recommended. Rift sawn or Quarter sawn if the preferred choice because of its superior dimensional stability. Hickory and other dense hardwoods are not recommended unless installed over a plywood underlayment between the radiant heating system and the finished floor. Please visit our detailed installation directions.

It is imperative that the subfloor be thoroughly dry prior to flooring installation. The use of a moisture meter will confirm the subfloor moisture content (mc). Our flooring is kiln dried to 8% mc. If the subfloor has a greater mc, the flooring will absorb the excess and present installation and performance issues and effectively void our quality guarantee. You can facilitate acclimation of the subfloor by running the heating system for 1 to 2 weeks prior to installation.  As with any hardwood installation, floor performance will be dependent on the severity of fluctuations in relative humidity in the home throughout the year.

Exotic species tend to be much harder than domestic species and contain a higher resin and extractive content. Due to this hardness, we highly recommend the use of a Porta-Nailer brand or equivalent n pneumatic flooring nailer with a barbed nail to easily penetrate the tongue and properly seat the nail.

During finishing, it is recommended that an oil based sealer or primary coat of polyurethane be applied immediately after sanding and vacuuming the unfinished floor. Applying the sealer will “lock in” the resins and extractives found in exotic species and prevent their interference with application of the floor finish.

Wide plank flooring has been in service throughout this country for hundreds of years. The key to its performance is the amount of change in relative humidity throughout the year at the installation site.

Wood flooring, being a hydroscopic material, will swell with increases in relative humidity levels and shrink with decreases in relative humidity levels in the home. The use of air conditioning or dehumidifiers in the summer and humidifiers in the heating months will greatly enhance the performance of wide plank flooring.

If your installation site experiences moderate humidity fluctuations throughout the year, consider face nailing the ends to provide additional protection from possible movement or seasonal plank distortion. Decorative cut nails or screws with wooden plugs in either the same or contrasting wood offer an historic feel that will add to the authentic character of your wide plank flooring.

What can cause to most damage to your hardwood flooring? High heel shoes which concentrate weight to a small point or other shoes which may have small rocks or dirt embedded in the tread can scratch the finish and leave indention marks. Rolling or sliding furniture and appliances over your floor can scratch the finish and leave indention marks even in the hardest woods. Dogs as well are capable of scratching the finish and leaving indented claw marks. Heavy or blunt objects dropped on the floor are another source for scratches and indentations.

In realistic, less than perfect conditions, virtually all wood floors exhibit some of these marks but overall still remain quite beautiful. This usually superficial damage does not affect the structural integrity of the wood and in most cases can be easily remedied the next time you sand and refinish your floor. Some real wood floors however are seldom refinished so to preserve their naturally worn character.

By no means are we able to present all of our products and services on this site. If you are having difficulty locating a particular item, please contact us with your special request. We promise to  respond in a timely manner.