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Our designer's advice on choosing your floor

A wooden floor adds lots of character to a house, making it the number one floor covering on the market. In addition to its aesthetics, it is the most ecological and durable type of floor covering on the market. With proper maintenance, hardwood floors have a lifespan of over 25 years. To choose your new hardwood floor, there are several elements you need to consider:

  • Species
  • Grades
  • Finishes
  • Colors
  • Textures
  • Widths
  • Mouldings

Our species

Selecting the type of wood is an important step in choosing a floor. Each of our species has different hardness, color and texture. Here are each of our species’ characteristics:

Red Oak

  • Hardness of 1290 on the Janka scale
  • Pinkish beige / light pink to dark reddish brown
  • Textured wood with growth rings
Red Oak
Red Oak

Yellow Birch

  • Hardness of 1260 on the Janka scale
  • Creamy white / pale yellow to reddish brown
  • Straight-grained wood with uniform texture
Yellow Birch
Yellow Birch

Maple

  • Hardness of 1450 on the Janka scale
  • Yellowish white to dark brown
  • Fine-grained wood with uniform texture
Maple
Maple

Ash

  • Hardness of 1320 on the Janka scale
  • Creamy white to dark brown
  • Veined wood with growth rings (less than oak)
Ash
Ash

Silver Maple

  • Hardness of 950 on the Janka scale
  • Varies from lightest to darkest in shades of greenish gray to reddish yellow
Silver Maple
Silver Maple

American Cherry

  • Hardness of 950 on the Janka scale
  • White / creamy yellow to dark brownish red
  • Tight grain and uniform fine textured wood
  • This wood becomes darker over time (a few months) when exposed to light. However, some parts of the sapwood will always remain lighter than the rest of the floor.
American Cherry
American Cherry

Janka test

The JANKA TEST consists of measuring the weight required in pounds to drive a .44" steel log into the wood.

Janka
  • American Cherry
    1450
  • Red Oak
    1320
  • Maple
    1290
  • Silver Maple
    1260
  • Ash
    950
  • Yellow Birch
    950

Our designer's advice

As you can see, each of our species has its own particularities. If you want your floor to add character to your decor through its look and texture, Ash and Oak would be great choices due to their more visible growth rings. For a cleaner look, I recommend Maple, Birch or Silver maple. Finally, American cherry, which will darken over time, is an excellent option for an elegant style.

Grades

Grade will highly impact the appearance of your floor. Among other things, it will determine the length of the boards, the color variations and the presence of knots in the boards. Here are our different grades :

Rustic

  • Strong color variations (sapwood and heartwood)
  • Knots of all sizes allowed
  • Wood imperfections allowed (wormholes, cracks (good mechanical resistance required), checks, bark pockets, etc.)
  • Minimum length of 8 in.
Rustic

Horizon

  • Strong color variations (sapwood and heartwood)
  • Checks
  • Filled hollow knots allowed
  • Sound star knots allowed
  • Minimum length of 8 in.
Horizon

Pacific

  • Color variations offering a bit more sapwood than heartwood
  • Surface imperfections not tolerated
  • Mineral streaks et sound knots tolerated
  • Minimum length of 12 in.
Pacific

Authentic

  • Color variations offering a bit more sapwood than heartwood
  • Sound star knots allowed
  • Minimum length of 12 in.
Authentic

Our designer's advice

When choosing your grade, I recommend you identify the style of decor you want to create. For a warmer and more rustic decor, the Rustic, Horizon and Authentic grades would make great choices, as they offer beautiful color variations and lots of character.

If you are looking for a purer and more modern decor, I advise you to go for the Pacific or Select grades, which present a nice length of boards with fewer color variations.

Finally, if you are looking for a floor with beautiful color variations without knots and checks, the Natural grade is a great choice for you.

Finishes

Choose your floor’s finish according to your needs. Our various finishes offer different resistance and appearance.

Nanoshell 10

  • 10% gloss
  • Varnished with aluminium oxide
  • Abrasion resistance
  • Hardness
  • Scratch resistance
  • Hypoallergenic properties

Nanoshell 20

  • 20% gloss
  • Varnished with aluminium oxide
  • Abrasion resistance
  • Hardness
  • Scratch resistance
  • Hypoallergenic properties

Signature

  • 45% gloss
  • Varnished with aluminium oxide
  • Timeless finish

Ancestral

  • Between 6 et 8% gloss
  • Requires little maintenance
  • Dried under UV light

Our designer's advice

If you want an abrasion-resistant floor that will hide wear a little more over time, choose a Nanoshell 10 or 20 finish. For a glossier, brighter look, choose a Signature finish instead. Finally, for a floor with quick and easy maintenance and a natural look, I recommend the Ancestral finish.

Colors

The choice of color is going to have an effect on your decor. Choose among our selection of over twenty colors.

Brown

Beige

White

Grey

Natural

Our designer's advice

The choice of color is purely aesthetic. If you are looking for a luminous and sleeker decor, I recommend pale colors such as our beiges, whites and natural colors. For a warmer look, our browns and greys are excellent options.

Textures

Your choice of texture will have an influence on the appearance of your floor. Make your choice among our three texture options.

Smooth

Your choice of texture will have an influence on the appearance of your floor. Make your choice among our three texture options.

Smooth

Brushed

The brushed texture is created with a wire brush that is passed over the wood floor. This manipulation has the effect of opening the wood grains and leaves delicate marks on the top layer of the boards to give it a natural look.

Brushed

Rippled

The rippled texture is inspired by the old wooden floors. It is only available on our Authentic grade floors. This is a machining process that creates a wavy effect on the wood as if it had been worked by hand.

Rippled

Our designer's advice

The choice of texture is an aesthetic one; it is up to you to determine whether you are looking for a natural look or for more texture on your floor.

Widths

The choice of board width will depend on your style of decor, the size of your rooms and your budget. Here’s our available widths: 2 ¼ 3 ¼ 4 ¼ 5 ¼

Widths

Mouldings

Array

Square nosing

Length Finish
36″ Varnished | Dyed and varnished
48″
78″
84″
94″
Array

Round nosing

Length Finish
36″ Varnished | Dyed and varnished
48″
78″
84″
94″
Array

Reducer

Length Finish
36″ Varnished | Dyed and varnished
48″
78″
84″
Array

"T" moulding

Length Finish
78″ Varnished | Dyed and varnished
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