Hickory has a hardness rating of 1820 thus making it one of the strongest hardwood flooring materials that you can install in your home. The grain of the material is closed and tighter together; therefore, if you like the look of grainy wood, but you don’t like the look of too grainy materials such as oak, you should go for hickory.
It comes in a variety of colors such as white and creamy. You can also stain it in your favorite color.
In addition to these features, other features of hickory include:
Other Features of Hickory Hardwood Flooring
Grades: the flooring comes in different grades where the higher grades are the most expensive. The lower grades are least expensive as they have more knots, defects and burls. These flaws in the lower grade flooring give it a rustic look.
When buying the material you should always factor in the appearance of the room. If you want the room to have a smoother finish, you should go for the higher grade Hickory hardwood flooring.
Stability: since it has the tendency to move, swell, and contract, hickory is less stable than other hardwoods. The cool thing is that you can combat this issue by allowing the flooring enough time to acclimate itself to the climatic conditions of the room. For ideal results you should allow the flooring to acclimate for 4-5 days before you install it. After installing it you should always clean up any liquid spills as soon as they happen.
Finishing
It’s usually a challenge to sand hickory hardwood flooring as the sanding marks are easily seen on it. The flooring also doesn’t hold stain as its sealed grain doesn’t hold stain. The good thing is that you can make the grain to hold stain by wiping it with a damp cloth. This process is known as “water popping” and it aids in opening the wood grain allowing it to accept stain.
Workability
As you know, the flooring is very hard and dense. These features make it a challenge to saw the flooring using normal saw blades and hand tools. For ideal results you should use Carbide-tipped saw blades. When nailing the flooring you should be cautious and use the right angle to prevent the wood from splitting.
Conclusion
These are the features of hickory hardwood flooring. As you have seen you need to be cautious in order to install the material correctly. As rule of thumb you should ensure that the installation is done by a professional.
