Other lines we feature: Appalachian, Maine Traditions, Wickham, and Johnson. Aluminum Oxide is present on almost all hardwoods today to give some protection against scratching.  Mont Royal and Appalachian put aluminum oxide on the top coating as they all should.

There are three common debates that customers encounter when choosing their hardwood floor. Prefinished vs unfinished and solid vs engineered and what type of wood.

Prefinished vs unfinished… The prefinished has more variety and outperforms unfinished.  Unfinished hardwood needs to be resanded and finished over the years depending the amount of foot traffic. It is rare to refinish a Prefinished floor.  The acrylic urethane finish is done with many more coats under factory conditions and adds aluminum oxide to boot.  The only advantage with an unfinished hardwood it that it is sanded totally flat. Solid vs. engineered… There are two types of engineered wood.  The cheap kind which is made from unrolling the tree like a paper towel and placing the thin skin on multiple layers of baltic birch.  The good kind cuts a solid piece of wood about ¼” or so, just like any other hardwood and takes that little guy and glues it with marine glue onto multiple layers of baltic birch.  The good kind which is called dry sawn looks the same as solid wood and the cheap kind looks like plywood. Engineered floors are more stable, much less likely to crown, cup or separate than solid wood. Solid wood needs more attention to the moisture fluxuations we experience here in New England. Moisture in a home should be kept around 40-45% which requires many homes to employ a humidifier during the winter and dehumidifier during the summer.  Engineered is always better than solid especially with wider boards. What species of wood?… Maple, Red Oak,  White Oak, Birch, Hickory, Walnut, Cherry, Ash, Pine…. Each wood has a unique character and look that makes it hard to decide.  Some are milled differently or hand-scrapped and some woods are hard and some soft and easy to dent. With a little guidance we can simplify this when you visit us.