Brazilian Walnut / Ipe
Hardness: 10 Stability: Average/Poor
Brazilian Walnut is also known as Ipe or Ironwood. Often used for exterior decking because of its hardness and resilience to moisture, Brazilian Walnut makes an incredibly durable wood floor. Brazilian Walnut is about as hard as wood gets, so it really will take pretty much all you can throw at it. When first milled it tends to have many colors, from mid brown to yellow and even a hint of green. All of these quickly mute down, and after time will reach a rich mid brown.
Brazillian Cherry
Hardness: 10 Stability: Average/Poor
One of more popular exotic woods being used for wood flooring. Reddish brown with some yellow, Brazilian cherry is a color variant wood. So expect a lot of different colors in your floor. The variation however is what makes it a very pretty floor when clear finished. Brazilian cherry is also a very, very hard wood, unfortunately it isn’t the most stable wood, so more attention must be paid to acclimation or you must expect more than average seasonal board separation.
Hard White Maple
Hardness: 6.7 Stability: Poor
Maple is a heavy, dense wood which has a very fine texture. It has the ability to promote light in even the darkest room and is a great choice for a kitchen, or perhaps a contemporary home. Be warned however, Maple is among the least stable of flooring woods and is extremely difficult to stain, so you have to like the color.
Naturals & Country Cuts
Hardness: Various Stability: Various
Naturals, like rustics, are a character grade containing the same kind of blemishes. The only difference is these cuts will just have less of these natural growing marks. Natural Ash for example has no knots like Rustic Ash, but will contain a higher degree of color variation than White Ash. For many people this grade is more attractive than a clear grade, but of course the price is generally that much less. For specific information on these grades please check with a sales person.
Rustics
Hardness: Various Stability: Various
The Rustic versions of these woods simply contain knots, open knots, checks, cracks, and natural growing marks. All other characteristics are identical. For some this is exactly what they are looking for, the so-called blemishes are as nature intended and only serve to enhance the style of the floor. The prices are also very attractive. Rustics can produce a floor of unique quality and unrivaled character, and for some the rougher the better.
