Exotic wood flooring
Table of Contents
Brazilian Cherry
Brazilian Cherry, also known as Jatoba, has been a long time favorite among homeowners. It is best known for its red hues and beautiful unique grain. Brazilian Cherry is fairly hard and durable rating at 2350 on the Janka Hardness scale, which makes it a good choice for high foot traffic areas. Like most exotic wood flooring, Brazilian Cherry will darken overtime from a tan-salmon color to a deep reddish brown. Even though it is more expensive than traditional wood species, Brazilian Cherry is more affordable that other exotic wood species.
Santos Mahogany
Santos Mahogany, also known as Cabrueva, is a favorite exotic wood flooring material among homeowners. Its colors range from dark brown to reddish brown with golden streaks. The grain of Santos Mahogany is wavy and features an open pattern. Santos Mahogany is a great flooring choice for high foot traffic areas with a score of 2200 on the Janka scale, which makes it more scratch resistant than domestic species of wood.
Brazilian Teak
Brazilian Teak, also known as Cumaru, is an extremely hard and dense wood species with colors ranging from light to dark brown. Brazilian Teak ranks at 3540 on the Janka scale making it one of the hardest wood species available for flooring applications. It is ideal for high foot traffic areas and commercial flooring and is great choice whether it is installed in a modern or traditional setting. With time, the color variations in Brazilian Teak will even out to medium brown color.
Brazilian Teak is full of natural resins and oil which makes it a little more challenging to stain, but provides a beautiful natural shine and added moisture resistance properties as compared to other species of wood.
Brazilian Oak
Brazilian Oak, also known as Amendoim, is a popular wood species for hardwood floor applications. Ranking at 1920 on the Janka scale, it is not the hardest exotic specie, but still a good choice for busy areas like kitchens. The natural color of Brazilian Oak is somewhat subdue with golden and reddish browns. The wood grain is light and easily blends with the wood colors. After 3 months of light exposure, Brazilian Oak color will become reacher and darker.
Tigerwood
If you want hardwood floors that stand out, Tigerwood might just be what you are looking for. Also known as Bolivian Koa, Tigerwood features dark brown strips against pale and gold browns. Because its wood grain is intricate and intense, using wide planks when installing Tigerwood is recommended. On more narrow boards, the graining makes Tigerwood floors look busy.
Just like most exotic wood species, Tigerwood is hard, ranking at 1850 on the Janka scale, making it a good choice for flooring in busy areas that get a lot of foot traffic. It’s durability, scratch resistance and moisture resistance are all attractive benefits of Tigerwood. Direct exposure to sunlight will most likely fade darker stripes and even out the contrast between colors.
Brazilian Walnut
Looking for one of the hardest exotic wood flooring available for your home? Look no further. Brazilian Walnut, also known as Ipe, as a rating of 3680 on the Janka scale! Brazilian Walnut is great choice for heavy foot traffic areas. Color wise, planks colors range from medium browns to deep browns with nice linear graining creating a warm setting.
Brazilian Walnut is incredibly dense providing natural resistance to rot and bugs (hence the reason is also used for outdoor decking). It’s a great choice for kitchens as it moisture resistant and can be installed over radiant heat systems.
Merbau
Merbau is a native tree species from Malaysia. It is one of the most common exotic wood species available. With a Janka Hardness rating of 1925, it is a fairly durable and scratch resistant type of wood. Merbau wood floors feature colors ranging from dark brown to light brown with linear graining.
Merbau is naturally moisture resistant and a good choice for kitchen and bathroom flooring applications. It’s a very stable type of exotic wood flooring and a nice option to Brazilian Cherry.
Bamboo
Bamboo flooring is a popular choice among budget conscious homeowners. Bamboo is a sustainable and environmental friendly grass specie that is fast growing, reaching maturity a lot sooner than other types on lumber.
In terms of durability, the hardness of bamboo greatly varies, but in general, it is harder than domestic wood species (it has double the hardness of oak flooring). The hardness of Bamboo is determined by the harvesting time. Cheaper brands of Bamboo who use fast milling periods result in lower quality wood flooring products.
Bamboo flooring can be installed over all all types of sub-flooring and does fine in rooms with varying temperatures.
If you live in the Charlotte NC area and are interested in getting a quote to have exotic wood flooring installed in your home, contact Fabricio Hardwood Floors today. We respond quickly to customer inquiries and offer free in-home consultation.
