Installing Hickory Flooring: Qualities, Factors, and Hardwood Options

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Installing Hickory Flooring Qualities, Factors,
and Hardwood Options
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One reason many decide to choose hickory
flooring, characterized by tan to reddish
heartwood and white to cream-colored sapwood, for
their homes.
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Hickory hardwood has closed, rough grain and is
dense and durable. The grain and density,
however, make installing hickory hardwood
difficult. Hand tools are not strong enough for
the wood's density, and machining and sanding, as
a result, are difficult. Additionally, the
hardwood is not receptive to stains, and its
tongues have a tendency to split when nailed.
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Installing hickory, however, is not impossible.
Using a belt sander with multiple grit belts is
recommended. As you or a professional sands with
the grain of the wood, transition from an 80-grit
belt to a 120-grit belt for smoothing the surface
to a 220-grit belt for finishing touches.
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For finishing, similarly, a less-typical approach
also needs to be taken, and three methods are
used for hickory hardwood.
Conditioning the wood to seal off the grain is
one option.
Wood conditioner applied first seals off the
grain and prevents blotching once a stain is
added.
Water popping, on the other hand, opens the grain
and makes the wood more receptive to stain.
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First, run a damp rag over unfinished hickory
hardwood. This opens the grain, and as soon as
the water is dry, apply the stain immediately.
A third option is going with distressed
hardwood. For hickory flooring, distressed
hardwood hides blotches and other imperfections
better.
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There's not just one option for hickory flooring.
Grades and finishes aside, this hardwood is
available solid or engineered.
Each has certain advantages
Solid hardwood, in general, is considered the
pinnacle of flooring, the highest quality product
available. 
Solid hickory, like any species, is used in
conjunction with wood subfloors or built into
floor joist systems.
Installation involves stapling or nailing, and
plank sizes tend to run from 3/4ths of an inch to
one inch thick and 2.25 to seven inches wide.
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Solid hardwood, however, can warp or buckle in
the presence of humidity or high temperatures and
should not be installed below grade. If you would
like hickory flooring from the basement to the
top floor, consider going with engineered
hardwood.
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Composed of three to nine plys of hardwood bonded
together, engineered flooring has a wear layer,
also called a veneer, of high-quality hickory
hardwood on top, and all layers below are of the
same or different species. 
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The grain pattern of each layer, as well, faces a
different direction. This multilayer,
multi-directional composition allows engineered
hickory to expand and contract less than its
solid hardwood counterpart and, as a result,
allows hickory flooring to be added to any floor
and on top of concrete or radiant heat.
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The type of hardwood, hickory flooring is
available unfinished or prefinished. The latter
may be preferable for installing hickory
flooring, as no sanding or finishing is needed.
However, prefinished hardwoods, in general, come
in a limited selection of stains.
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Bella Cera Hardwood Floors 400 Oyster Point
Blvd, Suite 115So. San Francisco, CA
94080Tel.[phone]Fax.[phone]
www.bellacerafloors.com/hardwood-flooring/Hickory-
hardwood-flooring.aspx
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