SOLID HARDWOOD FLOORING

The Long-Term Value and Benefits

Comparing Hickory, Maple and Oak

To understand how wood flooring holds up in your home, it helps to know that the industry ranks every species using something called the Janka Hardness Scale. This test measures how much force it takes to embed a small steel ball halfway into the wood. We use Red Oak as the benchmark for this scale, so as you read through this comparison, imagine Red Oak as the standard “medium” hardness against which everything else is measured.

Starting at the softer end of the spectrum, you have species like Pine, particularly Southern Yellow Pine or Heart Pine. While Pine is beautiful and offers a warm, traditional aesthetic often associated with historic homes, it is significantly softer than oak. As a homeowner, you need to accept that this floor will develop a “patina” of dents and dings very quickly. High heels, dog claws, and dropped toys will leave permanent marks. However, many people actually choose Pine specifically for this reason, as it develops a lived-in, rustic character over time that hides isolated damage by simply making the whole floor look distressed.

Stepping up to the industry standard, we find Red Oak. This is the most common hardwood flooring in North America for a reason. It sits right in the “sweet spot” of durability; it is hard enough to resist major denting from daily traffic but resilient enough to be comfortable underfoot. One of the massive advantages of Red Oak for a busy household is its heavy graining. The strong, swirling grain patterns act like camouflage, hiding the inevitable scratches and dust that accumulate between cleanings.

Slightly harder than Red Oak is its cousin, White Oak. This wood has become incredibly popular in modern renovations because it has a straighter, cleaner grain pattern that looks less busy than Red Oak. Aside from being slightly harder and more resistant to denting, White Oak is naturally more water-resistant because its pores are plugged with a substance called tyloses. This makes it a safer bet than Red Oak if you are running the wood into a kitchen or a half-bath where minor spills are more likely to occur.

If you need a floor that can withstand heavier abuse, you move up the scale to Hard Maple. Maple is significantly harder than Oak, making it the traditional choice for bowling alleys and basketball courts. It has a very creamy, consistent color with almost no visible grain. While this makes for a stunning, contemporary look, there is a trade-off. Because Maple has so little grain texture to hide flaws, big scratches tend to show up more clearly against the smooth surface than they would on a grainier wood like Oak. It is physically tougher, but visually less forgiving.

Finally, the heavyweight champion of domestic hardwoods is Hickory. This is the hardest commonly used North American wood, ranking well above Maple and Oak. If you have large dogs or a chaotic household, Hickory is often the best choice. It is incredibly dense and difficult to dent. The aesthetic of Hickory is also distinct; it often features dramatic color variations between light blonde and dark brown within the same plank, giving the floor a very rustic, energetic look. It is nearly indestructible in a residential setting, though its hardness makes it more difficult for installers to cut and sand.