R.L. Colston  3/4" x 5" Brazilian Walnut

A:

There are no warranties on unfinished flooring, however:
OWNER/INSTALLER RESPONSIBILITIES - Install flooring in proper lighting
Exotic and domestic hardwoods are beautiful and unique products of nature characterized by distinctive variations in grain pattern and color. These natural variations are not flaws; rather they make up the natural beauty and uniqueness of hardwood flooring and should be expected. Only topically stained products will have the most uniformity in color or shade. Our floors are manufactured in accordance with accepted industry standards which permit a defect tolerance not to exceed 5%, of a manufacturing or natural type. When flooring is ordered, depending on layout or species, 8 - 12% extra material should be added to the actual square footage needed for board selection and cutting. Diagonal layouts or custom installations usually require about 15% more. During installation any boards deemed unacceptable should be replaced using the extra material ordered. The use of putty, stains, filler sticks or touch up markers to correct defects in prefinished wood during installation is accepted as a normal procedure. Board width variances are considered normal for boards and all organic materials. To minimize board edge gapping, board widths greater than 1/16” should be selected out and used all together in the same row or placed in closets or near walls. The customer/installer assumes responsibility for final inspection of product quality. Carefully examine the flooring for color, finish and quality before installing. Use reasonable selectivity and judgment, select out or cut off pieces with glaring defects. If more than 5% of the material is unusable contact your local store or call CUSTOMER CARE 800-366-4204 immediately. Before beginning the installation the installer must determine if job site and subfloor conditions are acceptable. Installers must be up-to-date with installation procedures.

A:

This is a solid 3/4" product designed to be nailed to a wood substrate.
But can be installed over concrete using our Elastilon underlayment.
What you should know about Elastilon Strong
An Elastilon-backed wood floor is much faster to install than traditional nail or glue-down methods.
Elastilon Strong can be installed on new concrete floors, handling up to 3.9% moisture content. A vapour barrier of at least 6 mil PE should be used below grade and on newly poured concrete above grade where the moisture content is above 3.9%.
Laid down with a 5/8” (15 mm) expansion gap, Elastilon Strong creates a dynamic, floating floor that expands or contracts naturally with the hardwood.
Elastilon Strong has no odor and is free of volatile materials.
Elastilon Strong gives cushioned comfort.
1/8” (3 mm) thick Elastilon Strong has ratings of IIC 62 and STC 54.
Thermal resistance: R _ 0,15 (m K) / W
Elastilon Strong carries a 70-year limited warranty.
Or:
SUBFLOOR

Floating Plywood Nailing Base: Install a floating plywood nailing base over concrete to receive wood flooring:

1. Lay 6 mil polyethylene sheet vapor barrier over concrete substrate. Overlap seam 6 inches and seal with duct tape.
2. Lay one layer of 1/2 inch thick CDX exterior grade plywood over vapor barrier leaving 1/8 inch gap between panels.
3. Lay second layer of 1/2 inch thick CDX exterior grade plywood on a diagonal over first plywood layer again leaving 1/8 inch gap between panels.
4. Provide a minimum of 1/2-inch expansion space at the perimeter for normal-sized areas.
5. Screw plywood layers together in a 6 inch (152 mm) pattern. Exercise care not to puncture sheet vapor barrier.
6. Prior to installation of wood flooring, install one ply of asphalt felt underlayment.

Thank you for your inquiry.

A:

This is a tongue and groove flooring (the square edge refers to the top edge being square instead of beveled).
Thank you for your question.

A:

Yes, this is needs finishing. Our installation service HSS installs but at this time does not finish unfinished flooring. They can recommend a finisher or; Go to WWW.NWFACP.ORG and click on sand and finisher and then type in a zip code or city/state. These are NWFA certified installers and finishers. As with any company you should check their credentials before hiring.

A:

3/4 flooring can be screened 3-5 times or sanded up to 3 times. Depends on the skill of the refinisher and condition of floor.

A:

Depends on the traffic and care and who seals it with what kind of sealer. Generally site finished flooring can last 5 to 10 years. Flooring Grade waterbased urethane can be used for hardwood flooring. Oil based floor finishes and natural penetrating oils like Waterlox are available also. Waterlox is a good natural penetrating sealer you could consider that can be more forgiving to apply and reapply. .

A:

Brazilian Walnut is 182% harder than red oak. Cleat nailers rather than staples have a better chance of penetrating the harder exotics. Better chance for 3/4" may be a POWERNAIL nailer. 18 gage cleats w/model 50P and a 3/4" adapter plate can work best on very hard exotics. Or equivalent nailer.

It's hard to say as one shipment or even bundle to bundle can vary in hardness or nail-ability. This depends on what conditions the tree was grown in, factors such as rainfall, to the area of a hillside it was grown in, are all contributers.

So the conclusion is you may be able to go with a pneumatic or hand nailer, maybe not. Installers will give two estimates when it comes to iron woods in case it requires drilling and hand nailing.

If Hand Nailing is Necessary-

One person can pre-drill the nail holes with a 3/32" (2mm) bit, the next can complete the nailing. For boards 2 1/4"-3 1/2" wide place a 2" nail, every 8”-10” inches along the side tongue edge and 2"-3" from the board ends. The wider the board the closer the nail spacing.

Use- galvanized or regular finishing nails 6d-7d.

A:

Yes this is a very durable species.

A:

The product would be random length from 12" to 7’. There is no data on the percentage of shorts that may be received. Normal average length would be 3'.