R.L. Colston  3/4" x 4" Hickory

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Lumber Liquidators is committed to responsible business practices as a central operating philosophy of our company. To that end, our lumber sourcing complies with U.S. laws and regulations including the Lacey Act, which prohibits the illegal trade of wildlife, fish, and plants, including lumber.

In addition, we work directly with a select group of vendors and mills with whom we have cultivated long-standing relationships to ensure the legal and environmentally-responsible sourcing and production of our products. Our suppliers agree to comply with our Supplier Code of Conduct with Respect to Environmental and Social Responsibility which requires, among other things, that their operations and the products they supply to us comply with all national and other applicable laws and regulations for the countries in which they operate.

We visit our suppliers’ mills and forests and assess their adherence to our code of conduct and its protocols concerning environmental, labor and health and safety matters. In the past, we have stopped using certain suppliers because we were not satisfied with the credibility of their responses to detailed questions about compliance issues and we regularly decline to pursue business with potential new suppliers that cannot provide evidence of compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

All of our Brazilian suppliers are members of the government-sanctioned Sisflora system which tracks harvesting plans and timber sources for the timber industry in Brazil. Thank you for your inquiry.

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Thank you for writing in! I would be glad to help you with your questions.
You can contact me directly:
Mark
Technical & Installation Specialist
Office (800)-366-4204 ext. 4857
My work hours are 10AM to 7PM Eastern Standard Time

A:

Thank you for writing! I would be glad to help you with your questions.
You can contact me directly:
Mark
Technical & Installation Specialist
Office (800)-366-4204 ext. 4857
My work hours are 10AM to 7PM Eastern Standard Time

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The moisture content of wood flooring at the time of milling is between 6 and 9 %.
The Hickory species is not a good choice for radiant heat applications due to is lack of stability.

As you may know, some wood species are better candidates for radiant heat (RH) installations that others, if you prefer solid wood floors, choose a #species known for its *stability. Here is the order for best floor type selections as recommended by the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA)

Floating wood floors and laminates - are highly recommended because they tend to move as a total unit better accommodating moisture and temperature changes.

Engineered flooring - works well with radiant heat because of its dimensionally stable plywood construction. This construction allows each wood layer to run perpendicular to the other thereby resisting movement and moisture fluctuations.

Quarter sawn or rift-sawn flooring – this cut or style of flooring is preferable to Plain sawn because it will expand upwards and downwards from elevated moisture- not side to side, producing less gapping and board edge cupping.

Strip flooring - is also a better choice than plank flooring, because narrow boards expand and contract less than wide boards do because there are more seams in a floor to take up or allow for any excessive board movement.

If you choose to use solid boards or planks wider than 3" make sure the board moisture content is dry to around 6-9% before and maintained well after installation. For any wood application over radiant heat, the newly installed system should be operating some two weeks prior to the floor installation, this helps to further dry out any unknown pockets of trapped moisture. Acclimation is critical with radiant installations to prevent board shock. In no case should radiant heat surface exceed 85 degrees. Maintain in-door 30%-50% humidity and temperatures of 60˚- 80˚

Common red and white oak have been used successfully over radiant heat. Ideally, species 15% to 20% higher in stability than red oak are considered best choices. See our Stability chart for boards listed on the higher stability spectrum. Brazilian Cherry is more stable than red oak, however we do not recommend this species for radiant heat applications. In some instances sustained high heat can have a negative impact on this species. The natural oils, calcification and other properties of this species can slowly migrate to the surface just under the clear top finishes manifested as small whitish oxidation spots. Calcification is a species characteristic, not a defect. Calcification cannot be sanded out. Therefore after installation, individual boards manifesting this condition can cut out and be replaced with new boards.

Good species for radiant applications are;

Australian Cypress, Bolivian Rosewood, Koa, Mesquite, Teaks, Blood wood, and Mahogany. Poor performers are Maple, Beech and Birch.



*Wood stability refers to a measured amount of movement that can be expected in some species after installation. Species stability is directly related to local humidity, temperature and surface moisture, therefore acclimation for radiant heat in very important for a successful installation.

#Note that even when using an ideal species for Radiant applications actual wood performance can still vary due to the Radiant system construction, installation Techniques, as well as your region of the country.



Technical and Installation

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Yes, this is tongue and grooved on the sides and ends.

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Generally speaking, yes.

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I don't believe a "lift" would meet the criteria of 1000sf which would save you 20 cents per sf

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This natural grade flooring can range in length from 1 to 7 ft, with the average board being about 3 ft. The same would be true for different widths. We do not sell finishing products.
For labor cost please call our Install Service (HSS) @ 877-477-1116

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We do have a 3/4" x 3 1/4" R.L Colston Natural Hickory floor for $2.99 sqft, if ordering over a 1,000 sqft. Hickory can be a difficult species of wood to stain so you may want to test a sample out first. If you would like an unfinished wood that takes stain easily use a white oak or red oak wood floor.