There are many hard choices in life:
which college to attend, where to put down roots, which job to take.
When it comes to our homes, the decisions can be just as important.
Which material will stand up to Hawaii’s environment? What will retain
its beauty throughout the lifetime of the home? What will fit the
home’s style?
From
the floor up, wood is one of Hawaii’s choice materials, says Larry
Lanning, of the Hawaii Lumber Products Association (HLPA).
The
HLPA, a collection of the state’s lumber suppliers, distributors and
craftsmen, gives several reasons why wood is the perfect
home-improvement product for Hawaii. Wood is strong, and it lasts. Wood
insulates homes against heat and cold, and absorbs noise. Wood is a
renewable building material, and it is widely available.
Most
importantly, wood is beautiful, says Lanning. “There is nothing quite
like it. It has all shades, it is warm. It is natural, and people are
looking for that.”
Janice
Onishi, of Pacific American Lumber, agrees, adding, “Wood never
depreciates in value. It shows character, and can be refinished to
restore its original beauty.”
Fortunately
for homeowners, Hawaii’s many wood experts make flooring decisions
easy. They have hardwoods, engineered woods and laminates in a variety
of species. We’ve checked with them to find out what is new, what is
strong, and what will make your home naturally beautiful.
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THE JANKA HARDNESS SCALE
(the greater the number, the harder the wood)
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Lapacho (Ipe) Central and South America
3684
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Santos Mahogany Central and S. America
2200
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Brushbox Australia
2135
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Merbau Southeast Asia
1925
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Tigerwood South America
1850
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Kempas Malaysia and Indonesia
1710
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Red Oak North America
1290
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Teak Asia
1000
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Pine (longleaf) North America
870
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| Table information compiled from the National Wood Floorinag Association’s Web site, www.woodfloors.org.
The Janka test measures wood’s hardness, and is a good indicator of its
resistance to wear and denting. The rating corresponds to the force
required to push a steel ball with a diameter of 11.28 millimeters
(0.444 inches) into the wood to a depth of half the ball’s diameter (www.thehardwoodfloorguys.com). |
BEAUTIFUL HARDWOODS
Shirley
Pai Hilton, general manager of Pacific Imports International, has
noticed increasing requests for exotic hardwoods. Specifically,
Brazilian tigerwood has made its way from Pacific Imports’ warehouse
into some of Hawaii’s most luxurious homes.
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| Pacific
Imports International’s tigerwood is the crowning jewel of this Kaneohe
Bay home. Homeowner Pat Chong, of All Grade Construction, turned to the
distinctly beautiful wood for every room in the house. photo by Tomas Del Amo |
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| Left to right: Tigerwood and ipe, from Pacific Imports International. |
“Tigerwood is very popular because of its black striping and warm feel. It fits right into an Island-style décor,” Hilton says.
Also
in high demand is ipe (pronounced “eepay”), another species from
Brazil. Ipe is darker, and features dark walnut and olive tones. Both
ipe and tigerwood are hard and dense, making them resistant to warpage
from moisture. (See the chart on page 41 to compare hardness.)
Many
of the company’s hardwoods come in finished and unfinished options. For
remodeling, finished wood reduces dust during installation. Homeowners
also don’t need to wait for finishes to dry.
The
advantage of unfinished wood is a smoother look. Finished wood has a
rounded, micro-bevel edge. This creates sharp distinctions between the
planks. Unfinished wood is sanded in place, so the surface is even.
Plus, Pacific Imports International offers a wider variety of
unfinished species.
Pacific
Imports International stocks hundreds of thousands of square feet in
its Oahu, Big Island and Maui warehouses, says Hilton. Other species
readily available include bamboo, kempas, merbau and teak. The company
is also Hawaii’s exclusive source for Max Windsor engineered flooring.
Proper maintenance of hardwood is key to its survival.
Ed
Holt, of Hardware Hawaii, recommends regularly cleaning the floor to
remove scratch-causing grit. As the floor becomes worn, strip and
replace the surface urethane layer. Done consistently, the floor will
rarely need to be sanded, Holt says.
ENGINEERED DURABILITY
Engineered
hardwood flooring was developed for homes built on concrete
foundations, says Holt. Because concrete is porous, it retains
moisture, which can wreak havoc on regular hardwoods.
The
solution is several layers of treated wood glued beneath a real
hardwood veneer. The plywood or hardwood layers beneath the veneer are
stacked with their wood grains in opposite directions. If the
sub-layers come in contact with moisture and expand, the opposing grain
directions keep each other in check, making the floor extremely stable.
Hardware
Hawaii recently expanded into the flooring market with the opening of
its new Kailua showroom. The company features the Hartco Valenza
Collection of engineered hardwoods.
“We
chose Hartco Valenza for its extensive collection of exotic hardwoods,”
says Holt. “Plus, it has an unusually thick surface layer of the actual
hardwood.” Species such as kempas, ipe, tigerwood and mahogany are
available, many of which are in stock on Oahu.
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| Hartco
Valenza Collection’s Jatoba Natural engineered flooring stands up to
abuse from spills, drips and splatters. Available from Hardware Hawaii.
photo courtesy of Hartco |
Pacific
American Lumber is one of Oahu’s premier wood-flooring suppliers.
Flooring manager Janice Onishi is especially proud of the company’s
exclusive partnership with Bretts Flooring, an Australian hardwood
distributor. Five-hundred-thousand square feet of the product in the
warehouse will attest to that fact.
“Bretts
engineered, factory-finished flooring has been a huge success,” says
Onishi. The flooring is ready to be installed and can be glued, stapled
or floated.
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| Mohawk
engineered flooring from The Floor Store offers the popular distressed
wood look. Small hills and valleys, scratches and dents make the floor
look well-loved, plus its multiple layers keep it from warping. |
Bretts
Flooring keeps Pacific American Lumber up to date with the exotic wood
trend. Bamboo, cumaru, Brazilian cherry and Australian brushbox, along
with newcomers lapacho and Santos mahogany, offer a wide variety of
beautiful warm tones in sturdy engineering.
Pacific
American Lumber also offers Mullican engineered flooring. This line
specializes in domestic species, such as cherry, maple and red oak.
Natural cork flooring, Permagrain and Kentucky Wood Floors round out
the wide variety of wood flooring available.
Marc
Haine, of The Floor Store, broke into the flooring business as a carpet
cleaner. In the past decade, his business has grown to include flooring
supply, installation and maintenance. “So many of our customers wanted
one company that could provide all the services,” Haine says.
Distressed
hardwoods and engineered flooring are the newest trend Haine has
encountered. Popular for many years on the Mainland, the rustic,
worn-in look is making its way to Hawaii. “Distressed woods offer a
warm, old wood floor feeling,” he says. The bumps, scratches and dents
can also camouflage any new damage.
The
Floor Store specifically recommends Mohawk engineered flooring’s
Antique Legends line. Stocked locally, homeowners can quickly find what
they need. Plus, Mohawk engineered flooring features a specially
formulated, ultraviolet cured urethane for added durability.
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| Maru Flooring’s Novarloc laminate offers the look of real hardwood in 13 colors, such as this honey maple. Photo courtesy of Novarloc. |
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| More
Novarloc color options include exotics, such as (from top to bottom)
walnut, cherry Aretha, kempas, Kingston maple and merbau. |
LOCKED-IN LAMINATES
Brian
Westlake, of Maru Flooring, agrees that tropical hardwoods are most
requested by Hawaii homeowners. However, Maru offers an interesting
alternative to the real thing: Novarloc laminates.
“Novarloc
is the most water-resistant laminate out there,” says Westlake. The
flooring features a tropical wood fiberboard core, instead of the pine
fiberboard core found in many other laminates. Pine can absorb up to 28
percent moisture, while tropical woods absorb only 8 percent. This is
good news for floors in Hawaii’s humid environment.
Laminates
have many other benefits. They do not need to be nailed or glued to the
subfloor, says Westlake. Instead, the interlocking pieces float on top.
They are dent- and scratch-resistant, and never need refinishing.
“Laminates
can take a lot of abuse,” says Westlake. “If something does get
damaged, just the damaged piece needs to be replaced.”
A
laminate floor mimics the look of hardwoods, but doesn’t use actual
wood for its surface. Instead, a high-definition photograph of the wood
is adhered to the fiberboard core. Maru offers Novarloc in 13 tropical
species, such as kempas and merbau.
To
welcome in 2007, Novarloc offers a bamboo laminate, as well as new
plank widths. Instead of the traditional three-plank-width laminate
piece, single planks make laminate look more like natural wood, once
installed.
