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Pine is the original wood flooring material, but don’t make the mistake of classifying it as a hardwood. Many people to categorize pine flooring as a type of hardwood flooring, in fact due to the common misconception you will only find pine under hardwood categories even where a proprietor knows better, such as home stores and decorating magazines and books. Pine is actually a soft wood species, and as such pine flooring is more easily dented or scratched than other types of wood flooring that come from actual hardwood species. Many people tend to think of scratches and dents as character adders, however, so don’t let that faze you if pine flooring appeals to you for your home improvement needs.
Pine flooring was the first wood material used in floors, and lasts such a long time that you can still view this type of flooring in its original state in older models of high end homes. The pine used in the décor of these homes tended to be the strongest of the species, the heartwood of the long leaf Southern yellow pine. This species is no longer available for use in construction due to the massive depletion of the 1930s to the 1960s, in fact the species might be almost extinct due to over harvesting. This unfortunate event is a good reminder of why wood flooring is so expensive, and why it might be a better alternative to think about one of the more environmentally friendly flooring options such as bamboo or cork. Modern pine species available for flooring are not as durable as the Southern yellow species was. The light color and unique grain of pine makes it a good wood for a country look, perhaps best applied to an informal sitting room, a child’s room, or rooms in your getaway cabin or lodge. Do not use pine in formal rooms such as your dining room or your main living room, it simply lacks the appearance to complement the purposes of these rooms. The old style of applying pine to floors means that it is also possible to salvage pine flooring from older buildings and refinish it to make it reusable for modern floors. It is in fact one of the easier woods to finish, so it might be worth your while, if you are totally enraptured with the coloring qualities of pine, to look around the Internet and at local salvage businesses to see if they have some antique pine heartwood that will suit your flooring needs. All in all, pine flooring may not be the best option for your flooring needs, as it does not posses a very formal look and also lacks the durability of other species. If you are fortunate enough to find a home form the middle of the twentieth century that has pine flooring, however, you are looking at a different prospect altogether, and one that may be worth investing in. |
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