Here’s a little tip. If you want your home to have more warmth, elegance, and character, simply add in some new hardwood flooring. In fact, doing so will even increase the overall value of your home. Way to go natural wood flooring!

That being said, before you bop out to shop, you might want to study up on the various merits of the different types of tree species. Like what’s the difference between red oak and white oak? What might be the best hardwood floors if you have pets and/or kids? And what in the heck is the Janka hardness scale?

To kick things off, here’s a quick look at white oak hardwood.

Precisely what you’ve been dreaming about. White oak flooring.

Even when it isn’t wide plank, white oak wood flooring is widely considered to be one of the most popular kinds of hardwood on the planet. Primarily grown in eastern North America, these majestic trees can reach over 80 feet tall and up to four feet in diameter. Now that’s some serious “Timber!”.

This sheer size allows hardwood lovers like you to benefit from both longer lengths and width. Which allows the grain and uniqueness of this natural white oak to really leap to life. Since they’re also incredibly durable, white oak planks will last a good long time for you and your family.

Looking for truly distinctive? Try red oak hardwood flooring.

While white oak hardwood flooring might get plenty of pub, red oak flooring has a following all its own. By nature, red oak flooring is hard, heavy and decidedly sturdy.

Yet this coveted real wood flooring also strikes a balance between being both durable and easy to work with. It’s extremely easy to sand, plus it stains well without the fear of botching.

And here’s an interesting tidbit for you. While it sounds counterintuitive, in general red oak flooring has a lighter appearance than white oak flooring. Who knew? Now you do.

One of the hardest hardwoods of them all. Hickory.

Earlier we threatened to enlighten you about the Janka hardness scale and here’s where you discover that indeed are pants were not on fire. The Janka scale measures how hard or soft a wide variety of different hardwood flooring is.

At the bottom of that scale is the surprisingly soft douglas fir and at the tippy top are some trees that most people have admittedly never heard of. But up near the top is also solid hickory flooring.

Natural hickory flooring is extremely resistant to dings, scratches and plenty of other kinds of potential damage. So bring on the dogs, cats, and rug rats.

How sweet is it. The pure beauty of maple hardwood.

When we mention maple trees, syrup is probably the first thing that pops into your head. But maple flooring is also exceptional in its own right.

While it’s Janka score of 1450 doesn’t quite eclipse the 1820 registered by rustic hickory hardwood flooring, maple hardwood flooring still makes a perfect choice if your home has pets, kids or a preponderance of foot traffic.

Maple wood flooring is also a light-colored wood, which makes it a great choice is you have some dark spots in your home that could use a little warming up. Finally, maple hardwood is dust resistant as well and is a bit more cost efficient than other species of hardwood.

At Carpet Exchange, we carry all the tree types, widths, and finishes. Including handscraped and wire brushed. So stop on by to see it all for yourself. The impact is going to be enormous.