Jun 17 2009
Brazilian Cherry Hardwood Flooring
New homebuilding projects and home renovations projects both offer the homeowner the opportunity to install hardwood floors. Recently, Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors have seen an increase in popularity.
In addition to bring added value to the home, Brazilian Cherry floors bring a classic beauty and elegance to any room. The open grain is similar to that of Oak with dark streaks on deep red to orange background. Overtime the Brazilian Cherry wood will deepen to a darker cherry color.
Strong and Beautiful
Brazilian Cherry hardwood floorings popularity is no accident. These floors have two characteristics most people look for in a wood floor – durability and beauty.
The durability of Brazilian Cherry is evident in its hardness. On the Janka Hardness scale it rates a 2820 – compared to a 1260 for Red Oak. Brazilian Cherry hardwood owes its strength to the stability of its horizontal and vertical structure.
The beauty of Brazilian Cherry is evident at first glance and continues to improve as time goes by. The beginning colors range from a tan to a salmon color. As time goes by, the wood deepens to a rich reddish brown.
Brazilian Cherry Wood Plank
In addition to rich, dramatic colors, Brazilian Cherry also has a natural shine and luster. This is due to the fact that it produces its own natural oils. This exotic hardwood will hold its shine and elegance for many years.
Applications
Because of its strength, beauty and durability, Brazilian Cherry hardwood has many applications. The strength alone makes it an ideal medium for high traffic areas such as malls. Inside the home, there is no fear of scratching or marring from everyday normal use. This eliminates the need for covering the beauty of the floor with rugs and mats.
The beauty of Brazilian Cherry hardwood flooring lends itself well to more formal, elegant settings such as upscale restaurants or formal dining rooms in the home.
Workability
Working with Brazilian Cherry hardwood flooring is a little difficult due to the extreme hardness of the material. This hardness has a definite blunting effect on tools and the use of carbide-tipped tools for cutting.
Nails can be used for attaching Brazilian Cherry hardwood flooring if the holes are pre-bored and insertion is at an angel. Gluing is the recommended method of installation using waterproof PVA glue.
The Green Factor
As with other exotic woods, Brazilian Cherry wood flooring should come from a dealer who can authenticate that it is indeed being harvested on farms that practice sustainability techniques.
The Brazilian government has become very aware of the dangers of losing their Brazilian Cherry trees and has implemented strict rules governing the logging of Brazilian Cherry hardwood. Reputable logging companies will harvest older, weaker trees first.
Floors made with Brazilian Cherry hardwood are an elegant addition to any home. Their strength and durability combined with their timeless beauty that improves with age make them one of the most popular exotic flooring choices today.
-Sharon V Chapman
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