Floors are one of the most used and yet under appreciated items in a house. If you think about; you walk on them every day, they substantially affect the aesthetic of a space, and are under foot in some cases for hundreds of years.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted at least a wood-floor look in the main living area. However, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be engineered hardwood, laminate, or full-blown 3/4 hardwood floors. After doing quite a bit of research I began to lean away from an engineered hardwood or laminate. While both are durable, they are not forgiving. If a plank get scratched or an area becomes well-worn the only option is to tear-it-up and replace it.

So, I began looking at solid 3/4 hardwoods. Wide pine boards fit the look I wanted to achieve but simply didn’t have the durability that would be needed to stand up to constant use. Wide plank oak on the other-hand does. Unfortunately the oak flooring you typically see in showrooms is #1 or better grade and often sells for in-excess of $5/square unfinished and can run $7-8 pre-finished.

Pre-finished hardwood floors are desirable because the finish is much harder and stands-up much longer before requiring refinishing. It also substantially reduces the install time and means the construction site doesn’t need to be shut-down while the floor installers come-in and sand the new floors, apply polyurethane, and let it dry.

Knowing that I wanted a pre-finished wide-plank oak floor the only task left was figuring out how to get it for $4-$5 a square foot pre-finished. That’s when I came across Hurst Hardwoods. They offer a number of different floor-types unfinished and pre-finished at reasonable prices.

One of the ways to get a less-expensive floor from them is to choose a “character grade”. This basically means the flooring is more natural in appearance-it has knots and checks, may be shorter in length, and is typically considered less desirable. However, going for a rustic vintage look, this type of floor makes perfect sense in my application!

Take a look at some of the floor samples I considered below. Note, the wide-plank is unfinished and will have a darker glossy finished once stained.