Education Centre
Plain talk about wood, finish and craft.
Common questions from our showroom floor, answered without the jargon. Skim the table of contents below, or scroll through end-to-end — everything here is drawn from decades of installing and refinishing wood in Eastern Ontario homes.
Chapter 01
The benefits of real hardwood.
Cost, longevity, environmental impact, design flexibility and indoor air quality — hardwood earns its place in a home on more than looks alone.
Cost
Wood flooring can be installed for less than — or on par with — most other flooring options, and it outlasts them by decades.
Environmental
A life-long, recyclable, renewable natural resource that outlives all other floor coverings and never fills a landfill in your lifetime.
Design & Feel
Interior designers consistently rank natural materials as the most preferred, most versatile and most luxurious flooring — traditional or modern.
Hypoallergenic & Easy to Care For
Hardwood reduces allergens from dust and man-made fibres, and is easily cleaned, spot-repaired and refinished.
"Wood, cotton, wool and other natural materials are definitely the choices of most people — by far the most preferred and long-lasting, with a more luxurious look and feel than man-made. It's the most versatile floor covering there is: contemporary, traditional and everything in between." — American Society of Interior Designers survey, cited by the National Wood Flooring Association.
Chapter 02
Janka hardness & dimensional stability.
The Janka test measures the force required to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half its diameter in a wood sample — the industry benchmark for how a species resists denting and wear. Stability describes seasonal movement; tighter growth rings generally mean a more stable floor.
| Species | Janka (lbs) | Hardness vs Red Oak | Stability vs Red Oak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Cherry | 950 | 26% softer | 33% more stable |
| Black Walnut | 1010 | 12% softer | 26% more stable |
| Teak | 1155 | 10% softer | 50% more stable |
| Yellow Birch | 1260 | 2% softer | 9% more stable |
| Red Oak | 1290 | — baseline — | — baseline — |
| American Beech | 1300 | 1% harder | 14% less stable |
| Ash | 1320 | 2% harder | 26% more stable |
| White Oak | 1360 | 5% harder | 1% more stable |
| Bamboo (natural) | 1380 | 6% harder | 61% more stable |
| Hard Maple | 1450 | 11% harder | 4% more stable |
| Merbau Cabreuva | 1500 | 14% harder | — |
| African Walnut / Sapele | 1510 | 15% harder | — |
| Kempas | 1854 | 30% harder | — |
| Purple Heart | 1860 | 31% harder | 42% more stable |
| Merbau | 1925 | 33% harder | 57% more stable |
| Tigerwood (Goncalo Alves) | 2160 | 40% harder | — |
| Santos Mahogany (Cabreuva) | 2200 | 41% harder | 35% more stable |
| Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) | 2760 | 53% harder | 19% more stable |
| Cumaru (Brazilian Teak) | 3540 | 64% harder | 36% more stable |
| IPE (Brazilian Walnut) | 3680 | 65% harder | 26% more stable |
A harder floor resists dents from dropped items and heavy furniture; a more stable floor moves less between humid summer and dry winter. Both matter — hardness for daily wear, stability for how the floor looks a decade from now.
Chapter 03
Care & cleaning.
A handful of simple habits keep a well-installed hardwood floor looking and feeling new for a lifetime.
Maintain a stable indoor humidity range year-round. Ventilate, humidify or dehumidify to minimize seasonal movement.
Vacuum regularly to keep sand and abrasive dust from acting like sandpaper against the finish.
Wood and water don't mix. Never wet-wash a hardwood floor, and wipe up spills the moment they happen.
Keep pets' nails trimmed — they're the most common cause of surface scratches we see.
The finish is durable, but sharp or pointed objects can still leave marks. Move furniture, don't drag it.
Skip household detergents, soaps and waxes — they leave a greasy film. Use a wood-specific cleaner and always clean lengthwise with the grain.
Avoid high heels and shoes tracking in grit. A good entry mat inside every exterior door saves the most wear.
Use felt pads under every furniture and chair leg, and protective mats in doorways and at kitchen sinks.
Chapter 04
Frequently asked questions.
The questions we hear most in the showroom — answered honestly.