Dalton Direct Flooring

Traditional prefinished solid hardwood flooring has a smooth looking face compared to handscraped, brushed, or distressed looking prefinished hardwoods. The latter products have been made popular due to the authentic rustic look they provide the room. However, many customers still prefer the traditional or smooth look offered by traditional hardwoods.

Traditional solid wood floors can be refinished as many times as you want. This means that it is an excellent option, if you want something that will endure for several decades.

Solid wood floors are generally unsuitable for installations that are below grade(Basement). This is because too much residual moisture and excessive humidity can cause warping, which would be disastrous. If you live in a place with high humidity and you lack climate control in your house, you should be aware that this could lead to cupping in solid hardwood floors.

There are many different tree species available in hardwood flooring. The species we offer are Red Oak, White Oak, Hickory, Hard Maple, and Maple. And many different stains available for each of these species. From Natural to Dark Stains and everything in between.

In addition, there are many different grades available in hardwood flooring. A mistake a customer makes many times is to assume the less expensive grades are inferior products and not 1st quality goods. This is incorrect.

Hardwood grades are based on appearance of the board from viewing it overhead. The closer to the trunk in a tree the more valuable it becomes due to showing no knots in the boards. This then becomes a supply/demand issue. There is less wood available the closer you go to the trunk to get the best looking boards without any knots. Some manufactures refer to this grade as Select or Clear grade.

The further you cut from the trunk, the more knots that will show up. This is referred to as Number #1 or Cabin grade hardwoods depending on the manufacture. They are not inferior products compared to Select/Clear grade. They are 1st-quality products and will perform just as good as Select/Clear grade regardless of the foot traffic.

Another consideration is average length of the boards. Select/Clear grades offer the same length or overall longer average length. Grades below Select/Clear will on average be shorter due to many defects cut out of the board by the grader resulting in a first quality board but a lower grade.

Our cabin grades are random lengths ranging from 12" to 48" length boards. Many customers prefer this look due to the authenticity it offers. Our ancestors installed hardwood flooring this way.

This brings up the second challange when purchasing hardwood flooring. The standards are not standardize in the flooring industry. One sawmills cabin grade may almost look as good as another sawmills grade of select grade. Especially if a dark stain is used. The following link explains our grading process.

DDF Hardwood Grades Explained

Natural

$2.79 sq.ft. - 2 1/4"

$2.99 sq.ft. - 3 1/4"

$3.79 sq.ft. - 4"

Gunstock

$2.79 sq.ft. - 2 1/4"

$2.99 sq.ft. - 3 1/4"

$3.79 sq.ft. - 4"

Golden Oak

$3.19 sq.ft. - 2 1/4"

$3.79 sq.ft. - 3 1/4"

Mocha

$2.79 sq.ft. - 2 1/4"

$2.99 sq.ft. - 3 1/4"

$3.79 sq.ft. - 4"

Natural

$2.79 sq.ft. - 2 1/4"

$2.99 sq.ft. - 3 1/4"

$3.79 sq.ft. - 4"

Gunstock

$2.79 sq.ft. - 2 1/4"

$2.99 sq.ft. - 3 1/4"

$3.79 sq.ft. - 4"

Metro Brown

$2.79 sq.ft. - 2 1/4"

$2.99 sq.ft. - 3 1/4"

$3.79 sq.ft. - 4"

Cabin Grade Hardwood Floors Explained

About 5-10% of all hardwood flooring is graded as Cabin grade. Due to the small percentage, and the unpredictability of available inventory, most stores do not stock Cabin grade floors. Cabin grade flooring is a large percentage of our hardwood sales. So, let’s address, “What are Cabin Grade Hardwood Floors?”

What Constitutes a Cabin Grade Floor?

In a cabin-grade floor, natural characteristics such as mineral stains, pin wormholes, small knots, and shorter board lengths are allowed. How much is allowed depends on a manufacturer’s clear and select line specifications. Our Cabin grade hardwood comes from the Appalachian Region in the Mid-Atlantic. Which produces some of the cleanest, most consistent running-line products in the country. And produces a (Cabin Grade) that we believe is superior to other manufacturers.

Why Buy Our Cabin Grade?

Tremendous value. Clear and Select hardwood flooring is expensive due to the face of the board is clear of any natural characteristics. No color variation, no knots, and longer boards. This comes at a price. Every tree that is processed will have some Clear, Select, No.1 Common, No. 2 Common, and depending on the manufacturer will have additional proprietary grades.

Our Mid-Atlantic Hardwoods Supplier provides a proprietary grade Cabin Grade that is held to a much higher standard than other cabin grades in the marketplace. And one of the best looking cabin grades in the industry.

And customers buy our cabin grade because they prefer the look of the finished floor combined with the phenomenal value. In the lighter colors of Cabin, depending on the species there may be a large amount of color variation, which results in a more rustic look. Cabin grade floors that have darker stains exhibit significantly less contrast, as the stain darkens the lighter boards.

Below is Solid Hardwood Prefinished Hickory Natural Stain hardwood floors side by side

What Causes Cabin Grade to Look Different?

The hickory hardwood flooring at the bottom of the image is the Clear/Select grade. And the hickory hardwood flooring at the top of the image is the Cabin grade. Both of these floors come from the same manufacturer, the same milling line, and the same finish line. And probably came from the same tree. The apparent difference between the two floors is color. Color variation in hardwood flooring can come from the following wood characteristics.

Wood Characteristics

Heartwood

Sapwood

Knots

Pin Wormholes

Mineral Stains

Wood Characteristics Explained

This next photo is a Dark stained Solid Oak Hardwood floor, with Cabin grade on the bottom, and Select/Clear quality on the top. The reason it is hard to tell the difference between the two is the darker stain. Any stain tends to minimize the natural characteristics of hardwood. Many customers prefer this because they get a similar look to Clear/Select grade for a Cabin Grade price.

Board Lengths

Besides color, average board length is an important aspect of grading. In the hickory hardwood example above, almost all of the boards are over 24” long in the Clear/Select grade, while the Cabin grade floor has more short boards. ~50% of the Cabin boards are 1' - 2”. With the remainder being 2' - 4'. This may be more work for an installer. However, the floor is being installed on a stagger anyway and when you look at the final product the floor is a beautiful mosaic. And shorter pieces are much less likely to cup or bow over time.

Like anything else, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many customers that buy Cabin grade floors do so because they want a rustic look. In that case, the more boards you have, the more contrast you get.