Flooring Materials
Solid Hardwood Flooring in Philadelphia, PA
Solid hardwood is one piece of wood all the way through, normally three quarters of an inch thick. That thickness is the whole argument: it is the only floor you can sand four or five times across its life, which is why the floors still working in this region are the solid ones somebody laid eighty years ago.
In short
Deco Hardwood Floor supplies and installs solid hardwood flooring for homeowners within 50 miles of Philadelphia, buying the wood direct from the distributor and nailing it down with its own crew. Solid hardwood is a single piece of wood, normally three quarters of an inch thick, fastened to a wood subfloor. It is the right call at or above grade, over joists, and wherever new boards have to meet an existing wood floor. The result is a floor that can be sanded and refinished four or five times instead of replaced.
At a glance
- What it is
- One piece of wood, normally 3/4 inch thick
- Sandable
- Four or five times over its life, measured at the tongue
- Needs underneath
- A wood subfloor. It is nailed down
- Where it should not go
- Over concrete, and below grade
- Material
- Supplied by us, direct from the distributor
The thickness is the product
Only the wood above the tongue can be sanded, roughly a quarter inch on a traditional floor, and that quarter inch is what buys four or five refinishes instead of one.
A solid board is milled with a tongue on one edge and a groove on the other, and the fastener goes through the tongue. Everything above that line is wear layer; everything below it is structure. Sand past it and the floor stops holding.
That is the reason a solid floor from the 1920s can still be brought back today and a modern floor with a two millimeter veneer often cannot. It is also why we measure the remaining thickness at the edge of a board before quoting a sanding job, instead of guessing from how it looks standing up.
The trade in return is movement. Wood is a bundle of straws that takes on and gives off moisture with the air, and a solid board does that across its whole thickness. It grows in a humid August and shrinks in a dry February, which is why the gaps you see in winter close by summer.
A floor that has already given up two sandings is a different job from one that has given up none, and the difference is not visible from standing height.
It needs a wood subfloor, and that rules out the basement
Solid hardwood is nailed to a wood subfloor, so it does not belong over concrete or below grade, where moisture comes up from underneath and has nowhere to go.
Nailing is not a preference, it is how the floor stays put while it moves. Over a concrete slab there is nothing to nail into, and the workarounds mean gluing a floor that wants to expand or building a wood subfloor on top, which costs headroom you may not have.
Below grade the problem is not the fastener, it is the water. Concrete moves moisture from the ground into the room continuously, and a solid board sitting in that will cup and stay cupped. Engineered wood exists largely for this situation, and it is what we recommend there.
In this housing stock most main and upper floors are wood over joists, which is exactly what solid hardwood wants. Basements almost never are.
Species is mostly about hardness and about what your house already has
Red oak is the default in this region for a reason: it takes stain evenly, it is hard enough for a family, and it is what most of the existing floors here already are.
The practical question is rarely which species is best. It is which one meets the floor you already own at a doorway. Matching new work to an existing floor is easier within a species than across one, and it is tested on a sample from the actual material rather than promised from a name.
Where nothing has to match, hardness is the honest tiebreaker: white oak and hickory take more punishment than walnut or pine, and every species dents if the dog is big enough and the chair is heavy enough.
Colour is the part that changes least reliably. Two boards of the same species can take the same stain differently depending on grain and mill, which is why the sample gets made and looked at in your own light instead of in a showroom.
When is solid hardwood flooring the right choice?
Solid hardwood is the right choice when the room sits at or above grade over a wood subfloor and you want a floor that can be sanded again decades from now. Six situations point to it.
The room has a wood subfloor
Plywood or plank over joists gives the fasteners something to hold. Most main and upper floors in this region are built this way, and it is what a nailed floor needs.
New boards have to meet an old floor
Extending into an addition or an opened wall is easier when the new wood is the same species and thickness as the solid floor already at the doorway.
You plan to stay for decades
Four or five sandings only pay back over a long time. If the house is the long one, the thickness above the tongue is what you are buying.
You want to choose the color on site
Bare solid boards are sanded and stained in the room, so the color is decided on a sample made from your own material, in your own light.
The rest of the house is already wood
In an older house where the main floor is wood, putting the same material in the remaining rooms keeps the house reading as one floor instead of patches.
The room takes dogs, chairs and traffic
A dent or a worn path in solid wood is sanded out at the next refinish. Harder species such as white oak or hickory take longer to get there.
How to tell if it belongs in your room
Look at what is under the room
Wood subfloor or slab. This decides more than taste does.Check the grade
At or above grade for solid. Below grade is engineered territory.Match at the doorway
Where new meets old, the species and the sample decide the answer.Pick for the traffic
Hardness matters where the dog and the chairs are.See the sample in your light
Stain reads differently in your room than in a showroom.Let it acclimate
The boards sit in the house before they go down.
What you get when we supply your solid hardwood
We supply the solid hardwood together with the labor, bought direct from the distributor at the store price, so the wood and the installation land in one number. Here is what that covers and what choosing solid does not solve.
Included
- Solid hardwood bought direct from the distributor, at the store price.
- Samples and larger offcuts brought to your house, to look at in your own light.
- An in person quote from the owner, after seeing the room and the subfloor.
- Material and labor in one number, from one company.
- Boards left to acclimate in the house before they go down.
- Nail down installation over the wood subfloor by our own crew of five.
Not included, or quoted separately
- A firm price before we have seen the floor and what is under it.
- A fix for moisture. Solid hardwood does not belong over concrete or below grade.
- Subfloor repair. Loose, damaged or uneven subfloor is its own work, found once the room is open.
- A floor that never moves. Seasonal gaps in winter are normal in solid wood.
What changes the price of solid hardwood flooring
The price is set after the owner sees the room, and we do not quote a firm number before that. Species and grade move the material side most. The condition of the subfloor and whether the floor is finished on site move the labor side.
| What changes it | How it moves the price | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Red oak is usually the least expensive of the common species. Walnut and white oak usually sit above it. | A room in red oak and the same room in walnut are the same labor and a different material line. |
| Grade and cut | Clearer grades with fewer knots and less color variation cost more than character grades. Quartersawn boards cost more than plainsawn. | Quartersawn white oak in a clear grade is a different order from a character grade of the same species. |
| Board width | Wider boards cost more per square foot than narrow strip flooring, and they ask more of the acclimation. | A wide plank and a narrow strip in the same species are priced differently at the distributor. |
| Subfloor condition | Loose panels, squeaks, old adhesive or a floor that is out of flat add preparation before the first board is nailed. | An old plank subfloor that needs refastening is more work than sound plywood. |
| Finished on site or prefinished | Bare boards add sanding, stain and coats of finish in the room. Prefinished boards move that cost into the material. | The same oak floor, bought bare or prefinished, puts the cost of the finish in a different line. |
What to ask before you buy solid hardwood flooring
These six questions apply to any seller or installer, not only to us. A good answer is specific about the wood and about your house. A vague one usually means nobody has looked at the subfloor yet.
What is under this room, and have you looked at it?
Solid hardwood is nailed to a wood subfloor. Someone who quotes it without checking for a slab or for the grade is selling a material, not a floor that will stay flat.
What species and grade is this, exactly?
A good answer names both. 'Oak' alone hides the difference between red oak and white oak, which take stain differently and do not match each other at a doorway.
How long will the boards sit in the house before installation?
Solid wood has to come to the conditions of the house before it is nailed. A good answer is tied to a moisture reading, not to the delivery date.
Will you make a stain sample on this material?
Two boards of the same species can take the same stain differently. A sample made on the actual wood, seen in your room, is the only honest preview of the color.
How will the new floor meet the existing one?
A good answer says exactly what happens at the doorway, and whether the old and new floors get sanded and finished together. A vague one leaves a visible line for you to find later.
Who supplies the wood, and who answers for the order?
Some installers mark up the material. Others ask you to buy it yourself. Ask who is responsible if the order comes up short or arrives damaged.
Why homeowners hire Deco Hardwood Floor
Deco Hardwood Floor is owner operated: the person who quotes solid hardwood is the person responsible for it, and the material comes with the labor in one number.
Material and labor in one number
We buy the flooring direct from the distributor and pass the store price through, so you are not sourcing wood on your own between quotes.
Samples come to your house
Samples and larger offcuts come to you, so the color gets chosen in your own light instead of under a showroom lamp.
Stairs and railings built in house
Treads, risers, handrails and newel posts are drawn and built by our own crew. Most flooring crews subcontract stair work or decline it.
The owner quotes the job
The person who measures your floor is the person responsible for the work. There is no salesperson in between.
Measured before it is promised
Remaining thickness is measured at the edge of a board before we say a floor can be sanded, and no price is firm before we have seen the room.
Told straight, including the limits
Vacuum extraction catches most of the sanding dust and not all of it. We tell you that before the job instead of after.
More about who we are and what we will not claim on the About Deco Hardwood Floor page.
Questions about solid hardwood
How many times can a solid floor be sanded?
Normally four or five over its life, because only the wood above the tongue can go. We measure what is left at the edge of a board before quoting rather than assuming.
Can solid hardwood go in a basement?
No. Below grade there is constant moisture coming up through the slab and a solid board will cup. That is the situation engineered wood was made for.
Why does my solid floor gap in winter?
Wood gives off moisture in dry air and takes it back in humid air, so boards shrink in February and swell in August. Gaps that open and close with the season are the floor working normally.
Which species should I choose?
If it has to meet an existing floor, the existing floor decides. If it does not, hardness and the light in the room decide, and we bring samples to the house rather than sending you to a showroom.
Do you supply the wood?
Yes. We buy direct from the distributor and pass the store price through, so the material and the labor land in one number.
Solid hardwood or engineered hardwood: which should I choose?
The subfloor decides. Over a wood subfloor at or above grade, solid hardwood gives you more sandings across its life. Over concrete, below grade or over radiant heat, engineered is the correct floor and solid is a problem waiting. When Deco Hardwood Floor quotes a room, the owner looks at what is under it before talking about either one.
Is solid hardwood flooring worth it?
It is worth it when you will keep the house long enough to use the thickness. The case for solid hardwood is the four or five sandings, and those only pay back over decades. In a house where buyers expect wood on the main floor, it earns its place. In a basement or over a slab it is the wrong material at any price.
How long does it take to install a solid hardwood floor?
It depends on the size of the rooms, the condition of the subfloor, how long the wood needs to acclimate, and whether the boards are prefinished or sanded and coated in the house. Site finished solid hardwood adds sanding, coating and cure time before furniture returns. Deco Hardwood Floor gives you the actual dates before the work starts rather than an average.
Is solid hardwood a good floor with dogs and children?
Yes, with the right expectations. Every species dents under a big enough dog or a heavy enough chair, and a harder species such as white oak or hickory only slows that down. What solid hardwood offers is that the damage sits in wood thick enough to sand out later. A matte or satin sheen shows scratches less than a glossy one.
Can solid hardwood go in a kitchen or a bathroom?
A kitchen, yes. A full bathroom is a poor fit. Solid hardwood handles the spills of a kitchen as long as they are wiped up and the sink and dishwasher do not leak unnoticed. A bathroom with a tub or shower puts standing water and steam on the floor every day, and a solid board takes that in across its whole thickness.
Solid Hardwood terms, defined
- red oak
- A domestic hardwood with open grain and a pink to reddish undertone. It takes stain evenly and is what most existing floors in the Philadelphia region are made of.
- white oak
- A domestic hardwood slightly harder than red oak, with a brown to olive undertone and closed pores that resist water better. It suits gray, pale and natural finishes.
- hickory
- A domestic hardwood harder than either oak, with strong color variation from pale to brown, often within a single board. It hides wear and reads busy.
- maple
- A pale, tight grained domestic hardwood, harder than oak. Its closed grain takes stain unevenly, so it is usually finished natural or in a light tone.
- walnut
- A domestic hardwood with dark brown heartwood, softer than oak. It dents more easily and is usually finished clear, because the color is the reason to choose it.
- Janka
- A hardness test that measures the force needed to press a steel ball halfway into a board. A higher number means the species resists denting more, not that it resists scratches.
From the blog
Solid or engineered, and why the basement decides
The choice is presented as taste. It is usually settled by what is under the room, before anyone gets to taste.Wide plank flooring, and what changes with the width
A seven inch plank moves about three times as much as a narrow strip. Everything about choosing and installing one follows from that.
Related work
Send a photo and we will tell you what you are looking at
Solid Hardwood starts with someone reading the house. We quote every job ourselves, with no salesperson in between, and a photo of the floor gets you a straight answer faster than a form does.
