Hardwood Flooring Frequently Asked Questions

Solid hardwood is milled from a single piece of timber (typically 3/4" thick). It can be sanded and refinished multiple times over generations, but it’s sensitive to changes in humidity and cannot be installed in basements or directly over concrete slabs.

Engineered hardwood is constructed with a genuine hardwood layer bonded over a high-density, multi-ply core. Engineered hardwood is more stable as a result, resisting warping, expanding, and cupping. It can be installed on any level of your home, including over concrete slabs and in climate-controlled basements.

Yes, high-quality engineered hardwood can often be refinished! How many times depends entirely on the thickness of the top solid-wood veneer (wear layer):

• 1mm – 2mm veneer: Cannot be fully sanded down; can only be lightly screened and recoated to refresh the top finish.
• 3mm veneer: Can typically be sanded and refinished 1 to 2 times.
• 4mm+ veneer: Can be sanded and refinished 3 to 5 times—performing just like solid wood over its lifetime.

The Janka scale measures a wood species’ resistance to denting, dings, and wear under pressure:

• Softer hardwoods (Janka under 1,000): Species like Douglas Fir, Pine, or American Cherry are beautiful but show character and minor dents more easily.
• Moderate to standard hardwoods (Janka 1,200 – 1,500): White Oak, Red Oak, and Ash are the gold standards for everyday residential living, offering an ideal balance of durability and graining.
• Ultra-hard woods (Janka 1,800+): Hickory, Hard Maple, and exotic hardwoods like Brazilian Cherry are ideal for busy, high-energy households with kids and large pets.

Wood absorbs and releases ambient moisture, expanding slightly in summer humidity and shrinking during dry winter months. As planks flex against one another or against subfloor fasteners, you may hear slight squeaks or pops. Seasonal movement is normal, but if squeaking is persistent in one concentrated spot, it usually indicates subfloor deflection or a loose fastener. 

Choosing plank width comes down to your home’s architectural style, room size, and design goals:

• Narrow planks (2¼" to 4"): Offer a timeless, traditional look that complements historic, mid-century, or formal home styles. Narrow boards feature more seam lines per square foot, which can add visual texture and make smaller rooms feel longer or more expansive. They also experience less total movement per board as seasons shift.
• Wide planks (5" to 9"+): Create an airy, modern, and open aesthetic with fewer overall seams, allowing the natural graining, knots, and character of the wood species to take center stage. Wide boards look stunning in open-concept floor plans and expansive living areas. Because wider boards place greater demands on installation, choosing wide plank in an engineered construction offers the ideal balance of dramatic scale and dimensional stability.

Yes. All natural wood undergoes a natural aging process called patination. Exposure to natural ultraviolet (UV) light and ambient room lighting causes woods to gradually warm, amber, darken, or lighten depending on the species. Use window coverings during peak sun hours and periodically rearrange area rugs and heavy furniture.

Wood needs time to reach an equilibrium moisture content (EMC) with your home's indoor climate.

• Solid hardwood should acclimate in the room where it will be installed—with cartons open and elevated off the floor—for 5 to 7 days while running your HVAC at normal living temperatures.
• Engineered hardwood is far more dimensionally stable, but it still requires 48 to 72 hours of acclimation in its packaging to adjust to ambient room temperature. 

Absolutely! However, we recommend selecting a higher-Janka species like White Oak or Hickory with plenty of texturing to conceal pet claw marks and dust. Keep your pet’s nails trimmed, place protective mats under water bowls, and wipe up accidents immediately.

Sweep with a soft-bristle broom or vacuum using a bare-floor brush attachment. Lightly mist a flat microfiber mop pad with a dedicated, pH-neutral hardwood floor cleaner (such as Bona). Wipe with the direction of the wood grain. Never use steam mops, soaking-wet string mops, ammonia, bleach, vinegar, or oil soaps/wax polishes. Excess water seeps into joints, while waxes leave an oily film that prevents future recoating.

In coastal areas (like Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Oxnard), cool marine layers and dense ocean air drive outdoor relative humidity well above normal levels. Because wood is porous and hygroscopic, boards absorb excess airborne moisture and swell.

Cupping occurs when the bottom or edges of the plank absorb more moisture than the top surface (often pulled from a damp concrete subfloor or crawl space, or trapped under the board). This causes the board edges to lift higher than the center, creating a concave profile across each plank. To prevent cupping along the coast, professional subfloor moisture testing, heavy-duty vapor barriers, and consistent indoor climate control (using an A/C or dehumidifier to keep indoor humidity under 55%) are essential.

In inland valley areas (such as Bakersfield and Simi Valley), summer heat waves paired with ultra-low humidity draw natural moisture right out of hardwood planks. As the wood cells dry, the planks contract and shrink. When boards pull away from one another, noticeable gaps appear along the seams, and in severe cases, the wood surface can face-check or splinter. Maintaining indoor relative humidity between 35% and 55% using whole-house or portable humidifier

Hardwood is very popular in open-concept kitchens. Engineered hardwood is usually preferred due to its resistance to temperature and moisture fluctuations. Just be sure to wipe up spills quickly and use runner rugs near the sink and refrigerator.

We don’t recommend installing hardwood in a full bathroom. Regular standing water, steam, and high humidity can penetrate seams and cause permanent board warping. For full baths, we recommend waterproof luxury vinyl or porcelain tile.

While click-lock engineered wood can be tackled by experienced DIYers, traditional hardwood installation requires specialized skills—including extensive subfloor leveling, moisture testing, perimeter expansion gap calculations, and dedicated nailers, staplers, or adhesive spreaders. We strongly recommend having the certified pros at Flooring 101 handle your installation.

Yes. Minor surface scuffs can easily be touched up using matching wood stain markers, wax blending sticks, or repair paste. Deeper individual scratches on pre-finished planks can often be blended out with a buff-and-recoat process. If a single board suffers catastrophic damage, a professional installer can cut out and replace that specific plank without disrupting the rest of the floor.

Yes, but the exact approach depends on how the original floor was finished:

• For site-finished solid wood: An installer can source the same wood species, grade, and plank width, weave the new planks into the existing layout, and sand and stain the entire area together so the transition is seamless.
• For pre-finished or discontinued engineered wood: Exact factory matches can be difficult if the line is out of production because factory stains, sheen levels, wire-brushing, and edge bevels change over time. However, our showroom specialists can source complementary species and tones that harmonize beautifully. Alternatively, we can install custom transition moldings, use a purposeful contrast (such as an accent border or herringbone entryway), or refinish adjacent rooms to create a unified look.