Hello,
We live in the Baltimore area and signed for a new NV Home about a month ago. We went to the "Design Studio" yesterday and chose to floor the entire first floor of our home with hardwood floors.

My wife really likes the Cherry *color* (not the wood) hardwood flooring and thinks it matches with the kitchen cabinets in "Painted Linen" (basically, marketing term for white).

We shortlisted these 2 candidates - Bruce Frontier collection Metro Brick (5 inch by 1/2 inch) or Hallmark Silverado Birch (6 inch by 1/2 inch). Both are engineered woods. Do you have a recommendation either way? or a third option that we didn't consider? (Bella is not an option). We don't have too many options since we need to go with the builder recommendation and can't do too fancy either. We kind of like the glossy look a bit and leaning more towards the Bruce choice for now.

Here are few links for more details - http://www.flooringoc.com/hallmark_hard ... ch_rum.htm

http://www.carpet-wholesale.com/item_29 ... _Brick.php

Thanks in advance.
-Xan

1 vote for hallmark.

Hallmark has longer lengths & better milling.

Thank you Kevin and Floormeintucson.

What are your thoughts around them both being birch. I looked at the Janka index and it is very close to Oak but is birch that bad in comparison? What do the experts on this forum this esp keeping Oak in mind.

Thank you.

Birch is fine grained so it does show a little more wear than your coarse grained woods like oak and hickory. it will indent more than anything, especially under sharp edges like bar stool legs and refrigerator wheels. general foot traffic seems to be no problem just watch out for the sharp dog
nails and high heels.

Thanks for the quick response Kevin. If you were me, would you avoid Birch? They both seem so close on the Janka scale though (Birch and Oak).

We like Hallmark for the 6 inch size too. Should that even be a consideration - or is it just because we are amateurs that we are focusing on that? Did you include that in your consideration when you recommended Hallmark option?

Are we missing anything else. This is the first time we are buying hardwood and worried we are making a wrong decision. Thanks again for your guidance and thoughts

Here are the 2 links for your reference -

http://www.flooringoc.com/hallmark_hard ... ch_rum.htm

http://www.carpet-wholesale.com/item_29 ... _Brick.php

My preference is white oak. Birch, meh

Between the two, the Hallmark Birch Rum seems to feature a longer length which is a plus in the long run. Janka Rating is one of the most over used factors by consumers when considering their hardwood choice. Birch is a nice wood for residential use and the relative softness is not necessarily detrimental when the surface is textured already. The difference in width is a non-issue since both are engineered structure, therefore it is mostly personal preference. With that being said, the market is moving towards a wider plank and even 8" width is fairly common nowadays.

Both of these products have a 2mm top layer which offers very little in the form of actual sandable wood. The rotary peel style also needs to be factored in when making your consideration. I would consider these last two factors the only downside to the products, however, I am fairly certain Silverado is one of Hallmark's best price point lines. They are a decent brand and I am very fond of the scraping technique and design as we do carry this in our showroom.

If you want a 3rd option, depending on what type of sub floor you have a nice solid plank might be worth considering for about the same cost. But lets be honest, I'm a bit biased.

Thanks for the detailed comments UniqueWoodFloors and sorry for the delayed response. We did pick the Hallmark Birch Rum....

You can also use brich wood for your hardwood floor or you may use it in different manners like Furniture, cabinets, flooring
and other items.