American walnut wood is one of the most luxurious and sought after flooring materials in north America. It is found mostly in the eastern United States from Southern Minnesota to New York state. It is also found along the east coast south to Arkansas and is even grown in Texas. The wood used in this unfinished flooring choice is a beautiful dark brown which brings an aristocratic sort of rich glow to a room. The grain found in American walnut flooring is a straight but sometimes curving grain. It is desirous because of its rich hue and solid make. The grade 1 planks are pleasant and lush. American black walnut flooring is quite popular as well.
There is a big difference between the outside layer of the walnut sapwood and the heartwood. The sapwood tends to be a lighter orange brown or white and the heartwood can range from a dark chocolate brown to a red black color. Most planks cut out of the heartwood have a purple dark streak that appears to run through the grain. Although wood flooring made of heartwood is somewhat dull looking, it develops a lustrous sheen after a few years of use. Walnut wood is sought after all over the world by home owners who know the value of the rustic flooring and desire the ambiance it can bring with it. The appearance of walnut grain varies depending on what species of walnut tree it is and whether it is sapwood or heartwood.
The different available walnut grades are as follows. Grade 1 is also called premium walnut which is no less than sorted walnut planks removed of the lighter sapwood. Grade one does not contain knots and is either curled or straight grained depending on the species. It is prized for its consistent color. The second grade of walnut wood is also color sorted but may still contain some pieces of sapwood and allows small knots. The third grade of common walnut flooring has everything that is contained in the wood. The blemishes and white sapwood, as well as the knots and curves are all included in this grade.
The way most American walnut floors are installed is a process called unfinished flooring. Unfinished flooring includes first placing a plywood or plank wood surface to level the flooring. Because the floor cannot always be completely straight, when the walnut planks are hammered or stapled in, they will not all be flush one with another. Because of this problem, contractors have decided to do mostly unfinished walnut wood flooring and then finish it after the flooring is installed. While there does exist such a thing as prefinished floors, it is not as common as unfinished ones.
Walnut plank flooring is not difficult to take care of. They do, however require polishing from time to time which you can easily do yourself. When you begin to see wear and tear, a professional team can come and carefully sand off a layer. Since walnut is a hardwood it will take quite awhile till you have to replace it due to the nails or staples showing through.
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