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Birch Wood Flooring
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Several attributes make birch a worthwhile option for hardwood floors:
- Hardness and durability that comes with a hardwood floor
- Color variation from lights to darks to suit varied decorating tastes
- Natural 'highlights' that provide interesting visual appeal
- Pricing comparable with other common hardwoods
There are numerous species within the birch family but several varieties make up the bulk of what's used for birch wood flooring. Each has their own characteristics that make them different from one another.
| Editor's Note -- One thing to keep in mind when dealing with wood species is that there are both common names and botanical names for each species of wood. Common names can be misleading because there's usually more than one for a particular species of wood. Sometimes these common names are the same as other species despite the fact there's no relation between the two. "Brazilian Cherry" is a prime example because it's not related to the cherry family at all (the North American cherry being of the Prunus genus). Brazilian Cherry is actually Hymenaea courbaril, also known by it's other common name of "Jatoba". But enough of the Latin tongue twisters. Suffice to say that it helps to know the genus of the wood species you're dealing with. That way you can compare apples to apples between flooring manufacturers in case they use different common names for their wood and you'll avoid being mislead. See the wood flooring page of this website to get more familiar with wood floors and terms like "heartwood", "sapwood" and "Janka harndess test" that you'll come across on this page too. |
When looking for birch wood floors these are the names (types of wood) that you'll most often see:
- Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
Paper birch is the softest of the birch wood floor types. It's hardness is about 910 on the Janka scale, a little bit softer than Black Cherry and Red Maple. - Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
Yellow birch is harder than paper birch at about 1260 on the hardness scale, roughly equivalent to some oaks and green ash. - Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
Sweet birch is the hardest of the typical birch woods used for flooring. It's Janka hardness rating is 1470 which is harder than sugar maple as well as red and white oak.
Birch generally has a lighter sapwood and a darker contrasting heartwood. Boards that have both often display an attractive combination of lighter creamy shades mixed with darker red and brown tones. If you like this type of action and color variation, you'll find it with certain varieties of birch wood floors.
| Editor's Comment This aspect of birch wood flooring happens to be one of my favorites and what makes birch stand out a bit. The combination of the contrasting color tones makes for a very interesting looking floor in my opinion. A good example is a variety shown on the website of Carlisle™ Wide Plank Floors. Obviously it's not for everyone, particularly for those who like a uniform color. But for me it's a refreshing difference from the typical colors and grain patterns that you get with other domestic and European hardwoods like oak and maple |
Another variety of birch flooring is called "red" birch. It's actually just the heartwood of the yellow birch. The lack of the lighter sapwood gives this birch floor a richer, more red-toned color.
Finally, any discussion on birch wood floors would be remiss without mention of 'flamed birch'. This is a name given to a type of birch that produces a visual shimmer which looks like tongues or waves of flames that change as your visual perspective changes. It's simply a characteristic of the way the light plays off the surface of the wood grain. Birch products with this feature will usually be advertised as "flame birch" or "flamed birch".
Cost Comparison With Other Hardwoods
The cost of birch wood flooring falls within the lower to average price range of other hardwood floor types. Prices for flooring by volume producers like Bruce®, Armstrong® and Muskoka® are typically less than the more specialized producers that sell wide plank floors and flamed birch.
A comparison of solid birch wood flooring to maple and oak at several online flooring retailers resulted in similar price points. The prices of 2 1/4" wide by 3/4" thick solid, pre-finished material are shown in the table. Prices are per square foot.
| Species | Price Range | ||
| Birch | $4.88 - $7.00 | ||
| Maple | $4.79 - $7.02 | ||
| Oak | $3.79 - $5.84 |
These prices reflect only the cost for the wood flooring material and do not include installation.
Birch wood flooring is not as prevalent as maple or oak but it's not "rare" either so it's not that difficult to find. In fact it's available from a variety of sources, from the established flooring manufacturers to the smaller, specialized producers of hardwood floors.
The following larger floor product manufacturers make birch wood flooring and you can find their products at your local flooring center or the big-box home improvement centers and through online internet floor retailers.
- Bruce®
www.bruce.com/resflram/na/bruce/en/us/hardwood.html - Robbins®
www.armstrong.com/resflram/na/robbins/en/us/ - Armstrong®
www.armstrong.com/resflram/na/hartco/en/us/ - Muskoka®
www.muskokaflooring.com
Other sources for birch wood flooring -
| Timeless Timber Company |
Highlights
- Timeless Timber provides wood products, including flooring, from reclaimed wood. The wood has been salvaged from sunken logs.
- Two of their current products are Flamed Birch tongue and groove flooring and Red Birch End Grain Block flooring. Both of these products contain old-growth wood that is salvaged from logs that were once lost in river and lake bottoms.
Where You Can Find It
Products can be purchased by contacting the sales department via phone or email. Contact information is located on their website.
www.timelesstimber.com
| Carlisle™ Wide Plank Floors |
Highlights
- Carlisle™ Wide Plank Floors produces birch tongue and groove flooring in wide plank widths from 5" to 10" wide. The wood is characterized by a combination of the darker heartwood and lighter sapwood resembling tones of both cherry and maple.
Where You Can Find It
Flooring is purchased by contacting Carlisle™ directly. There is a web page on their website with instructions on how to go about the selection and ordering process.
www.wideplankflooring.com
| Ridgeview Hardwoods |
Highlights
- Ridgeview Hardwoods offers unfinished Flame Birch flooring (look under their 'Designer Flooring' link on their website to find it).
Where You Can Find It
Products can be obtained directly from Ridgeview Hardwoods. See their contact/ordering information on their website.
www.rvhardwoods.com
| Maine Traditions Hardwood Flooring |
Highlights
- Maine Traditions offers Red Birch flooring which has the reddish to light brown tones of the yellow birch heartwood. Their website states that the wood is sorted during the milling process to obtain the pieces that reflect the best color and grain patterns.
Where You Can Find It
Products are sold through dealers currently located in 14 states within the US and the province of New Brunswick in Canada. See the dealer locator function on their website for locations.
www.mainetraditionsflooring.com
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