There are many hard choices in life:
which college to attend, where to put down roots, which job to take. When it comes to our homes, the decisions can be just as important. Which material will stand up to Hawaii’s environment? What will retain its beauty throughout the lifetime of the home? What will fit the home’s style?

From the floor up, wood is one of Hawaii’s choice materials, says Larry Lanning, of the Hawaii Lumber Products Association (HLPA).

The HLPA, a collection of the state’s lumber suppliers, distributors and craftsmen, gives several reasons why wood is the perfect home-improvement product for Hawaii. Wood is strong, and it lasts. Wood insulates homes against heat and cold, and absorbs noise. Wood is a renewable building material, and it is widely available.

Most importantly, wood is beautiful, says Lanning. “There is nothing quite like it. It has all shades, it is warm. It is natural, and people are looking for that.”

Janice Onishi, of Pacific American Lumber, agrees, adding, “Wood never depreciates in value. It shows character, and can be refinished to restore its original beauty.”

Fortunately for homeowners, Hawaii’s many wood experts make flooring decisions easy. They have hardwoods, engineered woods and laminates in a variety of species. We’ve checked with them to find out what is new, what is strong, and what will make your home naturally beautiful.

THE JANKA HARDNESS SCALE (the greater the number, the harder the wood)
Lapacho (Ipe) Central and South America 3684	Santos Mahogany Central and S. America 2200
Brushbox Australia 2135	Merbau Southeast Asia 1925
Tigerwood South America 1850	Kempas Malaysia and Indonesia 1710
Red Oak North America 1290	Teak Asia 1000
Pine (longleaf) North America 870
Table information compiled from the National Wood Floorinag Association’s Web site, www.woodfloors.org. The Janka test measures wood’s hardness, and is a good indicator of its resistance to wear and denting. The rating corresponds to the force required to push a steel ball with a diameter of 11.28 millimeters (0.444 inches) into the wood to a depth of half the ball’s diameter (www.thehardwoodfloorguys.com).

BEAUTIFUL HARDWOODS

Shirley Pai Hilton, general manager of Pacific Imports International, has noticed increasing requests for exotic hardwoods. Specifically, Brazilian tigerwood has made its way from Pacific Imports’ warehouse into some of Hawaii’s most luxurious homes.

Pacific Imports International’s tigerwood is the crowning jewel of this Kaneohe Bay home. Homeowner Pat Chong, of All Grade Construction, turned to the distinctly beautiful wood for every room in the house. photo by Tomas Del Amo

Left to right: Tigerwood and ipe, from Pacific Imports International.

“Tigerwood is very popular because of its black striping and warm feel. It fits right into an Island-style décor,” Hilton says.

Also in high demand is ipe (pronounced “eepay”), another species from Brazil. Ipe is darker, and features dark walnut and olive tones. Both ipe and tigerwood are hard and dense, making them resistant to warpage from moisture. (See the chart on page 41 to compare hardness.)

Many of the company’s hardwoods come in finished and unfinished options. For remodeling, finished wood reduces dust during installation. Homeowners also don’t need to wait for finishes to dry.

The advantage of unfinished wood is a smoother look. Finished wood has a rounded, micro-bevel edge. This creates sharp distinctions between the planks. Unfinished wood is sanded in place, so the surface is even. Plus, Pacific Imports International offers a wider variety of unfinished species.

Pacific Imports International stocks hundreds of thousands of square feet in its Oahu, Big Island and Maui warehouses, says Hilton. Other species readily available include bamboo, kempas, merbau and teak. The company is also Hawaii’s exclusive source for Max Windsor engineered flooring.

Proper maintenance of hardwood is key to its survival.

Ed Holt, of Hardware Hawaii, recommends regularly cleaning the floor to remove scratch-causing grit. As the floor becomes worn, strip and replace the surface urethane layer. Done consistently, the floor will rarely need to be sanded, Holt says.

ENGINEERED DURABILITY

Engineered hardwood flooring was developed for homes built on concrete foundations, says Holt. Because concrete is porous, it retains moisture, which can wreak havoc on regular hardwoods.

The solution is several layers of treated wood glued beneath a real hardwood veneer. The plywood or hardwood layers beneath the veneer are stacked with their wood grains in opposite directions. If the sub-layers come in contact with moisture and expand, the opposing grain directions keep each other in check, making the floor extremely stable.

Hardware Hawaii recently expanded into the flooring market with the opening of its new Kailua showroom. The company features the Hartco Valenza Collection of engineered hardwoods.

“We chose Hartco Valenza for its extensive collection of exotic hardwoods,” says Holt. “Plus, it has an unusually thick surface layer of the actual hardwood.” Species such as kempas, ipe, tigerwood and mahogany are available, many of which are in stock on Oahu.

Hartco Valenza Collection’s Jatoba Natural engineered flooring stands up to abuse from spills, drips and splatters. Available from Hardware Hawaii. photo courtesy of Hartco

Pacific American Lumber is one of Oahu’s premier wood-flooring suppliers. Flooring manager Janice Onishi is especially proud of the company’s exclusive partnership with Bretts Flooring, an Australian hardwood distributor. Five-hundred-thousand square feet of the product in the warehouse will attest to that fact.

“Bretts engineered, factory-finished flooring has been a huge success,” says Onishi. The flooring is ready to be installed and can be glued, stapled or floated.

Mohawk engineered flooring from The Floor Store offers the popular distressed wood look. Small hills and valleys, scratches and dents make the floor look well-loved, plus its multiple layers keep it from warping.

Bretts Flooring keeps Pacific American Lumber up to date with the exotic wood trend. Bamboo, cumaru, Brazilian cherry and Australian brushbox, along with newcomers lapacho and Santos mahogany, offer a wide variety of beautiful warm tones in sturdy engineering.

Pacific American Lumber also offers Mullican engineered flooring. This line specializes in domestic species, such as cherry, maple and red oak. Natural cork flooring, Permagrain and Kentucky Wood Floors round out the wide variety of wood flooring available.

Marc Haine, of The Floor Store, broke into the flooring business as a carpet cleaner. In the past decade, his business has grown to include flooring supply, installation and maintenance. “So many of our customers wanted one company that could provide all the services,” Haine says.

Distressed hardwoods and engineered flooring are the newest trend Haine has encountered. Popular for many years on the Mainland, the rustic, worn-in look is making its way to Hawaii. “Distressed woods offer a warm, old wood floor feeling,” he says. The bumps, scratches and dents can also camouflage any new damage.

The Floor Store specifically recommends Mohawk engineered flooring’s Antique Legends line. Stocked locally, homeowners can quickly find what they need. Plus, Mohawk engineered flooring features a specially formulated, ultraviolet cured urethane for added durability.

Maru Flooring’s Novarloc laminate offers the look of real hardwood in 13 colors, such as this honey maple. Photo courtesy of Novarloc.

More Novarloc color options include exotics, such as (from top to bottom) walnut, cherry Aretha, kempas, Kingston maple and merbau.

LOCKED-IN LAMINATES

Brian Westlake, of Maru Flooring, agrees that tropical hardwoods are most requested by Hawaii homeowners. However, Maru offers an interesting alternative to the real thing: Novarloc laminates.

“Novarloc is the most water-resistant laminate out there,” says Westlake. The flooring features a tropical wood fiberboard core, instead of the pine fiberboard core found in many other laminates. Pine can absorb up to 28 percent moisture, while tropical woods absorb only 8 percent. This is good news for floors in Hawaii’s humid environment.

Laminates have many other benefits. They do not need to be nailed or glued to the subfloor, says Westlake. Instead, the interlocking pieces float on top. They are dent- and scratch-resistant, and never need refinishing.

“Laminates can take a lot of abuse,” says Westlake. “If something does get damaged, just the damaged piece needs to be replaced.”

A laminate floor mimics the look of hardwoods, but doesn’t use actual wood for its surface. Instead, a high-definition photograph of the wood is adhered to the fiberboard core. Maru offers Novarloc in 13 tropical species, such as kempas and merbau.

To welcome in 2007, Novarloc offers a bamboo laminate, as well as new plank widths. Instead of the traditional three-plank-width laminate piece, single planks make laminate look more like natural wood, once installed.

WHERE TO GET IT
Hardware Hawaii 3 Locations on Oahu & 1 Location on Kauai 105 Oneawa St. (Kailua) 266-1133 www.hardwarehawaii.com LF International Trading 2855 Kaihikapu St. 833-3825 Maru Flooring 727 Waiakamilo Road 853-1717 www.maruflooring.com	Pacific American Lumber 142 Mokauea St. 845-8700 www.pacamlumber.com Pacific Imports International 2612-B Waiwai Loop 833-7090 www.pacificimportsinternational.com The Floor Store 1711 Homerule St. 848-7771