WOOD FLOORINGS - Hickory & Pecan

Hickory & Pecan Carya spp Availability: Readily available from specialty wood flooring dealers, although parquet not commonly available. Sample is 3/4-by-2 1/4-inch square-edge solid strip. Top portion is finished with water-base urethane; bottom with oil-modified polyurethane.

COLOR: Pecan heartwood is reddish brown with dark brown stripes; sapwood is white or creamy white with pinkish tones. Hickory heartwood is tan or reddish, sapwood is white to cream with fine brown lines.

GRAIN: Pecan is open, occasionally wavy or irregular. Hickory is closed, with moderate definition; somewhat rough-textured.

VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: In both hickory and pecan, there are often pronounced differentiations in color between spring wood and summer wood. In pecan, sapwood is usually graded higher than darker heartwood. Pecan and hickory are traditionally mixed by flooring mills.
General Grading Rules / Hickory & Pecan Grading

SAWING/MACHINING: Hickory species' density makes it difficult to season, machine and work with hand tools.
SANDING: Difficult to sand because of density and because light color makes sander marks show more than on darker woods.
NAILING: Good holding ability; prone to splitting.
FINISHING: No known problems.