Antique Heart Pine Flooring Can Add A Touch of Class

Antique heart pine flooring is one of the most prized types of heart pine wood and was once known as the Kings Pine because of its abundant use for building lavish homes in Europe. Today heart pine is available for a King’s ransom to anyone who can afford it, even if they aren’t royalty.

There are four layers in a cross section of a tree, the bark, the cambium which is the thin green layer under the bark, the sap wood which is prone to decay and disease and finally the heartwood of the tree which is more resilient to disease and is darker in color than the other layers. It is the heartwood from old growth that built old warehouses, homes and other old buildings. Today this wood is being salvaged and saved from the landfill to be reinvented and reused as flooring in homes and businesses.

The supply of old growth that can be salvaged is as limited as the old growth itself and most experts agree there is only a ten to thirteen year supply of antique heart pine to be salvaged which makes it even more valuable to have.
Heart Pine can be stripped down and refinished so the natural warmth and beauty shines through and since it is wood it will last a lifetime, making it a great value that pays for itself. Plus, since the wood is being salvaged it is ecologically green to use it and can help lessen your carbon footprint in the world.

Antique heart pine is known by various names depending on what the dealer calls it. Some refer to it as Southern Yellow Pine or Antique Yellow Pine in addition to calling it Heart Pine. Whatever you call it however there are different grades depending on its quality that you should be aware of if you intend to use it for your flooring.

Premier Plank heart pine and premier vertical grain heart pine are both suitable for a formal setting since it is near perfect with few flaws including few if any solid knots, only the occasional hairline stress line and few signs of aging or distress. This is 100% heartwood and is amber in color.

Planked heart pine is milled from large trees and is 95% to 100% heart wood and has tight growth rings, with an occasional plugged hole, stress line, scattered nail hole and may have more yellow coloring than amber.
Country farmhouse plank heart pine is only 60-100% heart wood and will have both tight and open growth rings. The knots are usually solid and the nail holes and plugged holes are more dominant. There are also signs of age and stress cracks more visible.

Finally the last two grades nail plank heart pine and rustic cabin plank heart pine both show more evidence of nail holes and solid knots and will look more distressed and worn than the higher level grades. Both of these have a lower percentage rate of heartwood in their making, however even these grades present with character and charm showcasing your new antique heart pine flooring material as warm and intriguing even in its most distressed state of being.