End Grain Flooring is Trending Right Now

A few hardwood flooring trends have been prominent in the last few years and show no sign of fading. One of the new trends in sustainability is end grain flooring. Sustainability and responsible flooring are popular right now, but there’s no reason to think that they’ll go away. As resources become more limited and the public becomes more aware of how much of an effect consumer items have on the environment, the trend of green flooring will remain very popular.

End Grain Flooring

 There are several different ways to cut a tree so that you can make hardwood planks from it. It can be quartersawn, rift sawn, or several other methods. Those often define how the flooring is used. However, there’s another method that can be used. That is end grain flooring. End grain flooring, as the name implies, is flooring made from the end of a piece of wood. Each hardwood flooring plank is made by making perpendicular cuts to the wood so that the end of the board is exposed on each plank. The grain at the end of the plank is distinct to the top grain, hence the name of the flooring.

Why End Grain Flooring?

 There are three basic reasons to choose end grain flooring. First, end grain flooring looks great. The grain that is exposed by cutting perpendicular to the grain of the wood exposes different, unique patterns. Mesquite is a commonly used wood for end grain flooring. It’s commonly used because it has a very attractive grain pattern. Also, it is very durable. It responds well to being cut in this manner. That’s also the second reason to choose end grain. The end grain is often utilizing for cutting boards and chopping blocks. That’s because cutting a board in this manner allows the fibers to better absorb the impact of a knife. That means they’re also great for flooring. Typical flooring might scratch or dent with day to day use; end grain hardwood is less likely to be damaged by normal daily use. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be, but it’s just more durable. Finally, end grain hardwood flooring can be cut from much smaller pieces of wood. A piece of wood that might not be long enough to form a typical hardwood flooring plank can be cut on its end to form an end grain plank. That means that less of each tree is wasted by manufacturers. Fewer trees wasted means more trees saved and a healthier environment.