Choosing what type of wood to use for your hardwood flooring can be a difficult decision. Different factors affect your room’s appearance, such as the stain, durability, grain structure, pattern, and width. But, there’s another characteristic that you might not have considered yet—whether to use domestic hardwood lumber or not.
Where your lumber comes from is just as important as what it looks like. Additionally, the impact of using domestic wood for flooring extends beyond the aesthetic appeal of your home. At Barnum Floors, we’re proud to offer affordable, sustainable, and high-quality domestic flooring options.
What Is Domestic Hardwood Flooring?
Domestic hardwood flooring is crafted from lumber that is sourced within North America. The diverse climate here offers a variety of different wood types to choose from, both hardwood and softwood.
Some of the most common hardwood floor types in North America are Oak, Maple, and Walnut, all of which are offered at Barnum Floors. The many kinds of hardwoods found here offer an assortment of different colors, densities, and patterns that will fit your desired style.
Qualities of Domestic Lumber
The trees where hardwood grows have broad leaves, generally go dormant in the winter, and are slow-growing. These traits result in a more complex cell structure and tighter grains, making wood harvested here harder and more resistant to damage.
Benefits of Using Domestic Lumber
Using domestic lumber for your hardwood floors has more advantages than its durability and unique style. It’s the more economically and environmentally responsible option that can also be more cost-effective.
Stimulates Local Economies
Investing in your local businesses is crucial to the success of domestic economies, and the same goes for materials. According to the National Wood Flooring Association, the wood flooring industry creates $8.5 billion in U.S. economic output and contributes $4 billion to the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) annually. On top of that, the industry itself employs 45,000 North Americans in positions like manufacturing, forestry, sales, and more.
Highly Sustainable
Wood flooring is one of the most renewable materials in flooring. It can be recycled, used as a fuel, and is biodegradable. On top of that, it is a long-lasting product that is considered carbon neutral. The environmental benefits of hardwood increase if you purchase it domestically.
With the product being closer to you, transportation emissions are lower than if you use foreign lumber. North America also has strict regulations on lumber production to ensure compliance with environmental laws, responsible reforestation, protecting wildlife, preventing illegal logging, and clear supply chains with regular oversight.
Extremely Efficient
There are many areas in which solid hardwood flooring shows its efficiencies. First, wood flooring serves as a natural insulator, thanks to its absorption qualities. This can lower energy bills and help stabilize the temperature in your home.
The proximity of domestic hardwood flooring makes it more accessible than foreign lumber, and more cost-efficient, too. Lumber grown here does not have import costs, is not susceptible to tariffs that can increase cost overall, and is more widely available compared to its exotic counterparts.
Where to Find Domestic Lumber
To ensure that you are finding lumber that is made in North America, you can check the wood’s certifications or documentation. With North America’s regulations and chain of custody requirements, you should be able to find where the wood for your flooring came from.
You can also ask your seller for the product details. When working with a flooring company or contractor, ask to see domestic options or if they offer any. Reputable companies will be completely transparent about where their wood comes from.
Lastly, familiarizing yourself with domestic wood types can help you in your local lumber search. Wood grown here differs from other parts of the world, due to climate differences, meaning that you can only get certain types from certain places. Knowing what you’re looking for and where it comes from can help you track down what you’re looking for.
Choose Domestic Lumber For Your Home
Explore hardwood flooring options that are native to North America with Barnum Floors. Find the perfect style for your home, all while contributing to a healthier environment and boosting the national economy.
Ready to make a positive impact in your home? Contact Barnum Floors to learn more about the domestic hardwood flooring options that we offer today!
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