brazilian cherry floor - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

slehman · 03-01-2005, 04:46 PM

Brazilian cherry is a beautiful wood/floor. Has anyone installed this, if so have you or your customers been happy with it over the years? How much darker does it become over several years?

**Floorwizard** · 03-01-2005, 05:14 PM

It gets quite a bit darker and more red.
It shouldn't be any different of an install as any other wood.

slehman · 03-01-2005, 05:41 PM

We are thinking about using the b cherry, we like the hardness, but have concerns about the darker floor showing dust and how dark it would become.

ccoffer · 03-02-2005, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Florcraft

It shouldn't be any different of an install as any other wood.

Huh?
Methinks Mr Florcraft has not had to install the various materials about which he opines.
Jatoba is nice stuff,but it requires a very different installation regimen than other species. It wants to break.

It requires very close attention. Nailing Jatoba is not like nailing oak or maple or birch or hickory...........etc. Walnut likes to split. Walnut is a dream compared to Jatoba. Anyone willing to nail Jatoba for the same rate as another species is probably someone who will screw it up.

CHU

ccoffer · 03-02-2005, 02:02 AM

Engineered glue down,however, is another story. :Thumbs:

Glasshousebltr · 03-02-2005, 05:33 AM

I'll bet most tourist type people love Brazilian Cherry.......I mean, think about it, whats the age for consent down there anyway?

Bob

DecksEtc · 03-02-2005, 09:34 AM

Glass, you never fail to crack me up!

british hogg · 03-02-2005, 10:17 AM

Hey guys
Just stumbled across this forum today after purchasing a load of reclaimed Jatoba since you yanks know a lot more than us brits about working with wood I was wandering how you would reconmend fixing jatoba flooring to floorboards on a suspended ground floor. BTW I'm not a contractor but a confident DIY'er

Thanks in advance guys

Daryl

dsnAK · 03-02-2005, 01:46 PM

Brazilian Cherry is very popular and is more painful to install. My dealer says it is his most popular selling floor along with Bamboo. I do not live with it and do not know how it looks as time progresses; but all woods are not created equal and it will darken. I think there are some eco-friendly (sustainably harvested) rated Jatoba out there which is always nice. www.greensage.com

**Floorwizard** · 03-02-2005, 09:25 PM

I sell tons of Braz cherry to the top builder here in Anchorage.
Granted, most of it is engineered and is no different to install than engineered Oak.

Solid may be more difficult to install, but my installers have never asked to be payed more, and the jobs have looked great.
Then again, my tile guys don't charge more for Porcelain tile either....so I guess sometimes you can get lucky

Marco · 03-09-2005, 02:07 PM

Solid will expand/contract significantly more than most people are accustomed to because of its density. It will show cracks over the seasons and requires a longer acclimation period. Staples tend to split the tongue more than cleats when nailing and it is harder to cut and much harder to nail. I have no love for the stuff.
You might want to look at Santos Mahogany if you want red. Much friendier and I think has more character.

**Teetorbilt** · 03-10-2005, 01:36 AM

Marco, may want to take a physics class. Denser materials expand/contract LESS than lighter materials.
Other than that, I agree with most of what you say.

slehman · 03-10-2005, 10:13 AM

We are looking at Kahrs strip or mega strip & Hartco Valenza. Nails won’t be a problem - both are glue down engineered . We like the hardness factor of the Brazilian cherry (jatoba), but didn’t know how dark it became over time. What we have seen so far looks acceptable. The Hartco Velenza has a very hard finish with a 3 yr. commercial finish warranty along with the 25 year finish warranty. For whatever these warranties are worth. Has anyone installed either of these products?

Marco · 03-10-2005, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teetorbilt

Marco, may want to take a physics class. Denser materials expand/contract LESS than lighter materials.
Other than that, I agree with most of what you say.

Rest assured, Brazilian Cherry is one of the less stable woods used for flooring. NWFA has charts that will pretty much corralate the relationship between density and stability.
Wood consists of small tubes known as fibers. The smaller the fiber, the more fibers there are in the chunk of wood(density) . The more fibers there are, the more that chunk of wood expands when moisture enters the fibers. Those are the physics.

Glasshousebltr · 03-10-2005, 10:55 AM

So how many fibers does a chocolate chunkey have?

Bob

Marco · 03-10-2005, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slehman

We are looking at Kahrs strip or mega strip & Hartco Valenza. Nails won’t be a problem - both are glue down engineered . We like the hardness factor of the Brazilian cherry (jatoba), but didn’t know how dark it became over time. What we have seen so far looks acceptable. The Hartco Velenza has a very hard finish with a 3 yr. commercial finish warranty along with the 25 year finish warranty. For whatever these warranties are worth. Has anyone installed either of these products?

I have sold both and installed plenty of Kahrs. Generally, Hartco has been a lower grade brand, but looking at the specs, Valenza doesn't look bad. Same wear layer with 10 plys. Bevel edges is a big negative. In the past, I have been a big fan of Kahrs and on warranty issues, they have come through in fine fashion. I have even installed some Kahrs in my own home. It seems they have changed some of their specs for the worse tho.
What you want to look for in engineered is thickness of the wear layer, number of plys, type of ply material, and type of edge. Depending on your climate and site, number of plys may not be an issue. The edge will probably have the biggest impact on your day-to-day life. Bevels catch dirt. Square edge lays a flat surface. Bevels help to hide imperfections in milling. There are some trade-offs in those two choices. Good luck.

slehman · 03-10-2005, 01:29 PM

We live in Houston. I know what you're thinking, but we have good drainage around the house and everything is fine in that reguard. We're up a little higher than the houses aroud us. The Kahas only has the wear layer and the spruce layer, but I like the finish - it has a good feel to it.
The Hartco is 5/8 and 10 ply, so it is sturdy, but it has that slick urithane look and feel to it. As far as the micro bevel, how big of a deal is that?

Marco · 03-10-2005, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slehman

We live in Houston. I know what you're thinking, but we have good drainage around the house and everything is fine in that reguard. We're up a little higher than the houses aroud us. The Kahas only has the wear layer and the spruce layer, but I like the finish - it has a good feel to it.
The Hartco is 5/8 and 10 ply, so it is sturdy, but it has that slick urithane look and feel to it. As far as the micro bevel, how big of a deal is that?

For me its a big negative. Most customers I talk to mention the dirt collection qualities of any groove. In fairness the 'micro' is the smallest, but it also frames each board and detracts from the look. If you are not concerned about the plys, I would heartily recommend the Kahrs. I too like the finish. Follow their specs and you can rely on their warranty. How old is your slab and have you done a moisture test?

slehman · 03-10-2005, 03:23 PM

It was built in '75. I taped plastic down in various locations for about 3 days. There was no sign of any moisture on the plastic or slab, and this was after several days of rain. As far as any type of metered test – no. So, in your opinion, the Kahrs with only 2 plys works ok? I guess that after it's glued down you can't tell if it's two ply or 10 ply.

Marco · 03-10-2005, 04:12 PM

I trust Kahrs. They have been around a long time and if they say they like it enough to sell it an dback it up with warranty, I would say its ok. The additional plys are meant to provide less movement, more stability from moisture.