Thread: DECK Questions
View Single Post
Old 09-28-2011, 02:32 AM   #33
opendoor
Franchise Player
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aegypticus View Post
Prefinished hardwood.

The laminate my parents have is also more durable than our hardwood.
It depends if you're talking about the same species of wood. There's a huge range in wood hardness from Ipe and Jatoba all the way down to Fir and Pine. Regardless of age, harder woods are going to generally be harder than softer ones. If your parents had Oak floors and you had Cherry ones, your floors are likely going to dent more easily. Conversely, if they had old Pine floors and you had brand new Beech flooring, yours would likely stand up better to dents.

Age does play a bit of role because trees are harvested sooner and encouraged to grow faster these days. That means less of the strong heartwood and a wider gap between growth rings which weakens the wood. But brand new Ipe is going to be harder than 100 year old Douglas Fir no matter what just due to its inherent characteristics. When you're talking woods of similar density (or even the same kind of wood), then older wood would probably stand up better, all other things being equal.
opendoor is offline   Reply With Quote