Bruce Hardwood Floors

Bruce Hardwood Floors is probably the most recognized hardwood flooring company in the United States. Bruce is a division of Armstrong Floors, makers of hardwood, laminate, ceramic, vinyl sheet, vinyl tile, and linoleum flooring. Bruce offers a wide variety of selections in both engineered, solid, floating floors, and parquet floors. Many of the Bruce Hardwood Floors product lines are sold in home centers like Home Depot, 84 Lumber, and Lowe’s. Bruce offers hardwood floors in ash, birch, cherry, maple, oak, pecan, exotic marbeau, and other wood species. Flooring comes in strips, planks, and parquet squares. In general strips are less than 3” wide, planks are greater than 3” wide, and parquet squares are 12” by 12”. Bruce hardwood floors, like those of most manufacturers, are sold by the square foot.

Bruce categorizes flooring materials by “Good” (the Value Leaders line), “Better” (the Kensington line) and “Best” (the Benchmark line). The difference in quality is the amount of “allowable character.” “Allowable character” refers to the number of knots, streaks, pinholes, and other naturally-occurring wood phenomena. In the “Good” collections you’ll find the greatest number of knots, pinholes, or mineral streaks – in the “Best” category, you’ll find the least.

Which is the right grade for you? It depends on your application – most people choose from styles in the “Best” category for a formal room like a living or dining room and choose “Good” quality hardwood flooring for mud rooms, dens, or other less “visible” rooms. The grade you choose will depend on your personal design and style preference – some homeowners like a more “rustic” look that “Good” grades provide, while others seek a more elegant and refined look provided by “Best” grades. Take time to check out the wide variety of hardwood floors Bruce manufactures to pick the right style and grade for you.

Bruce Hardwood Floors manufactures both unfinished and prefinished hardwood floors. If you need to match existing woodwork in your home, you might want to choose an unfinished hardwood floor so you can stain it to blend in with the existing woodwork. If you don’t need to match a particular wood or color, prefinished hardwood floors offer certain advantages: longer finish warranties, stain that’s been uniformly applied, and easier and cheaper installation.

Bruce use a very durable finish called Dura-Luster® Plus. Bruce Hardwood Floors also offers commercial-rated products for commercial environments, although in most cases those finishes won’t be needed for home applications.
Like many manufacturers, Bruce also offers repair and touch-up kits to allow you to repair chips or small amounts of damage; in more severe cases you can replace individual boards if necessary.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2006