Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Tigerwood Flooring

Back in the “old days” when white floors were really cool and waterbase finishes were still in their infancy, there was a beautiful exotic hardwood species just starting to make headway in the North American flooring market called Goncalo Alves. That name, however, didn’t really catch on in the flooring world so the more eloquent trade name Tigerwood was coined and the rest is history so-to-speak.

Tigerwood trees can be found from Mexico all the way down through Central & South America. The color of the heartwood is a stunning golden brownish-orange to reddish-brown with subtle to very defined black striping throughout. As the wood ages it will darken to a deep reddish-brown color accentuating its characteristic stripes. The grain of the wood is interwoven or wavy and sometimes straight with a fine texture. Tigerwood has a hardness rating of around 2000 psi, which puts it just under Brazilian Cherry at 2350. It also has an average stability rating for an exotic and historically performs well in service.


One of the most commonly asked questions about Tigerwood has got to be, “How much striping can I expect to see?” This is a slippery slope much like, “How many quartersawn boards will be in my Rift & Qtr’d shipment?” There are some broad parameters, but it really just depends on the luck of the draw. As a general rule, when it comes to Tigerwood, we usually tell people 50% of the boards will have some degree of striping and 50% won’t. Don’t hold us to this however. Like we said before, it just depends.

Stone Wood Design Center imports Tigerwood Flooring in 3/4" x 3”, 3-1/4”, 4”, & 5” widths. The product is typically Clear grade with 1’-7’ lengths and is available both Prefinished & Unfinished.

If you have any questions regarding this species, or any of our other products, please don’t hesitate to contact us.http://stonewoodstore.com

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