The particular wood used in our installation was called Santos Mahogany. It's one of many exotic hardwoods available through International Hardwood Flooring. As a rule, these woods are much harder than the hardwoods you might purchase elsewhere.

The pre-finished products offer a number of advantages. First, as we demonstrated, you get to see what the finished floor is going to look like right away. There's no wondering on the homeowner's part about how the project is going to look after sanding, staining and applying the coats of polyurethane. You simply put down the floor and you're done. In many cases, this can make installing a wood floor more of a do-it-yourself project than it ever was before.

No doubt it's still a rather large job to do, and in many cases, you'll still want to call in a professional, as we did. But eliminating the finishing work goes a long way toward making this type of work practical for the homeowner to try on his or her own. Another benefit of the International Hardwood Flooring pre-finished products is that a homeowner can refinish them later. Years after the installation, should a new owner decide to fix up the look of the floor, he or she can simply go through the same steps of sanding and applying polyurethane as you would with any hardwood floor.

We mentioned that International Hardwood Flooring puts six coats of U-V acrylic onto the wood. Most companies that refinish hardwood floors apply two coats of polyurethane. In some cases, you'll find some professionals who will apply three. Six coats are virtually unheard of. International Hardwood Flooring's parent company, Thompson Mahogany, also supplies exotic hardwoods for the decking industry.

One of these, Ipe`, is naturally resistant to rot and decay and is eight times harder than California Redwood. The company guarantees the wood for 20 years - without any preservative treatment. Ipe` is an extremely dense, tight grained wood. In most cases, its color is a deep rich brown, although some pieces display red and amber tones. Over time, it will turn to a soft silver color. Ipe` is the wood chosen by Atlantic City for its famed boardwalk.

City officials there say they were replacing pressure treated pine every seven years. With Ipe`, they expect the deck to last for 25-30 years. That longevity makes the product cost-effective.

One benefit to Ipe` is that it is particularly resistant to fire. In fact, the National Fire Protection Association gives the wood an "A"-rating in terms of its resistance to fire.

installation of this type of wood is a bit different from traditional products. Because the wood is so dense, it's almost impossible to drive a nail through it. If you could, you'd probably split the wood. Therefore, Thompson Mahogany recommends that deck installer's drill and screw each piece into place.

Contact Information:

International Hardwood Flooring or Thompson Mahogany
7400 Edmund Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19136
(800) 338-7481

Or, try shopping for WOOD FLOORING online with iFLOOR.com