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Flooring dealers and contractors looking to branch out into wood species exotic to North America might miss the forest for the trees if they focus exclusively on the technical aspects of installing and finishing these products and neglect the issue of marketing. All the rules that apply to working with domestic woods also apply to imported ones— only in some cases more so. But how the latter species are presented — pitched, if you will — may determine whether the consumer's imagination can be captured at a premium over the more mundane offerings of a competitor.
One thing is for sure: the number of those species is ever-proliferating. Peter Nazarenko of Ligna USA, an importer of engineered flooring, says a look around the recent NWFA convention in Dallas would make that clear. "I saw more variety in one booth than I saw in the whole show six or seven years ago," he says.
"Anybody around the world who makes flooring and who has a pipe dream to expand comes to America," Nazarenko says. "So the consumer, the distributor and the installer here have more choices for wood flooring than anywhere else on the map, by a multiple of 10. A trade show here is like the United Nations."
For the purposes of this article, let's invent the case of a floor man who's never been to a show, and who hails from a region so isolated that even the most popular and widely used exotic species — Brazilian cherry — has yet to make an appearance there. An unlikely case, for sure. "If you ask any installer in America," says Nazarenko, "I'm sure he could tell you something about Brazilian cherry, whereas not too many years ago it was an oak and maple world entirely."
Still, imported species often present a somewhat different picture for a traditional oak-and-maple installer. His supplier provides him with a sample, assurances the material is in stock and some literature — which conspicuously stresses the need for proper acclimation. That's not unlike oak or any other domestic species, but an imported product like Brazilian cherry may need even more attention.
Daniel Boone, NWFA technical director, says, "We get a lot of calls where they've installed exotic woods and now they've got cracks in the floor. They allowed it to acclimate — say, for two weeks. The reality is, you need to acclimate it a lot longer," he says.
Boone has been monitoring a 10,000-square-foot Brazilian cherry job he installed about 10 years ago in Columbia, S.C. As someone who was raised and trained in the flooring business in Florida, Boone has a good deal of experience with exotics.
"I allowed the wood to acclimate at the job site, under normal living conditions, for 90 days. Then I installed the product. I've checked back on it three times over the years," he says. "There's never been a problem."
Ironically, the growing popularity of imported species and technological advances in how it is harvested may be increasing, rather than decreasing, the need for careful acclimation.
Don Bollinger heads Seattle-based Wood Floor Products, a manufacturer of finishing materials, but was formerly in the importing business.
"Many years ago, I imported teak. In those days, it usually took a year or two to get a teak log from the time it was cut to where it was actually milled and made into the lumber.
"That's ideal," Bollinger says, because during that time the wood is air drying — "a critical step with any kind of hardwood before you kiln dry it. It's like before you send a kid to college, he really needs to have a primary and secondary education.
"Today, what little teak they're taking out of Southeast Asia they're helicoptering out, not bringing it out with elephants or floating it down the rivers like they used to," he says. "Things are moving rapidly there, and the same thing is happening in Brazil and elsewhere."
A hard lesson
Imported species often differ from domestic woods in other ways as well. Noticing how his thumbnail isn't making much of a dent in the sample, a flooring installer learns immediately that this stuff is hard.
"Brazilian cherry is almost twice as hard as red oak," Nazarenko says, adding, "it's rare to find an imported wood that's softer than oak."
Those hardness differences may dictate some changes in the way the flooring is installed, sanded and finished.
"Brazilian cherry has a density that's similar to maple," says Bill Price Sr. of Floormasters International, a consulting firm in Standish, Maine. "It doesn't have open pores or cells like oak or ash. So what happens is, if they sand the floor so that it's too smooth, they create a condition where the finish stays right on top — almost like a sheet of glass," Price adds.
This is all too easy to do with today's improved sanding equipment and abrasives, he says.
"Most streaking problems occur with satin or matte sheens, whether in water-based or polyurethane finishes. They put on too many coats, and if the finish isn't applied uniformly you get shiny streaks," he says.
Just like American cherry and a few other domestic species, many exotic species are also more photosensitive than oak.
"Brazilian cherry can change color dramatically over time," Bollinger says. "Savvy floor guys will seal it to keep that reddish tone, because red is the weakest color in the spectrum, and it tends to go darker faster."
Selling diversity
The color is something wood flooring installers can sell. While the durability issue won't hurt, the appearance — grain pattern and color — can be a much more important factor.
In fact, the introduction of exotic woods to the flooring industry — the shrinking of the world, so to speak — has greatly expanded the palette of colors available to the decorator, architectural specifier, and home owner. The range represented by domestics is very narrow in comparison to what's available world-wide.
"You might have a variety of, say, 20 trees in what would be a diverse Appalachian deciduous forest," says Nazarenko. In contrast, an acre of rain forest might contain as many as 300 species, he says. "You have so many more choices."
The sharp contractor can use exotics not only to match a specific customer's desires, but also to stay at the forefront of what's hot in the ever-changing world of interior design.
Christine Coates of Novata, Calif-based Coates and Associates represents Shelman USA and Boral Timber, which import African and Australian wood flooring to North America. She says the golden browns favored in the '70s gave way in the '80s and '90s to reddish brown colors.
"Brazilian cherry really fit the bill," Coates says. Now, she says, "the golden brown and even the golden green colors are really starting to comeback," and this trend is reflected in the fabrics, carpets, and accessories on display at the design shows.
Cameroon, a warm, golden brown wood from Africa, is beginning to draw a lot of attention at such shows, Coates says. "That's why I think we'll also start to see some more interest in iroko and teak, because they fit into that kind of color range, too."
At the far reaches of that range would be spotted gum, a "rich chocolate brown" wood from Australia, and movingui from Africa, "the brightest yellow floor I have ever seen."
Some of these colors could be approximated by staining domestic species. However, "I can take a T-shirt and dye it mink brown, or I can show you a real mink," Coates says. "The color may be similar but the depth and the texture are very different. And it's as true when you compare a cherry stained oak or walnut-stained oak with the real thing."
The exotic woods can be very rich in appearance just as they are and don't need to be stained, she says. "In some cases they're not recommended for staining."
Coates points out "that's taking one step out of the finishing process," saving the contractor at least a day's work on the installation.
Many of the exotic woods may cost 20 to 50 percent more than native species, but that's only the material cost, which typically represents only a fraction of the contract price of a given job, Coates says. Installation time is the same.
"Consumers understand the value of hardwood flooring," she says, "and they are definitely looking for something different" and are willing to pay a premium for it.
Duncan Matthews of DPM Trading,based in Purcellville, Va., imports Tasmanian oak and Australian cypress from his native country, exports American species, and trades in exotic woods from nearly everywhere. He believes bragging rights may be the most important attribute of exotic woods in the eyes of the consumer.
"Some of the exotics are more durable, but I don't believe that's the biggest thing. Instead, the consumer wants to bring someone into the house and have them say: 'Wow! What's that?'" Matthews says.
The fact that the wood may be from some far-off place only intrigues consumers all the more. There's a romantic aspect to it, Matthews believes.
Getting educated
To sell and install woods properly, however, flooring dealers and contractors need to know what they're selling and installing. A review of the literature, for example, will turn up warnings about potential allergic reactions with some species. Although Brazilian cherry is not known as a major culprit, most wood species can make some people uncomfortable or even sick.
"Everybody is different," says Don Bollinger. "The dust of a lot of the exotics can be very toxic, depending on the person," he says. "There can be some real strong repercussions."
Sanders are most at risk, of course, but the dust can affect installers, homeowners and bystanders as well.
"I tell guys that if they're going to work with a new species, at the very least take a little bit of the dust and tape it to the underside of their arms," Bollinger says. "If you do that, you're going to notice it if it starts itching or bothering you, and then you can take it off," he says. "But if you moisten it, any reaction is going to be amplified. I don't want to make anybody ill. I've been there and done that and it's no fun."
"The other thing is, when you're installing and you get a splinter in your hand — get it out now. Use some type of a topical cleansing agent like alcohol. You don't want to leave it in there to fester," Bollinger warns.
NWFA's Daniel Boone suggests asking suppliers for MSDSs (Material Safety Data Sheets). Some manufacturers and importers are providing more information with their products, he says.
Dick Garwood works for Shelman USA, an African wood flooring importer. "We have six species that we bring into the United States and we have architectural spec sheets for all those," he says. "And then we also have photograph sheets — the customers want to get an idea of what the floor would look life in their homes."
Learning about various species and keeping the names straight is sometimes a challenge, since many species are imported and sold under a variety of names. Brazilian cherry, for example, is also known as courbaril, West Indian locust, jatoba or one of maybe a dozen other names throughout the world.
Research will tell a flooring dealer o rinstaller that courbaril is a huge canopy tree that grows from southern Mexico all through Central America and the West Indies down into Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.
There's no doubt that the term Brazilian cherry has helped sales nationally. After all, it's the top-selling exotic. It's been marketed most successfully. But is what used to be a rare, foreign, and expensive wood now just another building material?
"Many manufacturers and importers make that product available and have begun to compete on price rather than differentiating the product in any sense," says Christine Coates. "Unfortunately, it's become like a commodity item."
Brazilian cherry, however, and perhaps santos mahogany, are the exceptions rather than the rule. Otherwise, exotic woods are still "very much a niche market," says Matthews.
For example, according to Garwood "all of the African woods coming in —not counting what's used for engineered flooring — account for about maybe four or five million dollars a year in sales. That's it. It's not a big market — but it's growing. Is it ever going to take the place of red oak? Absolutely not," says Garwood.
But for wood flooring installers and dealers who want to remain competitive, learning how to sell, install, sand and finish imported species might be one of the most important educational experiences of their careers.