Prime grade is uniform in color, very few, if any knots. Colors in a range from golden brown to red brown heartwood. While both rustic and prime grades contain a minimum of 85% heartwood, rustic has knots. Some might call it character. Prime grade is virtually clear except occasional small pin knots. Color is more consistent and harmonious, with a high degree of red heartwood and limited sapwood.
Rustic and Prime Grade have 85% heartwood & this is why that matters.
Heart Pine floors are sold based on this number which should contain a range, such as 50-80% or in 85%, as with the rustic and prime Caribbean Heart Pine. In fact, these floors contain the highest percentage of heartwood found in any new heart pine except for actual old growth, which is extremely hard to find and awfully expensive. So, with that in mind can you choose which of these boards is new and which are reclaimed? Tell them it came from a two-hundred-year-old Kentucky Horse barn; they will never know if you finish it right!
Prime grade might be what you imagine when thinking about Heart Pine flooring, classic if you will. The colors are more uniform compared to our rustic grade, of course but there does exist enough variance to make it “interesting.” Prime Grade Caribbean Heart Pine will have a few tiny pin knots compared to the larger knots and sapwood in the Rustic grade. Prime Grade wide plank Caribbean Heart Pine screams luxury, email us for recent customer pictures and samples.