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Our favorite Finishes

Home - Our favorite Finishes

SYP Direct sells White Oak solid hardwood flooring
28 May

North Carolina

Our favorite Finishes

In 2018 SYP Direct was named Houzz Hardwood flooring dealer of the year in South Carolina, but North Carolina was the #1 state for sales. In fact, the two Carolina’s have both been in our top 5 states by sales volume for 14 years in a row. The reasons are not all about style and taste because when are talking about North Carolina and ‘her’ sister to the south, the population varies dramatically from coastal to mountain with everything in between. One of our first big trips was to the Raleigh area where we visited our floor. (The Mercantile Antique Mall). Photo

North Carolina Mercantile Antique mall

Lye treatment

North Carolina finish to order Heart Pine

https://premierefinishingandcoating.com/Reidsville, North Carolina is the home of Premiere Finish & Coating. Please visit their site, the technology is state of the art. “If you can dream it, we can create it”. SYP Direct specializes in unfinished Southern Pine and Heart Pine, but our premium services include ‘finish to order’ flooring.

Our partnership with Premiere centers on finishing our authentic long gorgeous pine, with one caveat. We ship our unfinished pine from our mill in Alabama, sometimes we have floors waiting to be ‘finished to order’. That is a fancy way of saying, not sold yet; and or if the timing is right we can share a ride from Alabama for your pick up. Call us today to find out what we have in Reidsville. 1-888-286-2057

Premiere Finishing & Coating has expanded its capabilities in a significant way by installing two new production lines with enhanced finishing capacity for cabinetry, doors, frames, moldings, panels, and other mill-work.

North Carolina the best deal in Heart Pine- Bona Natural Traffic on 1 x 8 x 12 Mill Run Heart Pine

The photo below or of samples of our finished order bona natural traffic on our 1 x 8 mill run heart pine those floors are finished tongue in groove and left in all 12 foot boards quite unique and available for pickup in Reidsville North Carolina

Bona Traffic for commercial and residential along with Monocoat by Rubio are our two go to finish products. For more information send us an email requesting information about the process of ‘finish to order’, and or follow the links.

Mill Run Heart Pine finish to order Bona Traffic natural
Finish to order

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Box store pine floors are short and this are 14 feet long
03 May

Box Store Pine Floors

Wood Floor Shopping, Misconceptions, Misdirections and Misinformation, Our favorite Finishes

Box store pine floors are not as good as ours and they are more expensive. Let me repeat, apples to apples they way more expensive. And even their cheaper stuff is stupid expensive for what it is, or certainly what it is not. In world where laminate and hardwood are regularly used to market some floor cover, you might want to use a healthy skepticism when floor shopping. Rule number 1- or at least the question to ask when promised a lifetime transferable warranty; so forever?

My name is Jason and this is about box store pine floors

Why is this guy putting his name is the heading? Great question. The same reason you are going to see the term ‘box store pine floors’ over and over; we do not pay for advertising. Much easier said than done, if you are not on the first page its tough. So my great Do It Yourself project has been this website. I wrote every word and am responsible for every typo; but nowhere on this site will I lie or show you a picture that is not our floor and client (client proxy, i.e. builders). Welcome to SYP Direct

Box Store Pine Floors are short, by definition they are not select.

“Select” Knotty Pine and assume it means ‘the best’. No, not all. Select, by definition, indicates ‘hand selected’ during the sorting process. Only problem, it is all ‘hand sorted’ unless you are keeping defects in the grade. Lumber Liquidators does sell select pine, it was selected to be sold for pulp or thrown away, but still selected.

Select is hand selected

Select, or hand select wood floors all come from the same mill. Wait Jason, all box store pine comes from the same mill, right? Think about that for a minute- what size mill, what mill would be willing to sell size at “discount”- not in the real world. Sounds good in sales pitch, but Southern Pine Flooring mills do no business directly with any of box stores. Lumber mills, yes but that is part of the problem- read What is Southern Pine.

The mercantile antique mall
The Mercantile Antique Mall
Display the colors and character of the knots in our rustic southern pine floors
Prefinished wide plank heart pine
Southern Yellow Pine Direct the best prices per square foot
Antiqued Southern Pine
Box Store Pine Floors
Compare to Box store Pine

Box stores are great, box store pine floors are not even good compared to YOUR options.

Did you know that we can take our 12′ boards and finish them based on your specifications. Yup, finished to order. Not to be confused with prefinished box store pine floors. A factory or flat line finish is not something that becomes affordable without some volume, so sometimes smaller projects will not work, for people with budgets. In fact, you can finish your cabinets, stairs and trim, all in the same place.

3/4 x 6 7/8 (1 x 8) Mill Run Heart Pine- What is Mill Run?

Our Mill Run Heart Pine, might also be seen in our photos as Character Grade which we had to change a few years back because it is not character grade pine. It is Heart Pine, in 12′ boards sorting with same concept as Euro Character White Oak, we took out the Euro of course. However, Character Pine is now being used to define tavern and cabin grade which a finish. My cousin Bub would call that lipstick on a pig.

Box store pine floors priced over $6.00 check these out

All of these floors were less than than anything you find shopping through box store pine floors. Long boards- Amazing Character.

Wide plank Southern Pine Flooring
Box Store Pine Floors
Box Store Pine Floors
Box Store Pine Floors
Finished and yet UN-named
The real milk paint coat 1 of 2 after sanding
Compare these 12′ boards to box store pine

 

In conclusion, we love Home Depot and Lowes- but their prefinished solid pine floors are a mass produced product.

Caveat’ to that statement, we need lead time and you need to be doing more than one room. I wish it were different but this process is not off the shelf, custom is the proper description. Luxury flooring that beats box store pine prices, no kidding. Not to mention we can finish wide planks and 12′ boards, ask them that at lumber liquidators or whatever they call themselves now. Mill Run Heart Pine, finished clear or tint with topcoat, plus aluminum oxide UV protection- the price depends upon volume, call us now. 888 286 2057 or fill out the contact form.

MORE FROM SOUTHERN YELLOW PINE DIRECT- Our Houzz Pages

White/Blue/Gray- Beach Floors

Made in America- Southern Pine & Alabama Heart Pine

Caribbean Heart Pine

IN A HURRY- TEXT much faster 601 826 1296
Text us now 601 826 1296
Southern Yellow Pine Direct offer homeowners the reliability of an A+ rated BBB company; the best quality, pricing and service bar none. We operate under an “old school” philosophy that the customer is always right. We make sure you are just that by educating and dispelling myths about Southern Pine and Heart Pine flooring.
Remember we are a mill to order manufacturer of unfinished and prefinished Southern Pine, including our speciality Heart Pine. Our lead times are normally about two weeks, with Hardwoods and Imports the lead times vary and that is an understatement. 2 days -2 months has bee the answer since COVID. But things are imporving, as White Oak prices continue to fall. (Jason Howard 9/9/2022)
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Finish to order classic rustic southern pine floors.
18 Oct

Finish to order

Finish and Install, Our favorite Finishes

Finish to order takes mill direct one step further by sending our floors to Premiere Finishing in Reidsville North Carolina where they are transformed into a luxury custom floor. Before reading any further I need to share the truth about finish to order (factory) versus site finished wood floors.

Finish to order versus Site Finished solid wood floors

The best pine finishes are the ones that create gorgeous floors. Over the years we have come to trust all of the following; Monocoat, Milk Paint, Bona , WOCA and Tung Oils. Milk Paint tung oil blends, Monocoat by Rubio, Bona High Traffic, WOCA oils are all 100% approved to finish our Southern Pine, Heart Pine and we have the pictures to prove it!

Hand finished inspiration for finish to order "tank"
Monocoat by Rubio 3 colors
Finish to order custom new heart pine floors
Finished to order Wide Plank
Mill Run Heart Pine finish to order Bona Traffic natural
Finish to order
The durability of SYP using Monocoat and Bona Finish
Monocoat and Bona
Finish to order Caribbean Heart Pine Monocoat Pure
Monocoat Pure Finish
Local installers found for DIY customers
Rocky Branch

Prefinished floors are created, marketed then sold; finish to order is all no choice no marketing.

Prefinished mass produced floors are based on last years best selling styles, altering it slightly and changing the name. To be clear, we are talking about the most common species found in box stores, White Oak and Red Oak. Furthermore, this has nothing to do with engineered, LVT or laminate- real wood only.

Prefinished laminate hardwood floors- the words do not belong together but just go to a box store.

Laminate is not wood, it is a form of petroleum based 100% chemicals and it certainly is not hard. So why do they use these terms? The film they use on top of the chemical based flooring “tattoo” is essentially a photo of wood. The word hardwood is used to identify Walnut, Hickory, Maple, White and Red Oak. Using it to describe laminate makes no sense whatsoever until you consider that everything box stores is for the benefit of shareholders, not you.

  • Repurpose real wood
  • Glue down Southern Pine
IN A HURRY- TEXT much faster 601 826 1296
Text us now 601 826 1296
Southern Yellow Pine Direct offer homeowners the reliability of an A+ rated BBB company; the best quality, pricing and service bar none. We operate under an “old school” philosophy that the customer is always right. We make sure you are just that by educating and dispelling myths about Southern Pine and Heart Pine flooring.
Remember we are a mill to order manufacturer of unfinished and prefinished Southern Pine, including our speciality Heart Pine. Our lead times are normally about two weeks, with Hardwoods and Imports the lead times vary and that is an understatement. 2 days -2 months has bee the answer since COVID. But things are imporving, as White Oak prices continue to fall. (Jason Howard 9/9/2022)
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  • Rocky Branch Knotty Pine Monocoat
  • Custom edges frm diy customer
  • from CR browneconstruction
  • wide-plank-new-heart-pine
  • caribbean prefinished vintage
  • NJ-7-prime-Caribbean-Heart-Pine
10 Apr

Best Pine Floors

Our favorite Finishes

The best Southern Pine floor depends on the buyer. For example, there are some people who want knots, but just not “too many of them”. Rustic does not equate to defects or that many knots. In our #2 grade, for example, would be called heart pine when purchased in a package or from a box store.  If a customer wants zero knots, we have that grade with our (c and better) clear grade southern pine.

7″ wide plank Mill Run Heart Pine finished in 7-10′ lengths.

Get a sample

Southern Yellow Pine Direct is your local source for the best pine floors along with the best pine flooring prices.  However, we are so much more than just flooring. Custom stairs, lap siding, gap siding, post, and beams, shipped directly to your job site. SYP Direct works with your contractor if you purchase your own materials. The best pine floors rarely found within bundled services, why? Simple, the “best for you” are solid real wood which most take too much time. However, the length of floor provides clues to the origins, i.e. the mill. Say no to bundled services, contract your own floors. SYP Direct provides all the support you need to convince or find a new installer.

Why does SYP Direct have the best pine floors?

The best pine floors, the best pine flooring prices and customer service beyond compare. An A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, in our business, tells you all you need to know about the best pine floors. The best considers, price, % floors returned, quality (i.e. waste factor) and other variables based on where you live. Never do we misrepresent our flooring, in fact educating our buyers is part of our day to day business. We are polite and operate with a transparency that shocks most first-time callers, “we seem too good to be true” has been said on many occasions.

Best pine floors

The best pine floors and ceiling to match
#2 Heart Pine

A + BBB

The best heart pine and pine floors

SYP Direct Pine Flooring Reviews

At SYP Direct we are proud of our pine flooring reviews, we earned our A+ Better Business Bureau rating. So when we see large companies not playing by the rules we get upset, but we have discovered a new low. Purchasing pine flooring reviews and likes while completely suppressing actual customer reviews. Big deal? Search engines use reviews to rank, Google certainly places importance on them when they are Google reviews!

How do the purchase reviews? Not in name, but through a third party ‘management’ company who orchestrates the entire social media search charade. Ask them for a local review, a happy client who might share a photo perhaps? Clover Lea pine floors from Lumber Liquidators has a 4.5 star review, nonsense. Do your research but ask questions locally, do not rely on the public relations firm of a billion dollar company repairing a terrible reputation for dishonest practices.

Built by Customer Service

Read the reviews, the thread is customer service along with the best pine floors. SYP Direct is not magic, things do go wrong, but we fix them. Customer service is the same with 200 to 2000 square feet, furthermore, we are willing educate our clients.  In fact, we validate what they know to be true, that real wood is better than fake. Going to bat for the homeowner is not over and above, it is what we do every day. Furthermore, we do increase the ‘best pine flooring prices’ on smaller orders. 

Wide Plank 1 x 10 New Heart Pine
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1x4 Southern Yellow Clear Pine few knots
28 Sep

1×4 Clear Southern Pine

Our favorite Finishes, Wood Floor Shopping

Clear aka C and Better Southern Pine

Clear pine is tricky, how so? Well true C grade looks like our main picture, without any vertical grain or heartwood. However, you have Clear Heart Pine is not not C grade, but may or may not be vertical grain. Furthermore, Souther Pine may be quartersawn, producing vertical grain without heartwood.

SYP Direct is proud to offer our 1×4 Clear Southern Pine for $3.45 per square foot. Now that the price thing is out of the way, let me tell you more about the grade. If you are curious why Southern Pine is desribed as a 1×4 when it is actually neither one of those numbers, blame dimensional lumber. The terminology is what it is, but remember not all Southern Pine is created equally. 

More about our Clear Southern Pine

Clear Southern Pine has a formal name, C & Better and it has “altered” names such as Select or Prime. Our C & Better is available in vertical grain (live sawn) Heart Pine, which is actually hand selected or just normal knot free Southern Pine. Vertical grain only available in 1×4, C & Better Southern Pine in 1 x 6 and 1 x 8, which are 5 1/8 and 6 7/8 respectively, both are cheaper than the 1×4 FYI.

Unfinished 5" C & Better

5 clear aka c and better southern pine

Finished for customer

Finished to order 1x4 Clear Southern Pine flooring

What is vertical grain?

Vertical grain is not quartersawn, but all quartersawn has vertical grain among other variations. Ok, forget that stuff, vertical grain heart pine is the middle of the tree- our 1 x 4 is no exception. Can vertical grain heart pine have knots?  Yes, but they will be very tiny, pin knots if any.

Vertical grain clear heart pine

Vertical Grain New Heart Pine flooring from syp direct

Painting Clear Southern Pine

Clear grade is normally what people use when painting, white wash is great example. We see painting used for walls- we offer our customers:

Unfinished Rustic Southern Pine  T/G, V Groove, Gap Siding, Shiplap

Unfinished Clear Southern Pine T/G, V Groove, Gap Siding, Shiplap

For more information and or samples contact us now.

Walls and Ceilings

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Tung oil on coat on Caribbean Heart Pine
16 Jan

Urethane or Oil Finish

Finish and Install, Our favorite Finishes

Natural matte finished heart pine using Bona Natural high traffic

Comparing urethane versus Oil finishes

The main distinction between urethane or an oil finish; one sits on top the other penetrates. Beyond that simple definition you get into specific products and there are too many for that exercise. Deciding which finish is best for your project depends upon several variables. Urethane finishes form a layer of protection on top of the wood surface while oils penetrate. Urethane finishes are extremely durable and are easy to clean with a dry mop and hardwood floor cleaner. However, this durability comes with a price; a urethane finish can make it hard to do spot repairs. And finally, as the urethane wear layer breaks down, the entire floor will have to be stripped & refinished. Whereas, if maintained properly an oil finished floor never needs to be stripped like a urethane finish.

Natural Oils

Natural Oils

Oil finished floors, except Monocoat, take more time during installation and need a bit more maintenance. Most oil finishes will offer specialized soaps designed to protect the look and durability of your floor. Now for the best part, remember natural oil finishes penetrate the wood, bonding on a molecular level, meaning what? They are much easier to fix when scratched or for spot repairs. Yes, that up front time and the annual care pay off if the floor needs repair. And finally, change is so much easier with oils as stripping a floor requires harsh chemicals and much more labor.

Monocoat by Rubio

Bona High Traffic

Bona high traffic, with the Bona Craft Oil 2K topcoat, offer an amazing natural look. For an oil finish Bona dries exceptionally clean and clear with tremendous protection. Bona Craft Oil 2K has all the benefits of a natural oil finish plus the performance and innovation you expect from Bona. Bona Craft Oil is ready for light use in just 8 hours. An extremely high oil viscosity allows this product to penetrate deep into your wood, in just one coat. The Craft Oil 2K products allow to blend (or apply two colors) for a custom look. And finally, lifetime support from Bona provides reassurance that you have an expert opinion not trying to sell you something.

 

100% Pure Tung oil is too difficult for most people to use by itself as a finish. You apply tung oil just like linseed oil or oil/varnish blend, but you have to sand tung oil after every coat, not just after the first, and it takes five to seven coats, allowing two to three days drying time between each, to achieve a smooth, attractive sheen.

Milk Paint Tung Oil Blend

SYP Direct offers #2 Knotty Southern Yellow Knotty pine with Tung Oil finish

Blended Tung Oil with Milk Paint

One of our favorite finishes for our Southern Pine comes from Milk Paint. Milk Paints 50/50  blend of Pure Tung Oil and natural, food grade thinner. One-part Pure Tung Oil mixed to one-part Citrus Solvent. Most projects require the thick viscosity of Pure Tung Oil to be thinned for better absorption into the surface. Half & Half is the perfect ratio for projects large and small. Milk Paint has done the mixing, so you do not have to DIY.

Why blend Tung Oil?

Pure Tung Oil is too thick to penetrate most surfaces. Thinning with a natural solvent helps the oil penetrate deeper into the material. The 1 to 1 or Half & Half ratio works great all-around for most surfaces like new raw wood, butcher block countertops, cutting boards, concrete, terra cotta clay pots, stone, and slate. This finish is also food contact safe! Generally, 3 to 5 coats are needed to seal and waterproof. This all-natural finish does take 7 to 10 days to develop a water resistance and a full 30 days for a complete cure.

Bona High Traffic Natural

Bona natural high traffic pine flooring
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South Carolina Pine Floors before and after
26 May

Site finished

Finish and Install, Our favorite Finishes

Site Finished the Advantages and Disadvantages

Time, the amount of time and effort to site finish and install real wood versus factory prefinished versions is substantial. The simplicity of factory finishes are an advantage as well. All you do is, acclimate and install it, with a few cuts here an there. Of course, prefinished wood floors offer very few choices as they sell to  the masses. Color, widths, edges, length of floors, multi color and stain options are all wide open with a site finish. Beach blue, very popular with actual homeowners but not mass produced very often.  Check out Beach Floors from SYP Direct customers. 

Factory prefinished pine lipstick on a pig Lipstick on a pig

Putting ‘lipstick on a pig’ means you are attempting to fool someone, for one reason or another. Prefinished pine floors mass produced for liquidation stores are the absolute perfect example of this practice. A 50% measure of heartwood meets standards for a Heart Pine, it our minimum.  However 50% at Lumber Liquidators has a different meaning. Every other board will have some heartwood, seriously the lengths are 8″ and up- do you see the problem? One of the worst, prefinished Caribbean Heart Pine which you will find advertised at cheaper prices than the unfinished version. How? Lipstick baby! The prefinished version is not the same 85% heart pine, not even close but is allowed to share the name. All we can say, Caveat Emptor or buyer beware. .

How long should floors acclimate before installation? How long does acclimating a wood floor take? Acclimation is not about time but moisture content. For example, Southern Pine boards should acclimate to 10% and White Oak, 6The first thing we must understand about acclimating a wood floor; wood is hygroscopic.

What does this mean for your floor? 

In laymen terms,  it will absorb (expand) moisture when exposed to high humidity and will expel (shrink) it in low humidity environments. So, if we do not have the boards at the same moisture content this process will not be done with a consistency and could result in separation. This is true for both finished and unfinished floors.

Can you glue down ¾ solid real wood?

Yes, if you use a polymer-based adhesive such as Bostiks. Bostik’s Ultra Set “Single-Step2” is a high-performance adhesive with built in moisture control and a sound reduction membrane. Using Bostik’s helps maintain the long-term durability of your Floor based on its polymer technology, allowing for movement just like nails. Bostiks contains one percent recycled rubber and is a certified Zero VOC product along with the Greenguard stamp. Bostiks is the only adhesive SYP Direct recommends for gluing down solid wood.

Southern Pine floors from Montana and other states

Buying a wood floor unfinished means you are going to finish on site versus prefinished. A site finished floor using Tung Oil much different than Monocoat, more on that later. Site finished wood floors start with unfinished boards, planed smooth and ready for sanding. Site finishing means you are limited by the imagination not inventory. While prefinished floors, which are mass produced, have 10 colors with 100 different names, site finished floors have no limit. However, site finishing real wood certainly has drawbacks centered around inconvenience. 

Which one is the best factory or site finish?

So what is best, buying unfinished or prefinished wood floors? Unfinished floors must be site finished, while prefinished floors are finished in a factory.  Site finishing unfinished boards allows the artisan to create and no factory finish compares with the look of a hand finished floor. Having said that, installing prefinished floors take much less time than its real wood counterpart.

site finished wide plank Heart Pine using 2 C process from Monocoat

4 color blend Monocoat

Site finished or Prefinished

Prefinished hardwood flooring has been finished prior to arrival. These floors have been run through a flat line factory finish. Many of you recognize the term UV coating, which always means a factory coating for protection applied on top of the stain. Site finished wood floors start with unfinished boards, limited by the imagination not inventory. 

.

How to find a real wood pro

How do you find a professional willing to install and finish real floors? Yes, within a budget helps define the question, so put affordable in front of professional. Wait, capable or experienced should be part of the equation, too. So now the question becomes, how to find a willing, experienced, affordable professional to finish your real wood floor? As you search, remember time is money and real floors take time, but they are an investment not a lease. You will be surprised with the resources we offer once who are ‘in the fold’.  Get the floor of your dreams or at least some honesty-hope to hear from you soon.

Tung oil and southern pineTung Oil the best example of “time is money”

The problem with a Tung oil finish is about time not the look or protection. After drying time, this oil finish forms a protective final coat strong enough that to be used by ships, on the deck. Yes, Ships used Tung Oil because of the ease of repair, yes ships on water. We realize you thought boats had Vinyl or Engineered hulls because the way each handles water but no, all real wood finished with natural oils. Tung oil is FDA approved as food safe, butcher blocks, and cutting boards where it again encounters water. As for Southern Pine and Heart Pine our experience has been with blends or additive products, i.e. not 100% pure Tung Oil. However, as long as you are using 50% or greater Tung Oil you can get that amazing protection which looks great on pine

Face Nailing? Face nailing is when the nail is driven perpendicular into a piece of material, with the nail head exposed. We suggest that our customers face nail wide plank Heart Pine when the width gets to 10″ and up. Although our slow-growing Longleaf Heart Pine, as with our 85% heartwood Caribbean Pine, are far more stable than box store versions, we still suggest a little extra prevention in the wider planks. So, while you do not have to face nail our Wide Plank Heart Pine, and in most cases, all will be well, it is still better safe than sorry when the solution takes such little effort or resources.

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3 1/4 prime grade CHP
22 Apr

CHP customer Pictures

Our favorite Finishes

Caribbean Heart Pine pictures help answer the questions what is CHP and how does it compare to domestic New Heart Pine? At SYP Direct we do not stage pictures, these are actual Caribbean Heart Pine customer pictures.  Both Rustic and Prime grades are represented, all 100% solid real wood with 85% heartwood. The percentage heart is very important as a 50% version of CHP exist in prefinished form. Rustic grade Caribbean Heart Pine has knots, character with red to dark brown colors. Prime grade contains tiny pine knots, if any. The colors are more uniform as the contain less sap than the rustic grade.

Where can you find CHP pictures?

Caribbean Heart Pine pictures, identified as such, are few and far between Caribbean Pine, from Honduras (our source) grows on plantations just like in the United States. A secret no others company will tell you, it grows close to the equator, sub tropics, you know central America? So what? Well, this combination creates heart content (CHP customer pictures) much faster than any North American species. One place where you can find Caribbean Heart Pine pictures is our clients who allow us to show them off. However, some clients like builders may want to rename the species to old growth or even antique, easy enough with up to 90% heart content.

How does CHP compare to Longleaf Heart Pine

Rustic Caribbean Heart Pine has the color and character of full mature old growth Longleaf pine. In fact, with the right finish the look of Antique Reclaimed Heart Pine is possible. Prime grade is what we think of as ‘old school’ Heart Pine. Prime has few knots and clean look which perfect for formal settings. Both grades have 85% (minimum) heartwood on the face of every board. However, rustic will contain more sapwood and color variance- similar to Longleaf Heart Pine. Prime grade will have very few if any pin knots and a much more consistent color pattern.

1 x 4 Prime

1 x 4 Prime Grade 85% Caribbean Heart Pine

Caribbean Heart Pine

Caribbean Heart Pine pictures showing 7" prime grade
Prime Grade Wide Plank

More about Caribbean Heart Pine

Caribbean Heart Pine is a beautiful wood prized throughout the world for its distinctive grain, rich, lustrous patina, and durable hardness. Our Caribbean Heart Pine is uniform in color and will range from golden brown to red brown heartwood to lighter brown sapwood. Caribbean Heart Pine deepens in dark red color over time. Perhaps one of the most desirable traits of Caribbean Heart Pine is that natural beauty becomes more evident with time. As the wood ages, its patina emerges providing a palette of rich, vibrant colors ranging from yellows to vibrant reds and coppers that deepen and intensify with age. Below we have a portfolio from Facebook click here to visit Houzz and our more Caribbean Heart Pine pictures.

Caribbean Heart Pine pictures

Pictures matter only if the person showing them to you can tell you what you are looking at, right? If you at our Caribbean Heart Pine pictures they are not the standard shots you see everywhere, they are our customers. Do it yourself customers have created some of the most amazing Caribbean Heart Pine floors. You should be next.

More Pictures

Customer CHP

Houzz Caribbean Heart Pine customer pictures

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1x10x12 wide plank new heart pine flooring
05 Jun

Prefinished Heart Pine

Heart Pine, Our favorite Finishes

Prefinished Heart Pine- (July 20 2021) SYP Direct has 3600 square feet of 1 x 8 x 12′ New Heart Pine with our finish partner in North Carolina. We are simply waiting for the next customer to tell us how they want to finish their new Prefinished Heart Pine floor! We discuss some of your finish options below, but these are by no means all we offer. Along with Bona and Monocoat, SYP offers 12 standard colors. Choose weather to have ends matched or leave them straight, no bevel..no problem. Do not wait, first come first serve.

Southern Yellow Pine Direct offers small batch Prefinished Heart Pine- unique business model designed for homeowners. Inventory, of our own floors is rare, we finish to order. However, our production schedule means lead times are max 3 weeks unless choosing between all the options takes longer than expected.

What is the best pine finish?

Normally Prefinished Heart Pine indicates 3 1/4 or 5 1/8 widths, short lengths and rarely is the best pine finish used. Why? Money of course! Manufactures of prefinished pine use truckload scraps, or shorts to create the standard 1-7′ lengths, with average board around 18″ long. At SYP Direct we believe you deserve better, including the best pine finish on top of highest quality floors. We are going to take a look at three of our favorites, Bona, Monocoat, Minwax and Woca.

Minwax

The Minwax story dates back to 1904. Founder Arthur Harrison developed a product designed to keep moisture out of buildings. It was not until 1940 that Minwax became a product for Do It Yourself homeowners. ” The product itself was redesigned and improved for homeowner use, and the wax in the finish was replaced by varnish gums, making the new Wood Finish™ the first modern “quick-drying” product.”

Minwax in our shop

At SYP Direct we have been a long time user of Minwax products. For example, attempting to match an old floor or replicate one a from customer photo, i.e. a magazine. Minwax is easy to work with, in fact, we use it all the time in our shop. Remember,  be sure and precondition the sample before you apply any stain. This applies to any finish not just Minwax, furthermore pre-stain treatment prevents splotching. The pictures below, from our  shop, some are rougher than others; remember we are usually just trying to match a floor.

5" Caribbean Heart Pine

Caribbean Heart Pine with Monocoat Pure finish
Moncoat "Pure"

1x8 New Heart Pine

Bona Natural finish on heart pine
Bona with UV finish

Bona High Traffic Natural

Bona High Traffic is the ideal finish for the pine in the most demanding environments.  These include restaurants, hotel lobbies, airports and office reception areas. Professionals and builders love Bona for its durability, and as natural substitute for traditional oil and wax wood floor treatments. Bona offers both site finish products and industrial finishes which are applied using commercial UV process.

Bona industrial coatings  are at the forefront of the new wave of floor treatments. High traffic protection is the combination of deep penetrating oils and UV top coats. Our  7″ Wide plank prefinished Heart Pine are in all 10′ and 12′ lengths. Let me repeat, 7″ wide Heart Pine with a Bona Finish in all 10’s and 12’s. Bayou Rustics is manufacturer of small batch finished Heart Pine Flooring.

Monocoat by Rubio

Monocoat is plant based finish that adheres at first contact with the microns of your wood floor. This molecular bonding becomes part of the floor like no other finish.  Not only is a second coat not required, the finished wood will not accept one. Monocoat by Rubio is an all-natural plant-based oil finish for wood flooring.  VOC-free and 100% non-toxic, Monocoat is easy to use and safe. All Rubio finishes are easy to maintain including repairs, which are a breeze. For more on our prefinished floors using Monocoat by Rubio contact us ASAP.

 Woca Finishes

WOCA Industrial is a specially formulated stain designed for pre-treatment of UV- and oiled floors. The reactive stains from WOCA are a perfect way to antique a Heart Pine floor, for example. WOCA Color Oils, contains fine pigments in nine different colors, however, there are endless color options.  For instance, most DIY can create custom colors simply by mixing the oils. Prefinished Heart Pine using WOCA Color Oils look amazing, again great for antiquing.

About our company

SYP Direct, or Southern Yellow Pine Direct sells newly cut, not reclaimed, heart pine and rustic longleaf pine flooring.  Furthermore, SYP Direct simplifies the pine flooring market. In fact, we spend time with almost every customer discussing common misconceptions and misinformation.  An easy way to understand the big picture; pine should be sold just like wine, age, species (grapes) and location define the final product, and therefore price. Solid wood floors, pine or hardwoods, constitutes and investment that will outlive your house, i.e. reclaimed one day.

 

IN A HURRY- TEXT much faster 601 826 1296
Text us now 601 826 1296
Southern Yellow Pine Direct offer homeowners the reliability of an A+ rated BBB company; the best quality, pricing and service bar none. We operate under an "old school" philosophy that the customer is always right. We make sure you are just that by educating and dispelling myths about Southern Pine and Heart Pine flooring.
Remember we are a mill to order manufacturer of unfinished and prefinished Southern Pine, including our speciality Heart Pine. Our lead times are normally about two weeks, with Hardwoods and Imports the lead times vary and that is an understatement. 2 days -2 months has bee the answer since COVID. But things are imporving, as White Oak prices continue to fall. (Jason Howard 9/9/2022)
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04 Jun

Monocoat wood floor finishes

Our favorite Finishes, Finish and Install

Our favorite finish products allow a true custom color blend finish using their 2-C process, Monocoat wood floor finishes are also eco-friendly with a zero VOC rating. Manufactured by Rubio, offering unique blends designed as effects such as fumed or smoke. Instructions for finish are simple to say the least. Day one clean, wipe on oil, remove excess. Day two let dry, ready in 24-48 hours. Easy to  maintain, Monocoat provides a simple way to fix scratches, as well. Visit their site, but come back quick. 

Monocoat one of best Southern Pine flooring finishes

Our customers created some of the finishes for our pine using the 2-C process from Monocoat. We have customers using 2-3 colors and rumors of one in New England, used 5.  Monocoat bonding technology allows local touch up of damaged areas or scratches, because only the free wood fibers will take the touch up coating. The finished margins next to the scratched or damaged area will not accept new finish. After 10 minutes, just wipe away superfluous oil, furthermore there is no overlapping. Check out the color samples from Monocoat.

Our streamlined process empowers homeowners with a transparent business model designed to create home equity, not commissions. Homeowners can create a floor using a state-of-the-art facility, luxury finish/stain products combined with our long, gorgeous Heart Pine. The amount of money this saves each customer is in direct correlation with their zip code. For instance, Prefinished ¾ solid New Heart Pine in Manhattan or West Palm Beach saves a considerably higher percentage than those  in Louisiana. Not a different price, but a much different value to the homeowner. 

Monocoat is definition of Green finish

A Monocoat Southern Pine floor is perfect choice for the environment, yes real wood floors are green. Real wood floors are a sustainable resource, green floors are real.  Green floors means sustainable forest– One of the many benefits of wood floors, trees are a sustainable, i.e. green flooring choice, despite the marketing attempts to prove otherwise. Under good forest management, trees are replanted before and after they are harvested replacing the timber, also known as tree farming. Not clear cutting, but a oxygen producing sustainable green choice for your next floor.

Rubio Monocoat’s revolutionary molecular bonding technology ensures workability and exemplary quality without the harmful effects or damage to the environment. Rubio Monocoat’s products have no effect on indoor air quality and do not contain:

  • Formaldehyde
  • Ammonia
  • Acetone
  • Solvents
  • Preservatives
  • Odor-masking agents
  • Chemical residuals
  • Heavy metal drying agents:
  • Arsenic
  • Beryllium
  • Chromium
  • Cadmium
  • Nickel
  • Lead

Plant Based Natural Oils

Rubio Monocoat uses a unique molecular bonding technology to adhere to the topmost fibers of the wood it is applied to. Within minutes this technology forms a durable finish that maintains the natural appearance and feel of the wood. Rubio Monocoat’s unique molecular bonding technology also allows for a one-coat finish. This means there is no need to continually apply oil or build up layers of polyurethane like with traditional finishes. 

Rubio Monocoat offers the first and the only oil that is truly a 0% VOC product. Three years before the first VOC legislation was put into effect, Rubio Monocoat had already set forth strict emission norms and committed to producing products completely free of VOCs.

Prefinished wide plank heart pine
IN A HURRY- TEXT much faster 601 826 1296
Text us now 601 826 1296
Southern Yellow Pine Direct offer homeowners the reliability of an A+ rated BBB company; the best quality, pricing and service bar none. We operate under an "old school" philosophy that the customer is always right. We make sure you are just that by educating and dispelling myths about Southern Pine and Heart Pine flooring.
Remember we are a mill to order manufacturer of unfinished and prefinished Southern Pine, including our speciality Heart Pine. Our lead times are normally about two weeks, with Hardwoods and Imports the lead times vary and that is an understatement. 2 days -2 months has bee the answer since COVID. But things are imporving, as White Oak prices continue to fall. (Jason Howard 9/9/2022)
Read More
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