12 Jun

How to identify Heart Pine

Welcome to our blog post on how to identify heart pine. To be clear, we are talking about how to identify New Heart Pine. In this informative guide, we will provide you with valuable insights on recognizing heartwood, and in a broader context, ‘heart content’. Both of these are essential for those homeowners (installation professionals) looking for quality New Heart Pine. Quality is easy to define, with the end result being an installation and a gorgeous finish. This starts with our dual kiln and precision mill work using mature Southern Pine. All grades contain stable knots and the gorgeous color variation we call character.

Identifying Heart Pine with grades

Grades and terminology should make it easier for a layperson to make a decision between those choices. Clear ‘naming’ and pricing based on those grades give you all the information you need. The problem? Some companies add terminology or, in some instances just make it up. Without spending too much time on the subject because it raised my blood pressure, let me give you one example. ”

If you want to identify heartwood color is crucial.

The way that you identify Heart Pine is color, over simplistic, duly noted but the answer is still color. Let me get some business out of the way before moving forward; not all Heart pine is new, and NOT all new pine is created equal. Glad that is out of the way, lets take a look at the colors we use to identify Heart Pine.

Creating Color- The transition from sapwood to heartwood plays a significant role. Sapwood is the living part of the tree responsible for transporting nutrients, while heartwood is the dead portion. The drying process in the kiln promotes the transformation of selected sapwood layers into heartwood. As the sapwood dies off, the cell walls change color, becoming drier and stronger to form distinct heartwood layers. In essence, the color of Heart Pine is a result of this transformation.

#2 Knotty Pine Prices depend upon heart content Heart Pine shown here. — Heart Pine SYP Direct

When you Identify heart pine sapwood is the start

Sapwood is lifeblood of the pine tree. Sapwood carriers the nutrients throughout the tree, it is alive while heartwood is dead! What does that mean? Heartwood has less moisture than sapwood, until the Kiln. However, over time the tree “promotes” layers of sapwood to heartwood status. As the sapwood stops flowing through selected layers of the tree (dying) it becomes as hard as heart pine. The tree pores fill up with organic matter and the cell walls change color, ultimately becoming dryer and stronger to form Heartwood layers. Enough about stability, want to see more pictures. Visit Pinterest but come back.

01 Aug

Match an existing pine floor

Finish and Install, Heart Pine

We are going to help you match an existing pine floor, the cheapest way possible for those worried about cost. In fact, if that is not your biggest worry, tell us up front it won’t change the price but it will save time.

Match an existing pine floor

If you are attempting to match an existing pine floor, you have come to right spot. SYP Direct will give you solutions for matching your existing pine floor, starting with the correct grade. Is it heart pine, or just really old Southern Pine? The question is one that we can answer with a cell phone picture or two. We are looking underneath the finish and patina to find out a few things about the original floor. Grain patterns, coloration, condition of floor, fading, damage of course, are there any knots.

Match an existing pine floor- it requires identifying the current floor

Is it heart pine? Many times, in older homes they used locally sourced pine, even if the original floor was not heart pine, the materials came from a mature pine tree. However, in homes from the “modern era” most of what we see if Knotty Pine with a gorgeous patina. What does all of this mean if you are trying to match you pine floor? You need to have source specializing in pine, with no agenda for one product over another.

The first question from SYP Direct, are you attempting to match the finish or the floor? Makes perfect sense when looking at the difference between the finished floor and what is under the finish. For example, a dark finish holds secrets, revealed only by removing the top layer, i.e. refinishing the existing pine floor. Matching a dark finish is easy, matching the floor a little more difficult but usually makes the sense for the homeowner. Think about it, if you are matching an existing floor (old houses), chances are, you refinish it.

Matching Mother Nature

Matching mother nature, or time can be difficult. Finding what is underneath the finish can reveal the best course of action when price is a consideration, i.e. Antique very expensive. We offer the “best cheapest” way in which to restore or reproduce very old Heart Pine.

The homeowners resource when you need to match an existing pine floor

We get calls from folks all over the United States asking us to help them match an existing pine floor, more often than not that floor is Heart Pine. The first thing we tell callers, “congrats and welcome to the right spot”. Southern Yellow Pine Direct, Heather and Jason specifically have built an A+ Rated business by helping homeowners. That is not a marketing slogan, it is actually what we do. Want examples close to you? No problem- let us know if you would feel more comfortable talking to an customer, with our floors.

Matching a heart pine floor from pictures

When you sell southern pine and heart pine almost exclusively you recognize how to match that floor. More importantly, how to match it identical (reclaimed) or use new Heart Pine or Caribbean Heart Pine to give the illusion of age. What does that mean exactly? Distressing the face, saw marks, chain marks or just pure gorgeous Heartwood, we work for you and your goals. Homeowners get WAY more for less. Call us now.

Mother nature is tough to copy

“Time creates a priceless patina on the floors which is almost impossible to recreate. When repairs are unavoidable, the patina, wood grain, age, color and texture should be duplicated as close as possible.” (Peterson, C 2020). ‘Pine Like Wine’

The SYP Direct solution

Southern Yellow Pine Direct specializes in pine flooring; old, new or making new look old, we can help. When you spend as much time as SYP Direct talking and working with pine floors, you become an expert in the subject. SYP Direct, the homeowner’s resource, can help with finish advice, local professionals and simply telling you the truth. In our experience, roughly 75% of homeowners trying to match an existing pine floor using local sources are given misinformation and or outright lies.

28 Apr

What is Caribbean Heart Pine

Heart Pine

Amazing Southern Pine colors and character shown in our samples boards

27 Oct

Heartwood, what is it?

Heart Pine

Heartwood

South Carolina example of heart content of Knotty Pine from SYP Direct

The price of New Heart Pine floors should depend on the amount of heart content on each board. Why? Heartwood is harder than the rest of the pine, we measure hardness using the Janka scale.

Heartwood and the Janka hardness scale

The Janka rating of New Heart Pine, is 1,240 lbs. (564 kg.), by comparison Northern Red Oak’s value is 1,290 lbs. (585 kg.). Full disclosure a Janka rating is hard to measure when the percentage is not 85% or more, as with our Caribbean Heart Pine. However, we see the color represents two desirable qualities in a pine floor, age and hardness.

Heartwood, commonly known as heart content consist of heart and sapwood. A good example is our character grade Heart Pine which has more knots and therefore more sapwood than a clear grade. Heart pine without sapwood will usually have more vertical grain, with tones that are more brown than the red found in sapwood. It should be noted that sapwood becomes as hard as heart pine as it is exposed to oxygen (dies), so the stability and hardness are equal no matter the percentage of heart to sap. Heartwood is where you find the character and color variation that makes pine floors desirable. The variations in sapwood and heartwood provide color changes that scream character.

What is Southern Pine – the tree which gives us heart pine

Southern Pine is not a species but rather a geographic marker from Texas to Virginia. The word yellow indicates the ‘hard’ pine species of Southern Pine, so yellow means hard and white soft. Loblolly the fast-growing species is what you farmed from Texas to the east coast. Alabama pine serves as the raw materials for our mature new Heart Pine floors. Alabama Heart Pine, while new is 4 -5 times older (more mature) than anything you are getting locally, no kidding. Farm raised Loblolly pine, fast growing pine, represents 95% of all pine harvested. For more information on the industry, i.e., what happens from tree to your job site, call SYP Direct today.

Heart content and Heartwood

Heartpine is a grade given to flooring with more than 50% visible heart content on the face over every board. Sapwood is alive and Heartwood is dead, what does that mean? Heartwood has less moisture than sapwood, until the Kiln. However, over time the tree “promotes” layers of sapwood to heartwood status. As the sapwood stops flowing through selected layers of the tree (dying) it becomes as hard as heart pine. The tree pores fill up with organic matter and the cell walls change color, ultimately becoming dryer and stronger to form Heartwood layers. In terms we can understand; sapwood becomes heartwood with time and a good Kiln.

Heartwood is function of age and species

What is Heartwood?

#2 Knotty up to 40% Heartwood

Be honest, did you realize these pictures were #2 Knotty Pine? Does it look anything like your local pine or box store stuff? No, and the reason is simply the percentage of heart pine in our #2 grade. Think about this, you can create a heart pine floor from our #2 grade, with just a little bit of planning. You simply sort for high heart content and strategically place those boards in high traffic areas of your house. Imagine creating a “Heart Pine” living room, with Knotty Pine in the bedrooms, which is one way to go.

More about US

With an A+ rating from the BBB, it is no surprise that we never misrepresent our floors in any way shape or form. #2 Knotty Pine, the perfect example of telling the 100% truth about the grade. We have no surprise cost, nor do we ever want a customer disappointed in quality. It is today, and our business will continue to be dependent on word of mouth and repeat business. Without quality, we have nothing. Email the real owner

Or visit Houzz to more more heartwood.

12 Sep

Prime Grade

Heart Pine

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.

Sometimes you feel like a knot, sometimes you don’t.

Prime Grade Caribbean Heart Pine

Finish to order custom new heart pine floors

06 Sep

1x8x12 Mill Run Heart Pine

Heart Pine

Price Increase as of April 15th

Still under $3.00

Inventory will be replaced April 21st

Affordable Heart Pine

How about 1×8 Heart Pine for only $2.75 per square foot? We currently have 8400 square feet available for pick up or shipping from Reidsville, NC, Premiere finishing and coating. Why do we keep the 1×8 Mill Run in NC? Simple, we offer a commercial finish. Yep, all 12′ lengths if you want them that way. Imagine a prefinished wide plank Heart Pine for under $7.00 a sq foot, affordable?

Solid Real Wood Value

1×8 Mill Run Heart Pine floors might be perfect for you, if you understand real wood grades. And more importantly, when purchasing the unfinished version, experience is necessary, it is long and requires planning. Unless you simply buy enough it to “learn as you go”, made possible by the low price. We do not suggest the latter and the 1×8 Mill Run Heart Pine requires only 10% waste just like any other grade.

Wide Plank New Heart Pine

Unfinished, tongue and groove with relief grooves; dual kiln dried, planned smooth with precison edges and ends. This brings us to the the grade, Mill Run. You will have some defects on edges, in knots and mainly some ends will be trimmed. But, for your trouble, a little planning you get a Heart Pine floor at an amazing price.

Milk Paint tung oil blend shown here with mineral spirits

16 Aug

Chattanooga TN Air B&B

Heart Pine

View On Airbnb2 Bedroom Loft on Chattanooga’s North Shore

Amazing Air B&B with SYP Direct Floors

The New York Times named Chattanooga one of the “Top 45 Places to go” in the World. And it’s no wonder. Tucked between the mountains of Southeast Tennessee, along the beautiful Tennessee River, Chattanooga is one of America’s most breathtaking cities.

Chattanooga Tennessee

Chattanooga has the reputation of being aggressively welcoming. And that “welcome to Chattanooga” is extended to everyone—no matter your faith, nationality, sexual orientation, or gender. (Chattanooga.gov)

More to come on this project.

Summertime flooring projects

This summer, SYP Direct has delivered floors to these amazing cities, Chattanooga TN, Eureka Springs AR, Madison MS, Charleston SC, Chapel Hill NC, Tyler Texas, East Hartford CT, Newport IN, Forestville, CA, and Gulf Shores Alabama. While these are not all the cool towns and enclaves to which we delivered this summer, but this gives you an idea of a normal month.

Wall Skin

We pursue homeowner equity not shareholder with a one house one floor philosophy.

If you look at our project in East Hartford which was over 50,000 square feet of prefinished flooring compared to our 800 square foot Gulf Shores AL jobs, they resemble each other extraordinarily little except for the fact that they both used solid wood. Our customers range from the “too rich” to the folks looking for the “best deal” and we love them both. Customer service brings referrals which are so valuable to a company that does not want any repeat customers unless they move or add on. One House One Floor, real wood will outlive your home and one day salvaged then turned into an accent wall.

Repurpose real wood

Repurpose real wood – salvaged or reclaimed. We want everyone to repurpose real wood. With that in mind, please enjoy this video which cost us $75.00 six years ago, We are “thrifty” like most of our customers, but the content is good. Salvaged is ‘saved’, reclaimed is repurposed; and not the kind of repurposing we are talking about with our folk art. The video should clear it up and if you are shopping for reclaimed […]

Knotty Southern Yellow Pine floors MI lake

Glue down Southern Pine

In reality, you can glue down Southern Pine in standard 3/4 thickness. No problem, you want to glue down Southern Pine you use Bostiks Best. It has a built in moisture barrier and is urethane based so that is allows movement like a nail. But today, in this blog glue down Southern Pine is 1/2 inch, with the long lengths up to 14′ an option. SYP Direct does not sell anything but real wood and […]

How to identify Heart Pine

Antique Reclaimed Heart Pine with saw marks

Baseball, Apple Pie and Southern Pine

It has to be real wood. Southern Pine, real wood, is the most Eco-friendly choice for your floor, period. The exceptions, of course, are endangered or illegal timber, but that is not relevant to our discussion. Our New Heart Pine is not farmed and take from private landowners. While our Yellow Pine is sourced from North Louisiana, farmed timber. That is great information but the reason the real wood is green? IT LAST FOREVER. In […]

SYP Direct sells White Oak solid hardwood flooring

North Carolina

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 […]

Shipping to California

Yes, we ship to California, Oregon and Washington State. Nationwide with A+ BBB rating.

Box Store Pine Floors

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 […]

Dog Friendly

2024 Dog Friendly Floors Update Dog friendly floors are all about the finish. Of course, you will here that real wood is not good for big dogs or even dogs in general. This is simply not true, at all. However, before we talk about the finish, we should address the question of Southern Pine and if it is a dog friendly floor. There is so much confusion regarding pine because there are so many variations [...]

Prefinished or Unfinished floors?

When you are deciding between prefinished or unfinished floors the first consideration should be your experience, or a trusted professional with the experience. Prefinished hardwood floors have had all the work done to them before they arrive in your home and are ready to be installed. In most cases this means sanded, stained, and finished with a UV aluminum oxide coating as a topcoat. On the other hand, unfinished boards require; acclimation, finish, drying time, […]

Made in America?

Made in America means real wood What is the made in USA rule? “Of course, it is made in American it came from Home Depot, and it says so in the name, American Walnut.!” But like many things (cars), this term is added to make you feel good about the purchase even though you wanted real wood. Terminology Made in America today means the finish with engineered floors and only boxes with anything else such […]

Say yes to pine walls

Southern Pine is perfect for walls using Ship-lap, V-Groove and tongue and groove.

Pressure Treated Southern Pine

Southern Pine has long been the preferred species for pressure treatment because of its unique cellular structure that permits deep, uniform penetration of preservatives. Porous defines the cellular structure of Southern Pine, which allows the species to handle changes better than most. Some 85% of all pressure-treated wood produced in the U.S. is Southern Pine. Southern Yellow Pine Direct offers treated dimensional lumber such as the 4 x 4 beams shown below. Contact Jason for […]

Buying flooring online means knowing your source

16 Aug

Reclaimed or Salvaged

Heart Pine

Reclaimed or salvaged?

What is the difference between reclaimed and salvaged? If you were in the flooring industry someone might say $15 a square foot, and they wouldn’t be far off. So, if you’re shopping for reclaimed oak or heart pine it’s important to know what you’re looking at it’s important to know where it came from or its provenance.

Salvaged Heart Pine Accent Walls

Salvaged is something like an old floor being taken up trimmed out and turned into an accent wall, as seen on the left. (If you are interested in Salvaged dirty top wall skins click the pic) But back to the question at hand what is the difference between salvaged and reclaimed? Reclaimed means to be repurposed reclaimed, i.e., when beam turned into flooring.

New is Reclaimed and Reclaimed is Salvaged, that is the definition of Green.

Accent Walls?

Learn more- easy to install and to make look “cool”. If I can do it anyone can.

29 Apr

5″ Caribbean Heart Pine

Heart Pine

5″ Caribbean Heart Pine is available in both rustic and prime grades.

Prime grade might be what you imagine when thinking about Heart Pine flooring. The colors are more uniform compared to our rustic grade, of course but there does exist enough variance to make it “interesting.” Prime Grade 5″ Caribbean Heart Pine may have a few small knots compared to the larger knots and sapwood in the Rustic grade. Prime Grade wide plank 7″ Caribbean Heart Pine screams luxury, email us for recent customer pictures and samples. And just in case you are wondering, prime costs about .60 more per square foot.

Unfinished 5″ Caribbean Heart Pine

First of all, this is the 85% version. Second, we answer the FAQ “what is Caribbean Heart Pine“? Visit that link for full information on the species. And if you are trying to match an existing pine floor visit this page or give us a call.

Better Looking with age

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.

85% Heartwood with both grades of Caribbean Heart Pine

Both versions have 85% visible heart content. So, what is heart content? Heart content is color and color variation; sapwood and heartwood, also known as character. Rustic Caribbean Heart Pine contains more sapwood, as you would expect since sap comes from knots. The sapwood color, grain and knots differentiate rustic from the prime grade, it is not about quality just your style.

Wide plank Caribbean substitutes for Antique Pine

Caribbean Heart Pine is the great substitute, “tell them it came out of Benjamin Franklin’s boyhood home, and they will never know it.” The question: create the age or pay for it, i.e., Antiqued New or Antique Reclaimed Heart Pine. The d added to antique means a process not a declaration of age. In fact, Antiquing is the act of creating age, which becomes much easier with the right materials. Caribbean Heart Pine meets all the criteria in either grade, prime or rustic.

1x10x12 wide plank new heart pine flooring

17 Jun

10″ Heart Pine

Heart Pine

Load More Posts

Heart Pine

Identifying Heart Pine with grades

If you want to identify heartwood color is crucial.

When you Identify heart pine sapwood is the start

Match an existing pine floor

Match an existing pine floor- it requires identifying the current floor

The homeowners resource when you need to match an existing pine floor

Matching a heart pine floor from pictures

The SYP Direct solution

Rustic Grade CHP

Caribbean Heart Pine is…

What is Caribbean Heart Pine- % of heartwood

Prime Grade

What is Caribbean Heart Pine- The grades

Rustic Grade Caribbean Heart Pine Floors

What are the grades of Caribbean?

Heartwood

Heartwood and the Janka hardness scale

What is Southern Pine – the tree which gives us heart pine

Heart content and Heartwood

What is Heartwood?

#2 Knotty up to 40% Heartwood

Rustic and Prime Grade have 85% heartwood & this is why that matters.

Prime Grade Caribbean Heart Pine

Affordable Heart Pine

Solid Real Wood Value

Wide Plank New Heart Pine

Amazing Air B&B with SYP Direct Floors

Chattanooga Tennessee

Summertime flooring projects

Wall Skin

We pursue homeowner equity not shareholder with a one house one floor philosophy.

Repurpose real wood

Glue down Southern Pine

How to identify Heart Pine

Baseball, Apple Pie and Southern Pine

North Carolina

Shipping to California

Box Store Pine Floors

Dog Friendly

Prefinished or Unfinished floors?

Made in America?

Say yes to pine walls

Pressure Treated Southern Pine

Reclaimed or salvaged?

Salvaged Heart Pine Accent Walls

New is Reclaimed and Reclaimed is Salvaged, that is the definition of Green.

Accent Walls?

Unfinished 5″ Caribbean Heart Pine

85% Heartwood with both grades of Caribbean Heart Pine

Wide plank Caribbean substitutes for Antique Pine

3/4 Solid Wide Plank 10″ Heart Pine

Matching Treads

12-14' lengths

1 x 10 Heart Pine versus #2 “Knotty Pine