Why Old Houses Have Such Wide Plank Floors

Peruse real estate listings for country homes from the 18th and 19th centuries, and you’ll likely notice a frequently cited feature: wide-plank hardwood floors. Popular with America’s early settlers thanks to a wealth of vast and untouched old-growth forests, these floorboards—ranging from five to 30 inches—were born out of practicality.

Felling enormous trees was laborious, so the fewer cuts made to a tree, the better. Once felled, the trunks were often cut into quarters, and then the planks were cut at a 45-degree angle from those quarters, creating what is referred to as quarter-sawn wood. (This technique helps prevent boards from bowing upward.)

As the country’s timber supply depleted and building practices became more refined, hand-hewn boards became harder to come by. Today, they’re prized for their humble history, old-school craftsmanship, and the sense of character that comes from those who plodded their planks before—so much so that there’s a growing number of suppliers of salvage, including Evolutia (Alabama), StoriedBoards (New York), and Antique Beams and Boards (Ohio), to help homeowners create a well trodden look.

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