Hardwood Length...preference?

JDeFuria

Alright, I've got my hardwood vendors narrowed down to 2. The primary difference between the two advertised products is the length. This is 5" wide, 3/4 inch solid hardwood...both at essentially the same price.

Vendor 1: Boards range from 12 to 72 inches, average length of 42"
Vendor 2: Boards range from 12 to 84 inches, average length of 39"

Vendor 1 has a more uniform length, but tops out at 6 ft.

Vendor 2 will have some longer boards, but a shorter avg. length (and thus some more short boards.)

Which length profile would you consider to be more ideal...or am I splitting hairs here?

Bob Mariani

This one -> .or am I splitting hairs here? With wider boards you may have more cupping and boards do shrink along the length as well as width. But less along the length... Maybe shorter is better for this reason, but longer and more variety is better for looks since the seams are not the attractive part.

HardwoodGuy

I'd choose #2. Going off subject just a bit, I worked with Owens Plank over the years and have to say if you're looking for good quality long length hardwood they offer it. Case in point; when I had a flooring showroom in Florida I used it for the showroom. Yes, it is engineered, but a very good one as well...and more stable than wider solid plank floors.

In the photos I culled out all the shorter boards for the main entry. Shorter meaning 2,3, 4 and 5 footers. Now if I someone were to want all longer length..and they max at 96" ...add about 20% to an order. Just something I thought was worth noting. Btw, it's an unfinished hardwood.

JDeFuria

Thanks for the input, guys!