Hickory Hardwood Flooring
Hickory hardwood flooring offers strong resistance to dents and distinctive natural color variation. Shop our current prefinished hickory flooring and classic finishes, with engineered options when available. Select from hardwood grades, widths, prices, and available footage below. Request your first free sample packet or call 1-800-253-2728 for help choosing.
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What Customers Say About Our Hickory Floors
"After deciding between many samples, I chose a first quality handscraped hickory engineered floor, at a price less than 1/3 of even big box stores... We were blown away by the flooring! It is absolutely beautiful."
Our Popular Hickory Floor Options
Hickory's mix of light sapwood, darker heartwood, and lively grain gives every floor character. Our family flooring business has installed wood floors in thousands of homes over the past 50 years, and we know that hickory's variation is a big part of its appeal. Plus its resilience and low maintenance needs of these hardwood floors tend to perk up some ears as well. Our current selection includes narrow solid planks, wider styles, and occasional engineered options. Browse the product listings above for today's colors, grades, widths, prices, and available footage.
Hickory flooring is not the right look for every room. If you are unsure about the hickory style or its color variation, compare it to other hardwood with our free samples program. We want you to know if the hardwood color in question is right for your home before you order. A free sample can add more certainty for home projects and the product photos will tell a customer more about the appearance than a hardwoods hardness rating alone.
Why Choose Hickory Hardwood?
Hickory flooring is one of the harder domestic woods commonly used for flooring. The Janka hardness test measures the force needed to press a steel ball halfway into a piece of solid wood. A higher number indicates greater resistance to dents and dings in that test. It does not measure a floor's finish, scratch resistance, moisture tolerance, or overall lifespan.
| Wood species | Janka rating |
|---|---|
| Hickory/Pecan | 1,820 |
| White oak | 1,360 |
| Northern red oak | 1,290 |
| American black walnut | 1,010 |
Source: National Wood Flooring Association, Homeowner's Handbook to Real Wood Floors. These species ratings describe solid wood; the lifetime performance of an engineered hardwood floor also depends on its construction and finish.
The Floor Durability and Style of Hickory Flooring
The hardness of hickory flooring can help a wood floor resist everyday dents and foot traffic, while its grain plus natural color variation brings warmth to a room. Finish quality, maintenance, installation, and indoor conditions still affect overall durability of any plank floor. Use furniture pads, clean grit from the floor, and follow the product manufacturer's care instructions to make your hickory floors go the distance. Solid wood is popular because it can often be refinished multiple times; whether a prefinished engineered product can be refinished depends on its wear layer and the flooring manufacturer's guidance. At Really Cheap Floors we pride ourselves on bringing the highest quality USA made inventory to customer's doors all while keeping the discount hardwood sq ft prices very low.
How Do Natural Hickory Hardwoods Look?
A single hickory hardwood plank may show pale sapwood, darker brown heartwood, grain movement, and knots. A natural finish highlights that contrast. Stained colors can soften it, but variation remains part of real hickory's character. Order a sample of the specific product you are considering, and check the product photos and grade description for the range of appearance to expect.Â
What Hardwood Floor Grade Is Best for Me?
The Hardwood Grade affects the look of a hickory floor, including the amount of color variation and the character permitted in the flooring boards. If you want a more uniform hardwood flooring look, start with the available first-quality products and compare their photos. If you like visible knots in your hardwood flooring with a stronger variation and a rustic effect, look at the current cabin and builder character hardwood floor grades. Hickory wood flooring grade names and allowances will vary by every manufacturer, so use each product's description and our sales staff description rather than its grade label alone.
For more background, read our guide to traditional solid hardwood grades. It focuses on oak, so check the hickory product's own specifications before ordering, call us at 1-800-253-2728 to get an accurate description about character hickory floors to learn what to expect. Ted Cook, owner of Really Cheap Floors, also shares his perspective on the durability and character of hickory flooring.
Hickory Collections to Compare
For a first-quality solid hardwood floor with a handscraped look, see the American Scrape Hickory Golden Gate listing. For a wide engineered option, see our Bruce Dogwood Charles. These are different flooring products with different hardwood constructions and specifications. Check each flooring listing for current price, footage, grade, installation methods, and sample availability before deciding. Our stock changes everyday, so call 1-800-253-2728 if you need a particular width or more footage than the flooring listing shows. Some flooring is getting a stock refill that isn't listed, so its always a good idea to confirm our inventory over the phone.
The Hickory Species for Hardwood Flooring FAQ
What are the main downsides to hickory?
Hickory's pronounced color variation can feel busy if you prefer a uniform floor. Its hardwood hardness can also make cutting and fastening more demanding for an installer. Like other wood floors, hickory responds to changes in moisture. Solid planks can expand, contract, or cup when the subfloor or indoor humidity falls outside the product's installation requirements. Acclimation, moisture testing, a suitable subfloor, and consistent indoor conditions matter more than a simple claim that one species cannot absorb moisture.
If hardwood flooring cups, find and correct the moisture source before attempting a repair or a full hardwood replacement. Ask a qualified flooring professional to assess the boards; changing the thermostat alone may not solve the problem. Check for subfloor moisture before you install a new hickory flooring product.
What about the color variation and my room decor plan?
Natural hickory flooring often places cream-colored sapwood beside darker heartwood. The Flooring grade and stain affect how strongly that contrast appears in the hardwood. If you want a quieter look, compare stained products and order samples. Our hardwood grade guide explains general grading terms, but the listing for your chosen hickory floor is the final reference for its appearance.
Solid vs. engineered: which handles moisture changes better?
Engineered wood flooring is built in layers and generally expands and contracts less than a comparable solid plank. That can make it a useful choice for a wider board or a room with seasonal humidity changes. Neither type is waterproof, and both require the moisture limits and installation method specified by the manufacturer. A narrower solid plank can also be a good choice in a properly conditioned room.
| Feature | Solid hickory | Engineered hickory |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | One piece of wood through the plank | Real-wood surface over a layered core; details vary by product |
| Moisture movement | Expands and contracts more as conditions change | Generally more dimensionally stable, but still moisture-sensitive |
| Refinishing | Can often be refinished multiple times | Depends on wear-layer thickness and manufacturer instructions |
| Before ordering | Check grade, width, subfloor, and indoor conditions | Check wear layer, core, installation method, and indoor conditions |
Our hickory selection is weighted toward solid flooring. If you prefer engineered, review the current Dogwood Charles listing and confirm its available footage. If it does not fit your flooring project, call us about incoming stock or compare a narrower solid hickory product for a room that meets its installation requirements.
Why do engineered wood floors look different from one another?
The way a flooring manufacturer cuts the real-wood surface affects its grain pattern. Rotary-peeled, sliced, and sawn faces can each produce a different look. The surface thickness, core, finish, and grade also vary by product. Compare close-up photos and samples instead of assuming that every engineered floor uses the same veneer or number of layers.
Should I choose natural stain or a colored stain?
Choose natural hickory flooring if you enjoy the full range of light and dark wood tones. Choose a stained product if you want some of that contrast softened. Stain does not make every board identical, so compare samples from the exact product and review its grade description.
What about busy households?
It can be. Hickory's solid-wood Janka rating shows good resistance to dents, and its varied grain can suit an active room. It can still scratch, and spills or prolonged moisture can damage any wood floor. Compare the product's finish, warranty, care instructions, and appearance along with its hardness. A sample is the easiest way to decide whether you like its character in your home.
Ready to see it in person?
Request samples of the hickory products that interest you, or call 1-800-253-2728 to ask about current footage, shipping, and incoming inventory. Sample eligibility and shipping terms are listed on each product page.