Tigerwood Hardwood Flooring Spotlight

By Suzanne Hendrix, 01/10/13

Welcome back to the Nova USA Wood blog, the most in-depth hardwood species series on the web. Today's blog is a product spotlight for the infamously beautiful Tigerwood.

Back in the "old days" when white floors were really cool and waterbase finishes were still in their infancy there was a beautiful exotic hardwood species just starting to make headway in the North American flooring market called Goncalo Alves. That name, however, didn't really catch on in the flooring world so the more eloquent trade name Tigerwood was coined and the rest is history so-to-speak.

Tigerwood Tree

Tigerwood trees can be found from Mexico all the way down through Central and South America. The color of the heartwood is a stunning golden brownish-orange to reddish-brown with subtle to very defined black striping throughout. As the wood ages it will darken to a deep reddish-brown color accentuating its characteristic stripes. The grain of the wood is interwoven or wavy and sometimes straight with a fine texture. Tigerwood has a hardness rating of around 2000 psi, which puts it just under Brazilian Cherry at 2350. It also has an average stability rating for an exotic and historically performs well in service.

Tigerwood Striping

One more bit of information worth noting. By far, Tigerwood is the dominant trade name for Goncalo Alves, but recently another name has entered the market… Brazilian Koa. If asked to quote Brazilian Koa please rest assured you can offer Tigerwood, which is the exact same thing. Make sure though that your customer is after Brazilian and not Hawaiian Koa, which is a completely different species.

Nova USA imports Tigerwood in 3/4" x 3", 3-1/4", 4", & 5" widths. The product is typically Clear grade with 1'-7' lengths and is available both Prefinished and Unfinished.

If you have any questions regarding this species, or any of our other products, please don't hesitate to contact us.

novausawood.com

By Suzanne Hendrix, 01/10/13

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