Don't call the floor surface in this picture a hardwood floor. Technically, it's a softwood floor. But douglas fir, the most common commercial wood in the Pacific Northwest, has been used for flooring since the first European settlers arrived in this region almost 200 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of older homes in Oregon and Washington have fir flooring hidden under the carpet, vinyl, or linoleum finished floors.
The fir flooring in this Portland home addition was handled a little differently. Vertical grain fir timbers were cut into short blocks across the grain, and then glued down in rows with the end grain facing straight up. The look is a little reminiscent of a parquet floor. This photo shows what it looks like in a room setting.
The lighter growth rings are called "summer wood" and are less dense and are softer than the dark rings, which are called "winter wood." The winter wood or growth is very hard and wear resistant. With the end grain facing upwards, the winter wood protects the summer wood from wear making this fir flooring more durable than softer hardwoods like american cherry and almost as durable as oak or maple.
