One width will look less busy.

If you live in an area with wide humidity swings, wide plank will present issues.

I LOVE the look of random widths. It feels 'authentic' and can be considered a higher level install.

Are these solid or engineered? Sophie is correct. Those MASSIVE widths (8" is very wide...anything over 5" is considered wide plank and require extra materials to install them = more expensive install) are going to require very very very special indoor living conditions (very expensive Humidity and temperature control throughout the house and throughout the year - regardless of occupation of the space or not).

If you decide to go with the 8" wide planks (love the look) make sure that your contractor not only glues or nails the wood but that he does both (nails and glue) and make sure to use a good contractor that will guarantee his install. I agree with Sophie Wheeler that if you live in an area with a lot of humidity you might want to stay on the 4" to 5" range but most houses in the US have heating and air which helps a lot. Here are some pics of an install we did with 9" rough sawn pine and combined two different stains to give it this old barn look.

If it is a solid, I would not install anything but quartersawn in that kind of width.

It will be solid and finished on site. We live in Colorado, so it is very dry. We have a whole house humidifier to help in the winter months.

Some boards could shrink considerably, but that'll give it more of a rustic look with gaps between the boards. Sorry, that wasn't the question but worth investigating. Do you want gaps here and there? Have moisture testing of the material before the installation. It's vital you get the moisture content (MC) of the hardwood down to the average living conditions unless you can live with the gaps.

For instance if you can keep the relative humidity near 30% the hardwood should be at 6% before any installation take place This will depend on the source initially. Some may manufacture at 8 and 9% Then it could be stored in a warehouse for months at 60% where the MC is over 10%

Advantage with live sawn, aka French cut is the mix of plain sawn, quartered and rift.

Understanding wood movement

The house had better be conventional foundation with museum quality humidity control attached to your HVAC. Otherwise you will get splits and gaps. Low moisture readings for wood are just as bad as high moisture readings. You’d a have much guarantee of success if you halved to size of the plank. Old houses used 2 1/4” planks for a reason.

I've always felt that having multiple widths is a little more casual than one width but a lot would depend on the product.

For that much open space I would stick with one width. We have a wide open floor plan that we just did a year ago. Our first and second floor (3100 sf) is white oak 1/4 sawn and rift mix, 5" width planks (we get gapping with even 5" wide planks). You may have already thought of this as well, but with that much space I would make sure the length of all your planks are between 4 - 7 feet. Shorter than that will make your floor look choppy, your builder may need to order more floor to ensure length. Good luck, sounds like a beautiful view :)

Great advice! Thanks Blueberry Adobe!

Plank widths are really a question of personal preference - and budget - since single plank widths are generally more expensive than a range of widths. Take a good look at floor photos to see which style you prefer. Also keep in mind that if you choose random widths, they will be less obvious when using a character grade floor than on a select (clear) floor. And if you are seeking to minimize seams, plank length is just as important as plank width - be sure to go for the longest average plank length you can find as this will help avoid the "patchwork" effect caused by an abundance of short planks.

This photo shows a floor with a range of plank widths - these are 9-14 inch wide live sawn white oak planks.

This photo show a floor with a single plank width - these are all 10" wide select white oak plain sawn planks. Plank lengths are 4-10 feet with a 7+ foot average.

This is exactly what I needed to see...photos of the various sizes. Thank you so much for posting! We've been told that the lengths will be 2-feet to 10-feet, with an average length of 5-feet. Perhaps I should ensure that this is stated in our contract.

I’ll be honest with you. My aesthetic concern would be more about plank LENGTH than width. No way would I pay so much money and get ANY two foot planks. Look at the lovely photos above, those are all long planks.

But even more important than that is what Sophie and the others say about wide widths in your weather. You should think that through.

IMO 8” wide is too wide and creates many issues, stick with 5” the same everywhere and I agree I would not be happy with a bunch of 2” boards. As for that sun that comes in the windows you will have to control that or your floors will be a mess in no time. I usually use solar shades for clients since the control the UV and the heat but allow you to still have the view.

2' to 10' make me nervous - that is a big range. I feel like that should be narrowed down to less of a range. You can imagine what it will look like to have a 2' foot plank next to a 10' plank, if that is the case, right in the middle of your gorgeous expanse of floor. These are all (for the most part) 4 - 7' planks with a few shy of 4, and some almost 8' at 5" wide.

All it takes to have only long planks is truly serious upgrade to your budget. Beyond just the $15 a foot wide plank budget. Because you are going to need to buy double and site cull with a craftsman who will not be some cheap floor guy. And don’t forget that never ever varies humidity control. Summer and winter.

I worry about 8" wide planks in Colorado. That is a SERIOUS amount of HVAC control. If you are someone who loves to open the windows and doors during the summer to enjoy the breeze, then these planks are going to have BIG issues. Big. Big. Big issues.

As Sophie has already stated, you will need to maintain MUSEUM QUALITY air conditions...that means sealed in for life. Please TRIPLE CHECK the quality of your HVAC system to add and REMOVE humidity. This won't be 'for the winter' this is going to be every day of the year for 80 years.

Hmm...how is it that folks who actually lived on a farm and had wide plank floors seemed to manage just fine without a whole house humidifier? So the floors aren't perfect, isn't that the point? I've seen many 2.5"-3" width planks with a LOT of cupping. And, it's worse because you have THOUSANDS of seams.

I would like everyone's thoughts on smooth (no bevel) vs. open grain/wire brushed (with bevel) on a wide plank floor.

You have all been a tremendous help! Thank you for your time.

It's hard to say - what look are you going for in your home? I think smooth lends itself better to a more modern feel in a wide plank. Open grain/wire brushed feels more casual relaxed. With beveled you will see the seams more, right? Based on your description of your home, floor to ceiling windows, can see the back of the house from the front, I vote smooth ... if this is a voting situation ;)

Here is a photo of the living area that you see when you come in from the front door (excuse the horrific decor). To the left is the kitchen, with additional windows on all sides. The house has no "style" at the moment, so the floors can dictate.

If you have OCD random widths will work for you as you can somewhat controll the center lines at doors, and what ever else you are picky about. If you want to be unique, I worked on a job where a 8 inch plank was given a concave meniscus form. meaning the floor planks had high and low elevations in each board. I liked it as it massaged the barefoot.

this is yummy.

Blueberry Adobe, What size planks are those?

Regarding your other question, I would go without the beveled edge. Beveled edges are a trap for dust, dirt, crumbs, etc. It's definitely a more rustic, farmhouse look. Sanded flat (smooth) or wire-brushed is more of a "modern farmhouse" design. We've done wire brushed flooring too. That is a truly unique, stunning floor. We've done wire-brushed with and without the beveled edges and both look great. If I had to choose, I would go with single width, wide plank, wire-brushed face, no beveled edge.

YOUR THOUGHTS PLEASE: All the experts I have asked tell me that you need to have some 2-foot planks for ends and closets. Is it not enough to trust a company's "average length" when ordering hardwood floors? The average length on the 8" wide planks are 7-feet, but we'll get planks from 2 to 10-feet long.

@dough71 - It "sounds" nice to hear that you need 2' lengths for closets. But long planks will be CUT throughout the job, leaving a pile of shorts. Those shorts are then recycled to finish rows or go inside closets. A dealer who speaks of average lengths and then mentions the 2' shorts is trying to shuffle in the low-low end stuff so HE isn't left with waste.

I would ask the PERCENTAGE of 2' lengths you can expect to receive. Houzz has seen DOZENS (if not hundreds) of posters complain that their "promised" 8' planks arrived as a bunch of 4' planks making up 50% of the load. And not enough overage to "cull" the shorts.

As for your question about seeing homes with wide planks that look great, you are correct. But I'm going to add a caveat to that statement. Those old, wide boards have reached an equilibrium and are now in harmony with it's house. That can take 20+ years to achieve. And then they have probably already received a sand/refinish with "knocked down" the crowning/cupping to make the whole floor look flat and happy.

Let's just say that the "growing pains" of those old, wide planked floors are WELL behind them and they now LOOK happy...but they started out a complete mess...for many decades. Then a sand/refinish occurred and NOW they look awesome!

That's how old wide planks in old unconditioned homes "look great". They've already finished their rebellious years.

I was just going to comment about the lengths because I disagree with the advice rendered above. You absolutely do need shorter boards to start and end rows. If you were doing only one room and it was 30' x 30' then I might agree to a longer minimum length with the knowledge that some would be cut into 1', 2' and 3' pieces to start the staggers at rows and make cuts at the other end of the room. If you have closets and halls, the need for shorter boards increases and there is the ability to save money by ordering a shorter minimum length. I recently priced a 7" White Oak in 3' to 10' and 5' to 10' lengths and the longer was only 64 cents per foot more. At that price difference it would be hard to make a case for the shorter lengths so if you're doubting that 2' to 10' would suffice, price some options.

That house has MCM or 80’s Contemporary architectural design style cues. Which would lean more towards terazzo or cork flooring. Not extremely modern and unstable wide plank. If wood were done in a MCM, it would be parquet or narrow strip flooring. Not wide planks that would end up with giant gaps in them. That type of rusticity is directly at odds with the clean and sleek mid century look. Or 80’s Contemporary. The hallmark of those is the indoor outdoor connection and use of natural materials. Preferably locally sourced natural materials. Stone. Wood. Brick. Found from local companies, who harvested and created locally.

No more than 5" wide smooth no bevel.

Curious how this job turned out and what lessons you learned or successes you had as I’m now trying to install wide plank flooring in my home. Every tip helps! Thanks :)

Hi njordan56, we had 8" wide Muscanell Cathedral Cut White Oak installed. It has a 4-side bevel and is wire brushed. The lengths are 2' to 10'. We didn't fill the knots, as I didn't want my beautiful floor to look like it had polka dots. Looks amazing and very pleased with it. We had it professionally installed. They used trowel glue and staple installation and sand and finished with Pallmann Power water-based finish. Next week, we are having our kitchen finished with the same flooring. Hope it matches up, as our living room wood floor was installed in 2018, and I can only imagine has faded a small bit due to the intense south-facing sun it receives every day. Good luck with your project.