The Source

Every wide plank floor crafted by William & Henry is one of a kind.
The knots, the color, the sap the grain — all are affected by the earth in which a tree grows.

Newly Sawn Wide Plank Floors

William & Henry’s newly sawn wide plank floors are harvested from specially selected slow-growing trees that have reached maturity. The trees are carefully removed from the forest so as not to disturb the natural habitats and ecosystem of the surrounding land. The areas are studied to ensure that once a tree is extracted, new growth will replenish the forest in a healthy manner.

The relationships with the sawyers who find and cut timber for our custom wide plank floors have spanned two generations. These longtime Carlisle family associates source our wood from forests across the United States where the soil and growing conditions produce the most stable, highest-quality wood for each species. Our sawyers—like all of us at William & Henry—believe in preserving the majestic nature of these trees in every board we craft. We cut from the center of the log and use technologically advanced equipment to maximize the lengths and widths while still maintaining the natural character and structural integrity, resulting in very little waste. And with the same appreciation of this valuable natural resource as our country’s original founders.

Reclaimed Wood Floors

Recovering authentic pieces of antique and reclaimed wood must be done in an equally contentious, and carefully managed manner—and for this, William & Henry relies on trusted colleagues who continually improve techniques for reclaiming materials while minimizing waste. This allows us to continue to reuse, recycle and source wood in the proud Yankee tradition from large beams found in old buildings such as factories, mills, warehouses, and barns that are slated for demolition.

Reclaimed Heart Pine typically comes from old factories or mills that were built from the end of the Industrial Revolution through the early part of the 20th century.

Reclaimed oak, reclaimed chestnut, and reclaimed eastern white pine are generally recovered from old dairy barns in the Ohio River Valley. The stories of these buildings are part of our national legacy, and it’s an honor for all of us here at William & Henry to bring that history into your home and continue a tradition of American craftsmanship and ingenuity.

The Craft

Every William & Henry wide plank floor reflects our intense attention to detail.
From the first conversation we have with you to the last finishing nail in your floor.

To ensure the purity, natural characteristics, and widths and lengths of each wood species remains intact, William & Henry work exclusively with a select number of independently owned sawmills that value quality over volume. These highly experienced individuals take the necessary time to artfully cut each log into lumber, which is essential to preserving and enhancing the natural beauty of each board throughout the harvest to installation process.

This commitment to craft right from the beginning contributes to the overall performance of the wood during the critical drying, and then subsequent grading phases. Once the lumber is brought to William & Henry’s finishing mill it is then carefully inspected, handled, and labored over with exacting detail by our master craftsman and quality control flooring artisans.

Manually handling every plank many times throughout the milling process dramatically increases the overall quality. No matter how accurate the straightening machines, how slowly we feed the boards, or how sharp the knives that plane the surfaces smooth as glass, this is the single most important aspect of our process. Which is why when we say we make one William & Henry wide plank floor at a time, we mean it… literally!

The Finish

Nothing mass-produced can compare with the beauty of
something so carefully handcrafted.

You may choose to have your custom wide plank floor delivered finely milled, ready to install and finish on site; or hand-finished prior to delivery in our finish mill where design trends from rustic to contemporary are applied by hand, one plank, one floorboard at a time by William & Henry’s master craftsmen.

Stain & Finishing

Our detail-oriented, highly skilled flooring artisans will apply the stain color of your choice to each board, carefully making sure the color is consistent across the entire floor, then apply a high-resin tung oil or water-based finish, depending on the look you are trying to achieve.

High-resin tung oil is a natural finish made from pressed seeds from the nut of the tung tree. We like tung oil as a finish when you are not applying stain as it allows the wood to patina naturally and enhances the color tones. Learn more about tung oil.
Water-based finishes are recommended when you are trying to achieve a “white” color tone with stain, or when you want the color of the wood to remain as it is at the time of installation.

Texturing & Hand-Scraping

For textured edges and surfaces William & Henry employs the same techniques and types of hand tools as the early American tradesmen:

Hand-scraped edges give a slight definition to the planks, emphasizing the impressive widths and lengths.
Hand-scraped surfaces create a sense of being lived on for hundreds of years. Either gentle or more pronounced.
Brushed surfaces show fine lines down the length of the board. When stained and finished, a wood’s natural grain and character are more highly defined.
Saw kerf makes left on the surface of the floor planks during the milling process create a rustic look, reminiscent of original wide plank floors. When a stain is applied, the stain will take darker in the kerf marks, adding an aged look.

Once your floor has been impeccably milled and hand finished, we then take extra measures to ensure your custom wide plank floor is delivered in perfect condition. Each order is carefully banded, packed, covered, and protected until it is shipped to your home or building site location.