At William & Henry, craftsmanship begins long before the first cut — with deep respect for the tree and an eye for what it can become.
I’ve been in the woods my whole life — walking them, hunting them, working in them — ever since I was a boy alongside my dad. Growing up in New Hampshire, that’s where I first learned what it takes to craft a true wide plank floor. He taught me how to read a tree, what makes one right for wide boards, and how sawmills decide which logs are worth cutting for planks that will stand the test of time. Back then, we used to actually hand-pick the trees we would use to make each floor. They were majestic old-growth Eastern White Pine trees, just like the ones the original American settlers would use to build their homes.
Today, we still work with local family sawmills who understand that not every tree is right for wide plank flooring, and we’re selective on purpose.
Together, we don’t just consider size and species, we’re studying:
Character
Where limbs grow — and how many there are — tells us a lot about how many knots we’ll see in the floor planks. In dense forests, trees tend to elf-prune as they compete for light, shedding lower limbs so they can grow taller and straighter. That usually means boards with less character (or a “cleaner” look) when we craft the beautifully long lengths that William & Henry is known for.
We also pay attention to how a tree weathered its environment. Where the branches formed along the trunk, how it handled wind, sun, and soil—those details show up later as subtle shifts in color, knots, and the gentle checks that appear when we saw the logs into planks. And sometimes, it’s the absence of that character that matters most, especially when we’re selecting for a more consistent look.
Size
The taper of the log from the bottom really has a lot to do with carrying the width and keeping the flooring true. Longer lengths are sought to keep the wider widths looking proportionate.
When trees grow for a long time, sometimes hundreds of years, they grow bigger around and taller. Depending on the species, some will result in wider planks, like Walnut and White Oak, and some will result in exceptionally long lengths, like Southern Longleaf Heart Pine. In the unique case of Eastern White Pine, we can craft planks that are up to 20 inches wide and up to 16 feet long!
Region
Where a tree grows matters just as much as its size or species—because the land, climate, and time it takes to mature shape the strength, stability, and character that ultimately define a truly exceptional wide plank floor. This is especially important and often the most under-looked aspect of good durable plank flooring. Oak that grows in the north is far superior to southern oak, for example, because it will grow more slowly and in different types of soil that result in wider widths, longer lengths, and a tighter grain.
One example is the Ohio River Valley where we source many of our hardwoods. The first explorations of the trans-Appalachian West came in the late 17th century with early European American travelers fascinated by the diversity of western plants and animals. Oaks, walnuts, hickories, and other hardwoods were present in abundance, and those old growth trees grew to spectacular size.
Legend has it that George Washington, on a trip to the Ohio Valley, noted a huge hardwood tree at the mouth of the Kanawa River that was 45 feet in circumference! Imagine the magnificent wide planks that can be crafted from a tree like that, preserving the beauty of the wood for another lifetime.
This region continues to produce spectacular hardwood trees that flourish because nature gets everything just right—fertile, well-drained soils shaped by centuries of river flow, a temperate climate with generous rainfall, and a landscape that ranges from rich bottomlands to upland ridges. This combination allows hardwoods, particularly oak, cherry, and hickory, to grow slowly and evenly, developing tight grain, strength, and consistency. It’s the kind of environment that produces trees worthy of becoming wide plank floors.
My business partner, Adam Whitney, speaks from the heart when he tells us that, “One of the things I always enjoy sharing with folks about our Birch is that it’s truly a northern tree, where New England is the southern edge of its territory and it continues to grow up through Quebec and the maritime provinces.
“My Dad and I took a hike a couple of summers ago in the White Mountain National Forest near Waterville Valley. We experienced a stand of truly impressive Birch trees, and I was in awe of their size and majestic growth. These are the types of places where we find those trees we can imagine into beautiful floors!”
Adam is right. Along with our sawyers, we picture the boards each tree will yield, how they’ll mill, how they’ll age, and how they’ll perform decades from now.
That mindset is what separates a nice everyday floor from a stunning one.