Frequently Asked Questions
Sustainability
How does Zena ensure its hardwoods are sourced responsibly?
Our preferred source of hardwoods is our own Zena Forest, an FSC® certified forest that we have cared for since the mid eighties. To supplement wood from the Zena Forest, we source lumber from nearby forests, using our purchasing power to encourage landowners to retain and restore their hardwood forests through careful and selective management. We buy Oregon white oak, Western bigleaf maple and Oregon ash logs.
What are Zena Forest's sustainability practices?
- Selective logging. No clear cuts, we remove struggling trees to make room for trees that are thriving. In essence, we are “adding by subtracting.”
- Care for soil. Soil is our capital. We log with permanent skid trails, ensuring no machinery on the forest floor, which preserves the sponginess of the soil. Once soil has been compacted by heavy machinery, it never quite recovers. Uncompacted soil is a better environment for plants and retains groundwater.
- Minimal herbicides. We remove invasives by hand with machetes, and only use herbicides in very limited and targeted cases for dealing with a couple hard to manage invasive species.
- Waste management. Our entire facility uses a normal household garbage can, which we share with two households. It’s rarely full. None of our manufacturing byproducts go to the landfill. Our sawdust is used by mushroom growers. Small cutoffs power our kilns’ furnace, get sold as firewood or are donated to Sparrow Furniture, a local furniture shop that helps refugees overcome barriers to employment by providing on-the-job, paid vocational and language training.
- Conscientious sourcing. We use our purchasing power to encourage sustainable forest practices. We give preference to logging projects where hardwoods are being retained and restored, and we pay 30 percent more for these logs. It’s our way of making sure there will be hardwoods in the valley long into the future.
- Policy advocacy. We are actively engaged in natural resource and land use policy. Healthy forests provide a wide range of benefits to all Oregonians, and are a diminishing, yet vital part of what makes Oregon so great. Part of our mission is to make sure these forests are still around to support future generations.
Is Zena Forest a real place?
It is, and it’s spectacular. Zena Forest is a large, mixed species forest just outside Salem, OR. It is the largest patch of contiguous forest remaining in the Willamette Valley. Our family has been sustainably managing this forest for more than 30 years, and has always managed for the overall health ofthe ecosystem: flora, fauna and soil. In recent decades, we’ve been paying special attention to increasing the complexity and resilience of the forest to withstand the effects of climate change.
Flooring Options
Do all of Zena Forest Products’ wood flooring offerings come from Oregon trees?
Yes. In fact, we pride ourselves on using only native wood from Oregon’s Willamette Valley for all our flooring.
What species of wood does Zena offer for its hardwood floors?
Our hardwood flooring comes from locally-grown Oregon white oak, Western bigleaf maple and Oregon ash.
What is the difference between Oregon white oak, Western bigleaf maple and Oregon ash?
Each type of hardwood has its own characteristics of color, grain and density. Oregon white oak is the most dense of the three species and has bright white sapwood contrasting with darker heartwood. Bigleaf maple has a wide spectrum of interesting colors and figured grain while Oregon ash has light- to medium-brown and honey colors often with lots of marbling. Words don’t do this wood justice. Ask us to see samples or look at our Flooring page to see pictures.
What styles of flooring does Zena make?
- Wide Rustic shows off all the natural beauty of our trees with our widest boards. This flooring comes in a mix of 4.25", 5.25" and 6.25” planks. We make our Wide Rustic flooring to out-perform competitors’ solid wide boards that change shape with seasonal temperature swings. Zena's wide flooring remains stable in all weather conditions thanks to our high-quality plywood backer.
Does your flooring work for Living Building Challenge/LEED/Passivhaus?
Yes, we love being part ofthese projects! Forest Stewardship Council® certified products are available by request. All our wood is locally grown and manufactured, so it's a perfect fit for all sustainability certifications.
What is the finish surface? Can I choose the finish or is it pre-stained?
Our flooring is sold unfinished, allowing you to pick the finish that works best for your use patterns and color palette. It needs to be sanded and finished on site. This makes a better quality, longer lasting floor that is much more water resistant and doesn’t have any distracting grooves between boards.
There are many finishes on the market. Talk to your installer or designer to help narrow down the options. Be sure to look for non-toxic, UV protected, low VOC products. Our two cents: we tend to like simple, waterborne finishes like Pallman’s Pall-X 96.
How long are the boards?
Our flooring comes random length. Our longest boards are 8’, and we include pieces as short as 12” with a majority of boards being over 6' long.
What if I want a custom product?
If you're hoping for something that we don’t stock, let's talk. Keep in mind that custom runs require longer lead times. Visit our Custom page Custom page for more.
Do you sell rough sawn, circle sawn or skip sawn flooring?
No, we don’t. The natural character inherent in our local species is plenty interesting on its own. We prefer to sell unblemished flooring and let your lifestyle give it a one-of-a-kind patina over generations.
Can I get product samples?
Certainly. Arrange a mill visit, or contact us and we’ll mail samples.
Installation and Maintenance
Does Zena install?
We don’t install, but we have a network of trusty installers who we can recommend. Contact us for a recommendation in your area.
Why mixed width? How do you install that?
Mixed width floors, also called variable width, best represent the variety inherent in trees. Any given log will produce boards of varying sizes, so variable width floors do a better job of using all the wood a tree has to offer without waste. As for install, many folks choose to lay the widths randomly. You can also lay the boards in a pattern, and we make it easy by including a laying pattern that makes sure you don’t run out of one width before another. Still seem confusing? Call us—it’s not as tricky as it sounds.
How thick is the sandable wear layer? How many times can the floor be sanded and refinished?
Both our engineered and solid flooring options have 3/16” of sandable material. Depending on the use and care of your floor over time, this gives you 4-7 sandings before you run out of wood. With regular wear and tear, you should figure on a refinish every 30 years, which will give you have a floor that will last many generations.
How do I clean my hardwood floor?
It’s easy. For small spills, just a little soap and water with a rag or sponge will do the trick. Be sure to wipe the floors dry with a towel after cleaning. For routine cleaning, sweep with a broom or use a dust mop. Don’t clean your hardwood floor with a wet mop or a steam cleaner. These will damage the floor over time.
Engineered Flooring
What is the difference between solid and engineered flooring? Which type of flooring is better, solid or engineered?
Our solid flooring is made from one 3/4” thick piece of wood, while our engineered flooring has a 3/16” thick piece of hardwood laminated on top of a high grade 9/16" plywood core. Solid flooring is how flooring has been made for centuries and is very traditional. We only make it in narrow widths, as solid wood does not have the dimensional stability in wider widths to ensure that the floor will stay tight over time.
Engineered flooring can be wider because the plywood dramatically increases dimensional stability. Because of this, engineered flooring can be used in applications that aren’t appropriate for solid flooring, like basements, over concrete or with radiant heat.
Engineered flooring is also a great way for us to stretch (by almost three times) the precious resource of our local hardwood trees. The bottom two-thirds of a piece of flooring is only there as a binder and will never be seen or felt. By replacing the bottom of the floor with a more readily available and more stable product, we get the best of both worlds: flooring with the beauty of our local hardwoods and vastly improved stability.
As to which is better, it depends somewhat on your aesthetic tastes and application. Both are stellar products. Overall, engineered flooring is more stable, more versatile and more sustainable.
What is the difference between laminate and engineered wood flooring?
Laminate flooring is simply a very thin layer of plastic with a picture of wood printed on it and glued to low-grade substrate. Our engineered flooring is made out of real wood and has a thick wood wear layer that can be sanded and re-finished for generations.
How is the hardwood adhered to the plywood in your engineered flooring?
We partner with Trillium Pacific Millwork in Hubbard, OR. to make our engineered flooring. They use a massive glue press to adhere the two parts of the floor together with a CARB II compliant no added urea formaldehyde Type II glue that is made in Woodburn, OR. In other words, it's the best and most non-toxic glue available.
How much hardwood is used in engineered flooring compared to solid hardwood flooring?
One of the many benefits of engineered flooring is that it uses nearly three times less hardwood than solid flooring.