Somerset flooring has been in the flooring business for over 20 years. They are based out of Kentucky, where they manufacture hardwood flooring harvested from the heart of Appalachia. They are a member of the AHMI and carry an array of solid flooring along with their SolidPlus lineup, an interesting take on engineered hardwood flooring.
Whereas some manufacturers have a dozen or more species, including exotic hardwoods, Somerset flooring focuses on one area. Kiln-dried Appalachian hardwoods are their specialty, and that wood comes from within a 150-mile radius of their manufacturing plants. That means their flooring is manufactured in the United States, but you’ll only get to choose from domestic species as exotic woods are not in the mix.
Somerset’s website is simple to navigate with easy access to their flooring collections along with general information on the company. At this time, they have nine flooring collections available although there’s not much separation or variance between some of their product lines.
Their Hand Crafted collection features boards made from Appalachian Oak, Hickory, or Maple that have been lightly scraped by hand. The solid boards are ½” thick, but the widths vary by species. The Color Strip and Color Plank collections share more similarities than differences, but things change with the Somerset Character collection.
As the name implies, these boards will have more imperfections than usual, so knotholes and color variation is not uncommon. Those planks are available in Hickory, Maple, Walnut, or Appalachian Oak, and you can choose from ¾” solid flooring or ½” engineered boards. Aside from the Wide Plank collection, most of the remaining collections only feature slight variations from one line to the next.
Colors and Textures
Compared to other hardwood manufacturers, Somerset’s color selection is rather sparse. They mainly feature natural tones or classic finishes like Golden Oak, Gunstock, and Natural Red Oak. There are a few darker shades like Metro Brown, but the Gray hue of Smoke is about as wild as they get from a color standpoint.
The same goes for textures as Somerset doesn’t experiment with new techniques. You won’t find any boards that have been heavily distressed, but we did see several series that featured hand scraped planks. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it just depends on what you’re looking for when it comes to style.
Size and Milling
Standard milling practices are in play for most of the collections from Somerset. That means you’ll see a lot of boards with eased edge and square end profiles along with eased ends. The Homestyle collection has a four-sided eased edge, but there are no exotic techniques used in the milling. The sizes are a completely different story, however.
Most of the solid hardwood flooring from Somerset comes in two widths from 2 ¼” or 3 ¼”. A few collections have 4” and 5” wide solid flooring as well, but you’ll only find wide boards in the Wide Plank collection. Flooring from this line is 6” or 7” wide but is of the engineered variety. Most planks are listed at random lengths up to 6 ½” as well aside from a few exceptions.
Durability
With Somerset flooring, the key to durability is the warranty. Both their engineered flooring and solid hardwood floors come with a lifetime structural guarantee. That’s a huge bonus in our eyes, and the 50-year finish warranty is better than average as well. Keep in mind, that’s just for residential use as the finish warranty drops to 5 years in a commercial setting.
The company’s SolidPlus engineered flooring is ½” thick and made from 8-plies, whereas many manufacturers opt for 6 or 7-ply construction. That and a 3mm wear layer adds an additional level of durability to their engineered boards. The solid flooring is ¾” thick, and both make use of the company’s Ultimate UV-Cured Aluminum Oxide finish.
The Green Factor
In terms of sustainability, Somerset Floors is at the top of their game. They only use domestic species like Oak, Maple, and Hickory and they use the entire tree – not just the middle. Somerset has a full-time forestry staff that plans 100-years ahead of time, and while most of their wood goes into flooring, they also use by-products for items like pellet fuel. Their flooring also CARB II Complaint and meets all the key ASTM standards.
Somerset Hardwood Cost and Availability
Somerset is what we consider to be a medium to large brand in the hardwood flooring world. That means you can find their products locally in flooring stores, but also online. While there’s not particular retailer we recommend over another, you won’t have a problem finding Somerset hardwood flooring.
Collection
Type
Species
Color
Price
Character
Solid
Hickory
Ember
$5.29 sq. ft.
Homestyle
Solid
Appalachian Oak
Charcoal
$4.39 sq. ft.
Color Strip
Engineered
Red Oak
Natural
$4.49 sq. ft.
Specialty
Solid
Maple
Greystone
$6.15 sq. ft
Hand Crafted
Engineered
Maple
Dark Forest
$8.29 sq. ft.
Somerset Hardwood Pros, Cons and Ratings
We were surprised by the lack of reviews on Somerset flooring, given how long they’ve been in business and how easy their flooring is to obtain. After digging a little deeper, we feel they are well worth a look if you are in the market for well-made hardwood flooring at a reasonable price. We didn’t see an abnormal amount of complaints about problems with their flooring.
Pros:
Solid quality overall with both their engineered and solid hardwood flooring. They provide consumers with an excellent 50-year finish warranty with a lifetime structural guarantee.
Cons:
Not many color options or finishing techniques in comparison to their competition. No exotic hardwoods and not many options under $5.00 per square foot.
Ratings:
Styles: 4
Species: 3
Finishes: 3
Durability: 4
Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5
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