Orchard walnut has many unique features. Technically, it is two species, not a hybrid. The base of an orchard walnut tree is Juglans hindsii, or California black walnut. The mid and upper trunk is Juglans regia, or English walnut. The two species meet in a dramatic graft line that is visible in many of our floors. The characteristics of J. hindsii are figured grain and dark tones, while J. regia varies in color from light tans to dark brown. The variation is beautiful. Other dimensions come to play when the white sapwood is featured alongside the dark heartwood; closed knots, while adding a hint of rustic, also create enchanting diversity in the grain.  

Hardness: heartwood is 1290 Janka. [Harder than North American Cherry and Eastern Black Walnut]. The sapwood is slightly less hard.

Dried by air for six months, then by kiln for one month. Air-drying brings out the best features in the wood, but kiln-drying is necessary to complete the process.

Color: wide spectrum of color, from lighter sapwood to browns, tans, and interwoven black in the heart.

Point of interest: the graft line between J.hindsii and J.regia is often seen in the floor.

Available as engineered or solid.

Our engineered floor features a 1/8" solid wear layer over a high quality 9-ply Baltic Birch substrate. 

Micro-beveled edges, tongue and groove, end-matched.

The solid floor is a full 3/4". Relieved back, tongue and groove, end-matched. Available with or without micro-beveled edges.

Engineered is 5/8” thick and may be ordered from 5" up to 9" wide.

Solid is 3/4” thick and may be ordered from 3" up to 8" wide.

Mixed widths are available. Lengths may vary from 18” to 72”.

Custom distressing: hand-scraped edges, hand-planed surfaces, and other special effects can be specified at an additional cost and lead-time.

Pattern floors: We are proud to offer classic patterned floors. Herringbone, Versailles, custom inlays, compasses and medallions are available. Please contact us for more information.

Old Durham Floors (ODF) was founded in 2013, as a joint partnership between two existing companies, Westgate Hardwoods and Old Durham Wood. Both are headquartered in Durham, northern California, near the walnut orchards in Butte, Tehama, Glenn and Shasta Counties.

Since 1989, Old Durham Wood has specialized in serving local orchard farmers when it is time to remove and replace orchards that have exceeded their productive lives. Prior to this service being available, the farmer’s normal method of disposal was to simply pile and burn the unwanted wood, or allow for firewood removal followed by burning whatever was left over. Either way, the wood from this activity was mostly wasted.

Several years ago it became apparent that the larger trunks had a better use than going through the grinder. The trunks were of sufficient size and quality to be salvaged for conversion into high-quality flooring. ODW now had the raw material for this purpose, but not the experience and equipment required to manufacture flooring.

With the craftspeople and equipment at WH, and with ODW seeking to find higher, better uses for the wood waste it processed, a partnership made perfect sense.

Today we endeavor to salvage the best of the English walnut tree in log form. The logs are transported to a central processing site where they are cut into lumber which is then dried and graded. Old Durham Floors is producing several grades of both solid wood, and engineered English walnut tongue-and-groove flooring.