The gold standard for durability and water resistance
When clients ask us what wood we would put in our own homes if budget allowed for high traffic areas, the answer is almost always Teak. Prized for centuries in the shipbuilding industry, Teak offers a combination of natural beauty and bulletproof performance that is unmatched in the flooring world.
Where it grows, how hard it is, and how it behaves once it is down in a Maryland, DC, or Northern Virginia home.
Myanmar, Thailand, India, and Indonesia, now largely plantation grown
Comparable to Red Oak at 1,290
No red hues, and it mellows into a deeper brown with light
The reason it holds up on boat decks and in Mid Atlantic seasonal swings
High natural oil content sheds moisture that would stain other species
Film finishes struggle to bond to an oily surface
The Janka scale measures the pounds of force needed to embed a steel ball halfway into a board. Higher means harder to dent. Everything below is on the same axis, so the bars can be read against each other directly.
Pounds of force (lbf)
Teak sits near Red Oak on the hardness scale, which surprises people. Its superpower is not hardness. It is the natural oil and silica content that make it behave like no other wood around water.
1 line, 2 colours in teak. Click a colour to see the floor installed, not just the swatch, and ask for the sample either way.
2 Colours · Mainsail
Plantation-grown teak in a smooth 5 inch engineered plank, with the most board-to-board colour movement of anything we stock.
Ask about this productThis is a selection, not the whole floor
Our North Bethesda showroom carries hundreds more hardwood samples across a dozen major brands, and we can order well beyond what is on display. If you have a species, width, or finish in mind that is not shown here, ask — there is very likely a sample waiting for you.
Widths, too: most of these lines are milled in more than one, and the width listed on a product is the one we stock and photograph. Where a line offers others they are named on the card, and we order them in — tell us the width you want and we will price it.
Teak is characterized by a golden to medium brown heartwood that radiates warmth. It does not have the red hues of Cherry or Mahogany, making it an excellent choice for clients who prefer a more neutral, organic aesthetic.
The grain is typically straight and dense, giving it a sleek, tailored appearance. Over time, with exposure to light, the golden tones deepen into a rich, mellow brown that exudes sophistication.
Teak sits around 1,100 to 1,300 on the Janka hardness scale, which is similar to Red Oak. This surprises many people who assume Teak is extremely hard. The true superpower of Teak is not hardness but its natural oil content and silica deposits. Teak contains a high percentage of natural oils that make it virtually waterproof. While no wood is truly waterproof, Teak is so resistant to moisture that it is often used in boat decks and outdoor furniture without any finish. In your home, this means a spilled glass of water or a damp entryway from a rainy DC afternoon will not cause warping or staining the way it would with other woods.
Additionally, Teak has remarkable dimensional stability. It moves very little with humidity changes, making it ideal for the Mid Atlantic climate where we see large swings between seasons. The high silica content in Teak also acts as a natural abrasive, which deters termites and other pests. However, that same silica quickly dulls standard cutting tools and sandpaper, which is why only experienced crews with industrial grade equipment should handle Teak installation and refinishing.
The natural oils in Teak present a unique challenge for adhesives and finishes. Standard wood glues and water based polyurethanes will not bond properly to an oily surface. We use specific two part adhesives and epoxy based fillers for Teak installations. For finishing, we recommend penetrating oil finishes or hardwax oils that soak into the wood and cure from within, rather than sitting on top as a film. This approach enhances the natural water resistance and makes spot repairs far easier.
If your Teak floor is decades old and looking dull, we do not simply sand and recoat like we would with Oak. Instead, we perform a deep cleaning to remove built up grime, then apply a fresh coat of penetrating oil to restore the rich golden tone without removing the valuable wear layer.
Teak is our first recommendation for the rooms that punish a floor in this region: the entry that catches a rainy DC afternoon, the mudroom off a Bethesda driveway, the powder room that sees splashes. It moves less through the seasonal swing than almost anything else we sell, and it shrugs off the water that marks other woods.
That protocol is the same whether the floor is going into a Bethesda colonial, a Washington DC rowhouse, or a new build in Arlington. It is described in full on our hardwood installation page.
Every species on this page is sold both ways, and the choice is usually made by the room rather than by the wood. Solid hardwood is 3/4 inch of teak through its full thickness, nailed down above grade, and sandable six to eight times over its life. It is the floor you buy once for a main level.
Engineered hardwood puts a real teak wear layer over a cross-ply core that holds flat where an exotic solid would move. It goes over concrete, below grade, and over radiant heat, and for imported species with a wide seasonal swing it is very often the more sensible specification in this region. Most of the teak we stock is engineered for exactly that reason.
Every Teak floor we sell is installed, run up the stairs, and eventually refinished by our own crews. These are the three pages that describe that work.
Subfloor prep, moisture metering, acclimation, and the fastening schedule we use for teak and every other species.
Treads, risers, and railings milled to match the floor, so a teak landing does not stop at the top step.
Sanding, sealing, and recoating, including the grit sequences and finishes dense exotic species like teak demand.
We are a Maryland showroom serving the whole DMV. Samples come to your house, and the crew that measures is the crew that installs.
Bethesda, Rockville, Potomac, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and Gaithersburg, out of our North Bethesda showroom.
Maryland service areas →Northwest DC, Georgetown, Capitol Hill, and the surrounding rowhouse and condo stock, where subfloor prep matters as much as the wood.
Flooring in Washington DC →Arlington, McLean, Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, and Tysons, with the same crews and the same moisture protocol.
Flooring in Northern Virginia →We provide teak flooring services throughout the DMV region.
Three imported species, three very different reasons to choose one.
No wood is truly waterproof, but Teak comes closest. Its high natural oil content means a spilled glass or a wet entry on a rainy DC afternoon will not warp or stain it the way it would other species. It is why Teak has been the boat deck timber for centuries.
Teak rates 1,100 to 1,300 on the Janka scale, roughly the same as Red Oak, so it dents about as easily as the most common floor in America. Its value is water resistance and dimensional stability rather than raw hardness. If dent resistance is your priority, Brazilian Cherry or Santos Mahogany is the better buy.
The natural oils that make Teak water resistant also stop standard adhesives and water based polyurethanes from bonding. We use two part adhesives for installation and penetrating oil or hardwax oil finishes that cure inside the wood rather than sitting on top as a film.
Usually without sanding. We deep clean to lift years of built up grime, then apply a fresh coat of penetrating oil to restore the golden tone. That preserves the wear layer, which on an older Teak floor is the most valuable thing in the room.
Cooler weather and lower indoor humidity can reveal gaps, squeaks, and worn finish on hardwood floors across the DMV. A fall inspection helps identify areas that need cleaning, repair, or added protection before holiday traffic and winter salt arrive. Use entry mats and maintain steady indoor humidity to reduce seasonal stress.
Samples are free, always. We bring teak to your home so you can hold it against your walls and daylight, which is the only place this decision is ever actually made.
2020 Flooring
5550-F Nicholson Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852
Mon–Wed 10–7 · Thu–Sat 10–6 · Sun 11–5
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Request Free In-Home ConsultFor over 25 years, residential and commercial members of the DC, Maryland, and Virginia community have trusted 2020 Flooring. Check out what our customers have to say!
5.0on Google“We had a last minute major issue in the flooring we selected from another flooring installer on our kitchen renovation and addition. We had initially loved another flooring choice that we saw at 2020 Flooring. Unfortunately we found out it had been discontinued. Carol from 2020 Flooring went above and beyond to help us locate the amount of LVP flooring we needed by scouring the country. She found just the right amount and was able to get the order expedited so we could continue on the time schedule with our general contractor. Bobby from 2020 Flooring was great in helping us remedy an issue with the subfloor. We now have the exact flooring we wanted which has made our new kitchen and addition complete. Can't thank them enough!”
“As an architect, from the moment we walked into 2020 Flooring, upon seeing a standout recommendation on NextDoor, I was immediately impressed with Bobby and Carol's technical expertise, friendliness and professionalism. They asked the right questions, took their time to weigh flooring options for us without pressure and worked hard to meet our budget for new floors for our townhome. They committed to a date for installation and made it work. Their crew, led by Mariano, was highly competent, discrete, meticulous and worked long hours to complete the job in time. They stand by their work proudly and their warranty is better than anyone else's. Our new floors are fabulous and we wholeheartedly recommend 2020 Flooring!”
“I spent many hours trying to select a quality vinyl floor with the right color combination for my house and Carol at IDESIGN made the job easy with a great selection that I am very satisfied with. In general IDESIGN carries a good selection of quality floors but the added value of Carol's design expertise made the difference and I greatly benefited from her help. Thanks Carol😊”
Reviews sourced from Google. 2020 Flooring was given permission to publish reviews on this site.
