Passport to Style. Deep color complements the rich grains found in the exotic species boards of the Passport 2 collection. Imported exotic species bring a fresh perspective to the classic American hardwood floor. Exotic wood species mix well with native wood species in existing furniture, cabinetry, or adjacent flooring. When selecting a floor, choose styles and colors you love to create a home that is yours uniquely. The use of exotic species as hardwood floors builds surfaces with a wonderful balance of style and livability. Contrasting light and dark grains only enhance the design. The unusual wood density and high hardness ratings of the exotic hardwoods provide a unique wood floor tough enough for life’s daily activities, in both commercial and residential settings.
Top Grain Selection. The Passport collection is created using only top grain selections. Careful attention to board dimension, finish quality, and precision milling results in a solid exotic collection unsurpassed in quality and overall value. Samples are available for your inspection.
Lifetime Structural Integrity Warranty. Beautiful formats. A slightly cantered micro-beveled edge gives lineal detail to each board and improves the depth and texture of any room. The preferred 3 3/4" wide profile and traditional random length boards in every carton make this floor a sure fit. New innovations include expansion/contraction relief cuts running the entire length underside the board for improved dimensional stability. The 4-sided tongue and groove are now lower on the board itself to allow for a thicker sandable top wearlayer.
25 Year Warranty, the finishing touch. The Passport Series ISO factory-certified 11 step finishing process uses 8 coats of German manufactured Treffic Ultra Violet Finish. Polyurethane provides the ultimate in depth and clarity of the grain in wood floors. Aluminum oxide, however, provides the durability and no-maintenance surface that stands up to everyday life. The process of utilizing polyurethane for the initial 6 coats, and applying the Aluminum Oxide finish for the top 2 coats, allows for the best of both worlds. Achieving the ultimate finish depth, without sacrificing the scratch resistant surface results. Your solid new floor can be installed and walked on the same day. Today's No-Wax pre-finished floors install with no sanding mess, no chemicals, and are simple to maintain.
The Artisan Passport Collection Series 2; select from 5 stunning species to discover that not all art comes in a frame.
Available Species:
- Acacia (African Black Walnut)
- Brazilian Cherry / Jatoba
- Brazilian Walnut / Ipe
- Brazilian Teak / Cumaru
- Tigerwood
Designed in California by Artisan Floors (R)
Top Grain Selection. The Passport collection is created using only top grain selections. Careful attention to board dimension, finish quality, and precision milling results in a solid exotic collection unsurpassed in quality and overall value. Samples are available for your inspection.
Lifetime Structural Integrity Warranty. Beautifully defined formats. A slightly cantered micro-beveled edge gives lineal detail to each board and improves the depth and texture of any room. The preferred 3 3/4" wide profile and traditional random length boards in every carton make this floor a sure fit. New innovations include expansion/contraction relief cuts running the entire length underside the board for improved dimensional stability. The 4-sided tongue and groove are now lower on the board itself to allow for a thicker sand-able top wear-layer.
25 Year Warranty, the finishing touch. The Passport Series ISO factory-certified 11 step finishing process uses 8 coats of German manufactured Treffic Ultra Violet Finish. Polyurethane provides the ultimate in depth and clarity of the grain in wood floors. Aluminum oxide, however, provides the durability and no-maintenance surface that stands up to everyday life. The process of utilizing polyurethane for the initial 6 coats, and applying the Aluminum Oxide finish for the top 2 coats, allows for the best of both worlds. Achieving the ultimate finish depth, without sacrificing the scratch resistant surface results. Your solid new floor can be installed and walked on the same day. Today's No-Wax pre-finished floors install with no sanding mess, no chemicals and are simple to maintain.
Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Passport II Exotic Collection.
Q. My house has a concrete slab foundation. Can I install the Brazilian Cherry in this collection over my concrete slab? I tested it and it does not have any moisture problems.
A. No you can not use a solid 3/4 floor directly over a concrete subfloor. The good news is that whether or not a floor is solid or engineered is irrelevant, they are both real wood. You can install our passport 5/16ths solid and our engineered exotic options over your concrete slab. Not only are exotic floors more stable in construction, many times the prices on the engineered exotics are actually lower as well.
Q. I noticed, especially on the Brazilian Walnut that the colors from plank to plank vary. Is this typical with Exotic species? I do not see this in much of the domestic species.
A. Yes, this is one of the desired qualities of the exotic species. Color variation from plank to plank is present in most species, although as you can tell by the zoom in pictures on this site, some species do not show the variation as much as others. In this collection the Brazilian Walnut is definitely the most varied. The Teak has a relative amount of variation and the kempas and Brazilian Cherry a little more uniform in plank to plank tone in comparision to the Brazilian Walnut. The tigerwood tone is fairly consistent from plank to plank, its color variation comes from the dark and light graining within the species itself.
Q. Is the tigerwood the same width as the other species in this collection or have I found a typo on your site (I love your site by the way)
A. Thanks for the comp, no typo the site is correct, The Tigerwood width is a little wider, coming in a 5". It is the odd one in terms of width in the group.
Q. Are exotic species harder than the domestic North American species?
A. As a general rule, yes exotic species are harder than Domestic species like Oak or Maple. We list the official hardness rating of each species in the specifications section next to the specific floor.
Q. I like the look of the exotic species, do they require special care? I heard they do from several people.
A. Although this does not apply to every exotic collection from every brand, I can speak for the selections you will find on simplefloors.com. The pre-finished collections in both engineered and solid require no special care other than basic care/cleaning that applies to any domestic hardwood floor species. The engineered options are the lowest maintenance wood floors available.
This page is meant to give brief details on how the Passport II is installed. Complete detailed installation instructions are on this site and in each carton.
The Passport II Solid series installs using the traditional nail down method over a wooden subfloor. Installing a traditional nail down, prefinished floor is a project for both the Do It Yourself homeowner or a professional flooring installer.
Using a 15 gauge nail and Pneumatic Flooring nailer, the nail is driven in at an angle through the top of the tongue. Placing the groove of the next board over the tongue conceals the nail.