In the old days, people used the entire log or resource that was available to them, so floors in old homes have planks of several different widths, known as random widths. (As an aside, traditional floors were not only random width but also a mix of grades, and we frequently mix grades on request for customers who want this historically accurate look. Our Eastern White Pine Traditional flooring is a good reproduction/historical fit because it is a mix of several pine grades with a wide range of widths as well). Single width floors, because they are a more recent invention, lend themselves to a more contemporary atmosphere. There is frequently a surcharge for single width orders or repeating pattern orders such as 4,5,6, / 4, 5, 6 etc. because it involves more sorting of the product. Installing a random width (RW) floor is no more difficult than installing all one width or a repeating pattern. The floor will consist of 3 or more widths in varying amounts. You will receive a tally sheet with your order telling how much lineal and square footage you have in each width of your order. The widths that have the most lineal footage will repeat more often than those with less lineal footage. For example, an order with mostly 4″ but some 5″ and 6″ may go like this: 4, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 6, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4 with the 4″ repeating most often, but randomly. The tally sheet tells you how many times each width should repeat across a given length of a room.