Types & Styles
Wood floors come in a variety of styles to meet
the demands of today's busy lifestyles - factory
finished, unfinished, solid, engineered, strip,
plank, parquet, and acrylic impregnated.
Choosing the style that is best for you is an important
decision, and will be based on a variety of issues
including your lifestyle, your decorating style,
and the area in which you live. Consider consulting
with a wood flooring professional in your area to
weigh the advantages of each alternative.
Colors
Wood floors come in a rainbow of colors to fit
any décor. You can achieve unique, one-of-a-kind
looks with custom stains and finishes. And even
if your floor is old, you can achieve an entirely
new look with new stain and finishes. The possibilities
are endless.
Species
Today's wood floors come in more than 50 species,
both domestic and exotic, spanning the spectrum
of color options, hardness, and price ranges. No
matter what the look you want to achieve, there
are a variety of species to meet your needs. Click
here to see the wide variety of species available.
Grades
The appearance of the wood determines its "grade."
All grades are equally strong and serviceable, but
each affords you a different look.
* Clear
Clear wood is free of defects, though it may have
minor imperfections.
* Select
Select wood is almost clear, but contains some natural
characteristics such as knots and color variations.
* Common
Common wood (No. 1 and No. 2) has more natural characteristics
such as knots and color variations than either clear
or select grades, and often is chosen because of
these natural features and the character they bring
to a room. No. 1 Common has a variegated appearance,
light and dark colors, knots, flags and wormholes.
No 2 Common is rustic in appearance and emphasize
all wood characteristics of the species.
* First
First grade wood has the best appearance, natural
color variations and limited character marks.
* Second
Second grade wood is variegated in appearance with
varying sound wood characteristics of species.
* Third
Third grade wood is rustic in appearance allowing
all wood characteristics of the species.
Cuts
The angle at which a board is cut determines how
the finished product looks. Wood flooring is either
plainsawn, quartersawn or riftsawn.
* Plainsawn
Plainsawn is the most common cut. The board contains
more variation than the other two cuts because grain
patterns resulting from the growth rings are more
obvious.
* Quartersawn
Quartersawing produces less board feet per log than
plainsawing and is therefore more expensive. Quartersawn
wood twists and cups less and wears more evenly.
* Riftsawn
Riftsawn is similar to quartersawing, but the cut
is made at a slightly different angle.
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