It's no secret that not all flooring is created equally. How do you evaluate hardwood floor quality as you search for the perfect floors for your home? This is where wood floor grades enter in.
Using Wood Floor Grades to Evaluate Hardwood Flooring
A flooring expert is able to determine hardwood floor quality based on criteria like character marks, color variation, grain patterns and more. It breaks down into a few wood floor grades. Here's an example from the National Wood Flooring Association using oak:
- Clear Oak: This hardwood flooring product is mostly heartwood; it allows all the natural heartwood color variations with minimal character marks and limited color variation. The combination features infinitely variable grain patterns with nominal distraction from character marks and changes in color.
- Select Oak: This type of flooring contains all the variations in coloration that are produced by the contrasting differences of heartwood and sapwood. It also includes minimal character marks, such as small knots, worm holes and mineral streaks, as well as slightly open characters. The mixture creates a floor where the light sapwood and dark heartwood are combined with small characters and other slight color interruptions.
- Number 1 Common Oak: A hardwood flooring product characterized by prominent color variation that also contains noticeable characters (with size limits) such as knots, open checks and worm holes, along with machining and drying variations. Number 1 Common Oak is a tasteful floor where some obvious variation is expected.
- Number 2 Common Oak (or Character Oak): This flooring contains sound natural and manufacturing variations such as knot holes, open worm holes and other open characters along with prominent color changes; manufacturing variations include drying characters and machining irregularities. Number 2 Common Oak is most desirable for applications where numerous notable character marks and prominent color contrast is desired for homeowners that want rustic hardwood flooring.
As you search for flooring, make sure you keep wood floor grades in mind. Need help? Come visit our showroom! Our experts are happy to answer your hardwood floor quality questions and more. Make sure you contact us for a free in-home estimate too.
Photo Credit: Mirage Hardwood Floors
