Hardwood Flooring Grades Explained

Although there are only a few different grades that as a floor consumer you need to concern yourself with it doesn t help that each grade is often referred to in different ways.

Hardwood flooring grades explained.

The common grades are likely to be most suitable for the cabinet industry most furniture parts and flooring. The people who created the grading system nofma do not consider quality to be a factor that differs throughout the different grades although many installers and contractors would beg to differ. This is the best grade of hardwood flooring because there are few color variations board lengths are not widely varied and there are little to no visible knots or pinholes. Here are some different grades of oak hardwood floors that we have installed sanded and stained with darker colors.

Can you tell the difference especially between 1 and 2 common. Wooden floors are graded to enhance the natural beauty of each individual timber by taking in to consideration three following major factors. For complete details the grading rule book can be purchased from the national hardwood lumber association. Domestic hardwood flooring grades.

Size and number of knots colour variation amount of sap present in the wood. Select grade hardwood flooring is top of the line in terms of both appearance and in terms of cost and comes from the heart of a tree. This grade of solid hardwood is what our flooring professionals always recommend installing. Because of this the wood s sap content is very low which results in very uniform color very few knots and the smoothest finish of any grade wood.

Below is a general description of grades for other domestic species such as walnut hickory maple ash and american cherry. While the national wood flooring association or nwfa has established a grading system it only applies to certain domestic species there is no universal system for international grades of hardwood. For a more complete description please see actual products. This is thanks to the various different grading agencies and retailers giving different terms to essentially.

The different grades of hardwood flooring explained. With a natural floor the differences in grades of oak are more noticeable. This is an interesting area for shoppers retailers and manufacturers. With a dark stain much less noticeable.

In order to separate hardwood flooring in to different groups well defined wood flooring grading system was introduced.