Frequently Asked Questions

Information sourced from the NWFA

As a consumer, it is important to understand how to determine the difference between the top four grades of hardwood species to understand what a hardwood floor is going to look like after it is installed. It is very hard to determine the final look of a floor from a 2’x3′ sample without understanding these different grades of hardwood.

*Please note that these grades are for unfinished wood products. After the material is graded it can then be stained and finished at the manufacturer and “re-graded” with the manufacturer’s own grading system. Sound confusing? It really isn’t confusing when you work with a reputable hardwood flooring professional who can help you make the best choices for your home!

CLEAR GRADE
This grade of flooring is mostly heartwood. It allows all the natural heartwood colour variations and infinite variable grain patterns but with minimal distraction from character marks and limited colour variation. 

SELECT GRADE
This grade contains variations in colouration produced by the contrast between heartwood and sapwood along with minimal character marks such as small knots, worm holes, mineral streaks and slightly open characters. The resulting floor is a combination of  light sapwood and dark heartwood with small characters and other small colour interruptions.

​NO. 1 COMMON
This grade is characterized by prominent colour variations and characters (with size limits) that may include knots, open checks and worm holes, along with machining and drying variations. No. 1 Common is a tasteful floor where prominent variation is expected.

​NO. 2 COMMON
This contains sound natural and manufacturing variations such as drying characters and machining variations along with knot holes, open worm holes and other open characters and prominent colour variations. No. 2 Common is most desirable for applications where numerous notable character marks and prominent colour contrast is desired. 

 Heartwood Definition: The dense inner part of a tree trunk, yielding the hardest timber

​Sapwood Definition: The soft outer layers of recently formed wood between the heartwood and the bark, containing the functioning vascular tissue.

The angle at which a board is cut determines the final appearance of the hardwood floors and how dimensionally stable they will be. Hardwood flooring is either plainsawn, quartersawn, riftsawn or livesawn. 

PLAIN SAWN / FLATSAWN

Plain sawn, also commonly called flatsawn, is the most common and least expensive way to manufacture logs into lumber. Plain sawn lumber is the most common type of cut. The annular rings are generally 30° or less to the face of the board; this is often referred to as tangential grain. The resulting wood displays a cathedral pattern on the face of the board.

​QUATERSAWN

Quarter sawing gets its name from the fact that the log is first quartered lengthwise, resulting in wedges with a right angle ending at approximately the center of the original log. Each quarter is then cut separately by tipping it up on its point and sawing boards successively along the axis. This results in boards with the annual rings mostly perpendicular to the faces. Quarter sawing yields boards with straight grain lines which gives them greater stability than flatsawn wood.  Those with the distinctive ray and fleck figures are known as quarter sawn while those without are called rift sawn.

​RIFTSAWN

Rift sawn lumber is typically narrow with a very straight grain pattern on the face of the board. Rift sawn lumber is usually used with oak to avoid the flecks that are common in the species. Although the annular rings of a rift sawn board can be between 30–60° to the face of the board, 45° is the most optimum. Similar to quarter sawn lumber, rift sawn lumber is also referred to as radial grain. The most stable boards, and also the most wasteful to produce, are rift sawn planks. Each of these boards is cut radially perpendicular to the growth rings of the tree which leaves large triangles of waste from between each board. As a result, rift sawn lumber is costly to produce and therefore, the most expensive type of planks available from a log and the most expensive cut in hardwood floors.

LIVESAWN

Livesawn is a combination of plainsawn, quartersawn and riftsawn. This is an old method of sawing lumber used by old world European Craftsmen. To make live sawn, the sawyer slices the log directly through.

​Source: National Wood Flooring Association

Information sourced from the NWFA

Hardwood floors come in a variety of species, each offering a look that is unique to itself with its own color and physical characteristics. Some species are light, like maple; some are medium, like oak, and some are dark, like walnut. Each species also possess natural characteristics that are inherent to its appearances such as knot holes, mineral streaks or grain variations.

​Depending on the room where the hardwood flooring will be installed, a certain level of hardness may be a desirable option. Generally speaking, the higher the number on the Janka scale, the harder and more scratch resistant a wood is. The harder a wood is, the more difficult it becomes to saw or run through a mill. Surprisingly, though, how hard a species is does not affect its pricing‚—how readily available the species of wood is the deciding factor.

Dimensional stability is a coefficient which assesses the resistance of wood to environmental changes such as moisture or temperature. Different hardwood species are more resistant to the impacts of water. Species with a higher resistance to moisture are the better choice when installed in rooms with higher moisture conditions such as basements and laundry rooms. While it does not necessarily mean that they will be impervious to moisture damage, resistance to the impact of moisture will be higher. For rooms that are below grade or that have a potential higher moisture content, engineered hardwood flooring becomes the better choice due to its dimensional stability.​

Information sourced from the NWFA

When choosing the finish for wood floors, consider your lifestyle and maintenance preferences. All wood floors will require routine maintenance, such as sweeping or dust mopping, to keep them looking beautiful and new, but the finish will have a big impact on how the floor is maintained long-term, as well as how it will look in the years to come.

Each finish comes in a variety of sheens. Each sheen has a different level of shine which will impact the appearance of the floor.

• Gloss sheens offer the most shine and reflect the most light.

• Semi-gloss sheens offer less shine than gloss and will reflect less light than gloss, but more light than satin.

• Satin sheens offer less shine than semi-gloss and will reflect less light than semi-gloss, but more light than matte.

• Matte sheens offer the least shine and will reflect the least light. This finish also is sometimes referred to as flat. 

Surface finishes are durable, water-resistant, and require minimal maintenance. They remain on the surface of the wood to form a protective coating and are considered to be film-forming. There are several types of surface finishes available:

• Water-based finishes are clear and will resist turning yellow over time. They are very durable.

• Oil-based finishes are amber in color. They are very durable.

• Moisture-cured finishes are clear to amber in color. They are extremely durable and are more moisture-resistant than other surface finishes.

• Wax finishes soak into the wood and harden to form a protective penetrating seal, which will appear low luster and amber in color. They are durable, but can show spots from water and other contaminates.

• UV cured finishes are finishes that are instantly cured using ultraviolet light.  Multiple sheens are available.

• Natural oil finishes can be penetrating oils or hard wax oil finishes. They penetrate into the pores of the wood to achieve a durable, long-lasting finish.