Understanding
grading.
There is
no clear grading system for wood flooring in the UK. For example, what one
supplier might describe as “Rustic”, another might label “Character”. Some suppliers have a 3 grading
system (e.g. rustic, character, clear (or prime)), others a 2 grading system.
At the end of the day, it depends on how much they are prepared to select
out boards after they have been machined. As a general rule, the following
usually applies, but it is important to check on specification as the edges
are very blurred.
Rustic – could contain large knots up to
70 mm wide, some might be open or cracked, some sap wood possible (much lighter
in colour) and darker colour variation, could be cracks or splits in some
of the timber. This is usually
the cheapest material.
Character
grade – will contain
small knots, ideally no larger that 25 mm, some of which might be cracked
or chipped, some colour variation (but no sap), plenty of interesting grain
pattern. More expensive than
Rustic.
Clear
(or prime) grade
– might have a few pin knots, but otherwise should be mainly knot free, possibly
some variation in colour and grain pattern.
This material is considerably more expensive that Rustic or Character.
Other
terminology in use
Select – usually used to describe clear
boards which are selected for their straight grain, tends to apply to American
products such as maple or oak, usually expensive.
Natural – used by some manufacturers to
cover the character/rustic or character range.
Mill
Run – could be anything. Might be the same as Natural, or could
include clear
grade.
Mixed
grade – usually
a mixture of Character and Clear. It
simply means that the manufacturer does not select out the better material
and sell it as Clear.
Quarter
Sawn – the most
expensive, in oak characterised by the vertical grain, and flame marks on the
surface, usually used for cabinet work, very stable.
Strip
Flooring –
generally means fairly narrow and short boards.
Pre-finished –
means that the floor has been sealed with several coats of lacquer.
(see below)
Solid – can be very misleading, and
doesn’t always mean that an oak board, for example, is all oak. Some suppliers call engineered board “solid”,
even though it is made up of layers of different material glued together.
It is important
to compare like with like when choosing flooring. For example, how wide are the boards,
how long are they, where are they from ?
Usually the wider and/or longer the board, the more it costs. Some suppliers offer floors which contain
short lengths (e.g. 300 mm). What
happens is that say in a “character” board 2 metres long there may
be two or three evenly spaced knots, the manufacturer cuts each side of these
knots, then the remaining pieces can be sold as “clear” grade for
considerably more money. This
can be fine – a floor fitter needs some short pieces to start and end
rows. But if there are short pieces, you can be sure that there will
be lots of others at 1 metre or less, and this can affect the final appearance
of the floor. Some flooring contains lengths no greater than 1.3 or 1.5 metres.
This is typical of the material currently being imported from China,
normally in widths of 90, 110 and 130 mm.
Long boards give the floor layer greater flexibility and can be cut
as necessary… So when making your choice, decide on what you want.
What sort of effect do you want?
Do you want lots of longitudinal joints, or do you prefer longer boards. Then, if shopping around, compare like with like.
Much of
the pre-sealed flooring is imported from Asia particularly China, although
some UK and European manufacturers are now producing their own. Usually it has a micro-bevel on the edge
which gives a slight V to the join between boards. This does affect the appearance of the floor. Some people prefer it, others don’t. It can be a dust trap. The main disadvantage of pre-finished
flooring is that if the surface gets damaged, it can be difficult to match
it up unless you know what it was sealed with in the first place. The advantages are that once the floor
is fitted, the job is done. No
messy (and possibly expensive) sanding.
An alternative can be to buy pre-sanded flooring, which will require
only a minimum of finishing, and which can be sealed in situ using a brush-on
floor sealer or floor varnish.