The traditional ever-popular unfinished
oak "strip" wood flooring, whether nail down or glue
down, pre-finished or unfinished-OAK is still KING. (See Choosing
A Wood Floor) With OAK the top preference for most builders.
No surprise to those in the industry, for in 2000 the Oak
Flooring Institute reported shipments of more than 562.9 million
square feet of the volume sales( a 5% increase from 1999), with
unfinished 3/4" oak, which most industry observers say accounts
for more than one half of the market. . Request for oak is often used
synonymously with "hardwood". Many
request are often made as "oak flooring". New request are
being made for maple, and exotic
species such as cherry, and
birch. A growing demand is seen in the
request for custom-made
borders and accents. This trend is in part because most builders
and homeowners like to differentiate themselves to what is common
place and what everyone else has. Technical director Daniel Boone of
the National Wood Flooring Association says maples popularity has increased during the past
several years. The West Coast and Southeast have been leading the country
in this new trend. Some industry leaders attribute this to not using
the same old, same old product, and to its hardness (see relative
hardness table) with appearance playing into the picture. In fact
there are as many as 60 species
of wood floors, Boone says. The combination of exotic woods to
make custom borders are on the up swing, with more than a dozen
manufacturers producing custom made borders and accents. The cost of
these product vary, with some two wood species, rose medallions
starting at around $250, and borders starting at $10-$12 per lineal
foot. 
Which ever wood species consumers will
turn to next is unknown. One thing is for emerging from this new
demand for hardwood floors; kitchens and hardwood floors are becoming
more and more a common place, with family rooms (most are an extension
of the kitchen) and foyers not far behind. Even though wood floors, as
most hard surface floors are on the up swing, hardwood floors account
for about 7% of the flooring market. One of the larger wood flooring
producers predicts that share will double in the next five years, with
thinner 5/16", 3/8" & 1/2" products taking more of
the market share, prefinished and unfinished.
Traditionally the wood flooring industry
has had many sizes and types of hardwood flooring material. Oak being
the main staple of the industry, today is still the most widely used
due to it hardness, cost, appearance and availability.
Oak flooring started as planks (wide
boards), then the standard was for many years a 3/4" thick by
2-1/4" face width by random lengths, thus called strip flooring.
Later a 1-1/2" face version was manufactured. Today manufacturers
make many sizes, designs, varieties, and species of wood flooring. As
the industry has grown, with new technologies, a wider variety has
made the industry produce many precision-made products of enduring
beauty manufactured and graded according to certified standards and
grading rules. Today's engineered products now allows wood floors to be
placed directly on concrete slabs .The solid 3/8" product can
also be glued direct on-grade and is a good product in some species
for installation
over radiant heat.
Wood flooring can be
broken into 3 major groups:
Unfinished, Prefinished and Acrylic
Impregnated. Each having there own sizes, colors, and species. Unfinished,
the original wood flooring for
years is still manufactured as it was before the turn of the century. A 2-1/4" face by 3/4"
thick, by random lengths tongue
and grooved product is still the number one choice for an unfinished
nail down product. This product also comes in 1-1/2",
3-1/4", 4", 5", 6", 7" and 8" face
widths all T&G 3/8" up to 3/4" thick. With some products being 1/2"
and 2-1/4" is regarded as "strip flooring" and all
sizes larger as" plank flooring". Red or white oak are the
standard species used. These products are graded by appearance and
cut. Select and Better (S&B) is the standard grade used in the
industry. Grades lower are #1 and #2 common. Rift and quartered are
cuts above the S & B grade. Many species and varieties of wood
flooring are now available. For instance ash, black locust, cherry,
heart and yellow pine, maple, walnut are the major products used in today's unfinished
markets, with many exotics imported from around the world. All these
products require on site sanding and finishing.
Pre-Finished
Wood Floors are becoming more and more popular in today's
market place. It's ability to go over concrete, various colors and
ease of installation and less down time than unfinished products has
made it more in demand than ever. These products already stained and
finished, along with new technologies (engineered-laminated) has made
these products less effected by moisture
and will not shrink or swell as much as its solid unfinished counter
parts. Extra care must be taken to avoid damage during installation.
These products are a great remolding choice because being
"pre-finished" once installed the job is done. There is no
dust and sanding process in applying stains or finishes. Again red and
white oak is the main type of wood used in these products. Ranging
from 5/16" (engineered-laminate) to 3/4" (solid) thick,
T&G, these products vary from 2-1/4" to 8" widths, with
many choices of colors. With today's new adhesive technology
pre-finished glue down wood flooring is quick becoming the floor of choice by many contractors, and home
owners a like. You should consider these products when thinking of
hardwood floors.
One of the types of wood flooring is Acrylic
impregnated In a industry of
new technological products being produced, this product is made by forcing acrylic material in
its pours giving it a wear
surface, and requires little maintenance and great durability. These products are used mainly in
high traffic, and commercial
applications.
When choosing a wood product many
factors should be considered. What areas of the home will receive
wood, the amount of foot traffic,
in those areas, sub-floor conditions, unfinished or pre-finished,
colors and finishes. What ever your choice, it's always good to get
advise from a wood floor professional. Making the right choice will
give you a lifetime of warmth and
beauty that a hardwood floor can give to your home or office. The
trend in today's market place, commercial and residential is in
natural wood tones or color. Oak, ash, and maple are the most popular.
Finishing an unfinished product with today's modern urethane finishes
can insure a easy maintenance
floor for many years to come Pre-finished products now carry a 3 to 15
year warranty, which makes this more and more a choice of homeowners.
. . .
