Wood
Wood flooring is a natural and classy style flooring that can satisfy aesthetic desires in the home decoration and be compatible with traditional or modern home style. Wood floors are very durable. They are available in many species with various color, grain, and physical characteristics. There are more than 50 domestic and imported species of wood flooring available. The cut angle of the wood determines how the finished product looks. The four common cut angle include plainsawn, quartersawn, riftsawn or livesawn. Plainsawn is the most common cut. Other cuts are more expensive and provide different grain looks.
Wood or components must comply with specific grading rules for a particular wood type. For example, the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association (NOFMA) regulates the production of oak flooring through the Official Flooring Grading Rules, while the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA) regulates for maple, beech and birch floorings. Wood flooring are made in three basic styles: strip, plank and parquet. They are made from solid or engineered boards. Strip flooring is less than 3” wide. Plank flooring is equal to or greater than 3” wide. Both strip and plank flooring are linear but strip flooring provides wider view and make the room look larger. Parquet flooring is available in various sizes, and provides a geometric, non-linear look.
Normally, hardwood flooring are the last components of manufacturing construction, mostly installed only in the owner’s site. The subfloor must be flat, clean, dry before installation. Average moisture should be within the range as specified by the product manufacturer. In some cases, vapor retarder is required on the subfloor before applying the adhesive. The wood floor is not recommended for installation below grade.
Strip flooring are installed in parallel rows which have a standard pattern with side-matched and end-matched methods (tongue-and-grooved). They are commonly installed with blind nail-down directly to wood or plywood subfloors, or over wood screeds on concrete slab construction. The first row need both top nail and blind nail. Some types are glued directly to the subfloor with paste-like adhesives.
Planks flooring is installed in parallel rows. It is available in end-matched and side-matched with same thicknesses as strip floorings. The installation should follow manufacturers recommended procedure. It is important to avoid “H” pattern and end joint should be staggered row to row a minimum of 6” for strip flooring, 8-10” for 3” to 5” plank, and 10” for plank wider than 5”.
Parquet lay out can be in several ways including square layout from center of the room, square layout from the wall, using wall layout, diagonal layout, and herringbone layout. Two chalk lines are drawn with square 90° angle and the parquet tile is placed at the intersection of the two chalk lines. Proper placement of the first floor tile is the key to the entire installation.
For diagonal layout, a diagonal chalk line is used with 45° angle from the chalk line intersection. For drawing the diagonal line, 4-feet distance is pointed on the main line from each side of the intersection. The points are connected to shape a 4-feet length square. The diagonal line is resulted by continuing the diameter of this square from both directions. Parquet tile is placed throughout the chalk line. For herringbone layout, one center line and two working lines are required. For herringbone installation, a square piece of plywood with the same size as parquet tile is prepared. The piece is placed at the starting point of the bottom chalk line and fixed. Parquet tiles are then properly placed in the location and fastened to the subfloor.
