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Wood Flooring
Grades
When shopping for wood flooring,
the first thing you will hear is the term “grade.”
The grade of the wood refers to the beauty of the
wood, in terms of how true the natural color of the wood
is, as well as the number of defects seen in the grain.
These defects include knots as well as every
blemish in the grain.
Grade, will also refer to how durable the wood
is. Therefore,
it is very important for you to understand about the
different grades so that you will know the quality of
wood flooring you are purchasing.
You will see grades are listed
as Clear, Select, or common or as First, Second or
Third. The following is a brief explanation of each
grade:
Clear/First
– This wood is generally free from any major visible
defect and discoloration.
The gain of the wood is also more uniformed from
plank to plank within the carton or box. However, there can and usually are variations in
coloration and grain from box to box.
When the planks are inspected, you may discover
minor visible imperfections.
This is normal, as you are dealing with a natural
product and there will always be imperfections in
nature. This
type of wood flooring may also be sold as “premium
wood.” This
is the most expensive grade.
Select/Second – The wood
flooring in this group will contain slight
imperfections, and variations in color as well as in the
grain between planks within the same carton or box.
In addition, some major defects can also be found
on certain planks, when each plank is closely inspected.
Common/Third
– This grade of wood flooring is the
least expensive form of flooring, and should be
considered especially if you have a large amount of
square footage to install and you are on a tight or
fixed budget. Often
with this grade, you will find that some of he planks
will contain knots as well as variations between color
and grain. This
grade is often sold as "rustic,"
“Builder’s grade,” and many times as
“Seconds.” You
can save a lot of money by installing common/ third
grade wood flooring and many times, if the installer
opens all of the boxes or cartons, then shuffles and
blends the planks together, they can create a floor,
which flows beautiful and resembles a floor that used
only “Premium Flooring.”
However, planning installation of the planks
takes consideration and time.
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