Most industry observers say this accounts for more than
a steady one half of the market. Request for oak flooring
is often used synonymously with "hardwood", and are often
made as "oak flooring". Hardwood Floor Magazine reported red
oak
accounted for 50%+ of
Distributor sales. The newest request are being made for cherry, birch, white
Oak, maple,
and exotic
species from around the World. Distributors
are seeing a growing demand 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 is using. Mixed Media is also
becoming more and more popular. For instance, painted faux finishes
on wood floor products is being used in many upscale projects.
Industry manufacturers report an increase in maples popularity and has
been the trend for the past several years.
Bamboo flooring also is
enjoying a new popularity with the West Coast and Southeast
leading the country in this new trend. Some industry leaders attribute
this to consumers
not wanting to use the same old product, and to its
hardness (see relative
hardness table) with appearance playing into the picture. In fact
there are more than 100 species
of exotic wood floors. The combination of exotic woods to make
custom borders are up, with more and more manufacturers
producing custom
made accents, borders, and medallions.
Room Setting Photo's of
commonly used oak flooring grades
Which ever wood
species consumers will turn to next is unknown. One thing is
emerging from this new demand for hardwood floors; kitchens and
hardwood floors are becoming more and more 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 mainly due to it
hardness, cost, appearance and availability.
Oak flooring started as
planks (wide boards-3" & up), 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 and
below grade installations. (see
Subfloor prep)
Wood flooring
can be broken into 3 major groups: unfinished,
prefinished and acrylic impregnated, solid or engineered, as to
their manufacturing process. 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", planks of
3-1/4", 4", 5", 6", 7" and 8" face
widths all T&G 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.
Prefinished
Wood Floors (finish is applied at the factory) 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 in the factory, along with new
technologies (engineered) has made these products less effected by
moisture and will not shrink or swell as much as its solid unfinished
counter parts. This new technology has made for better urethane
adhesives, adding to this products stability over a concrete slab.
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 ) 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. Using new technology, this product is made by forcing
acrylic material in its pores giving it a wear surface, and requires
little maintenance and great durability. These products are used
mainly in high traffic, and commercial applications.
Wood Flooring Contractors reported recently in a
survey by Hardwood Floors Magazine, that 71% of wood floor related
work was remodeling projects, while the remaining 29% was in new
construction. They also reported Contractors are selling 76%
unfinished, vs 23% going to Prefinished Engineered and Prefinished
solid.
When choosing
a wood floor 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
being the most popular. Finishing an unfinished product with today's
modern urethane finishes can insure a easy maintenance for many years
to come. Pre-finished products now carry up to a 25 year warranty, and
seven to ten coats of finish, making this more and more a choice of
homeowners. . . .Free Online Quote / Inquiry or Purchase Products Direct
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