Wood flooring remains the most common finishing method in apartments and private houses. Despite the popularity of the material, I have more than once encountered a situation where owners, planning to change floors, have little idea what types of boards exist and which ones they need specifically. When I see a desire to delve deeper into the issue, I think it would be useful to tell by what criteria floor boards differ.
Source archidea.com.ua
How to classify them
Sometimes you can hear that “a board is a board in Africa too.” To a person far from construction, the types of lumber look almost the same, differing only in size. This means that he will almost certainly acquire, perhaps good, but not the most suitable material.
Meanwhile, each type of board has its own set of characteristics; They are suitable for different types of premises and require different processing technologies. By choosing the right material, you will maintain quality and extend the life of the floor. A thoughtful choice will eliminate squeaking and deformation. If you need a floor board, which one to choose will depend on the tasks at hand. To make the task easier, it is useful to rely on the following classification by category:
- Purpose (method of use in construction).
- Material of manufacture, grade, dimensions.
- Processing quality, profile.
Source remstroiblog.ru
Main types
There are several criteria to determine the type:
- The cutting method, which determines the scope of use of the lumber. Among the possible ones, radial and semi-radial, as well as tangential, are distinguished. The difference is the angle of the fibers. For a radial look, the degree is 60-90, which is ideal for protection from moisture and the appearance of defects. Semi-radial - 45 degrees, allows you to get a minimum amount of waste. Tangential - the most common and cheapest.
- Method of use. Based on the scope of application, planed and floored types of boards are distinguished. In the first case, the board comes out smooth, polished on all sides, even, with the correct geometry. The second is used for floors.
There is the cheapest type of edged board, when a simple cut is carried out, without selection, sanding or other processing. Such lumber has uneven edges, with the presence of bark. This type of board is often used in roofing work and is very cheap.
You might be interested:
- Roof and roofing boards
- Edged boards for roof sheathing
- Sorokovka board 40 mm
- Inch board, 25 mm
Cutting method
The characteristics of lumber are influenced by the type of wood, compliance with production technology and drying parameters, and the equipment used. However, sawing is the factor that initially determines the quality and texture of the board, regardless of the material and area of further use. The following methods are used in sawing wood:
- Transverse. The cut is made across the fibers; This is how artistic (palace) parquet is produced.
- Radial. The log is sawn from the edge to the center (radius). The method is uneconomical (and therefore expensive), but it allows you to obtain the best and therefore sought-after lumber: durable, with minimal shrinkage. In radial sawing, the growth rings on the short end of the board are located parallel to each other.
- Rustic (semi-radial). Reminiscent of the radial method, only the wood is used closer to the center rather than to the edge; Because of this, the texture is more pronounced. The amount of waste with the semi-radial method is minimal.
Source mebpilot.ru
- Tangential. Cut tangentially to the grain. The growth rings on the short end of the board are bent or located at different angles to each other. Tangential cutting is a compromise with respect to the radial option. They resort to it to reduce the cost of lumber, but at the same time the likelihood of deformation increases.
Gorbyl
In the process of making timber or boards, a slab is obtained. This is the side of the log. These lumber are convex on one side and flat on the other.
This material is also in demand today. The slab is quite suitable for arranging temporary buildings and technical premises.
Also today it has become quite popular to perform decorative finishing using this type of lumber. The slab is processed mechanically only on the single-slope side, so before installation work it must be impregnated with a special antiseptic. Otherwise, in a couple of years the croaker will turn into dust. The relatively low cost makes it in demand. New areas are emerging in which this material is used.
Varieties by purpose
If we consider only traditional lumber, then floorboards are divided into two types. Rough (edged) is used for arranging rough floors in private housing construction. It is characterized by a rectangular cross-section; it does not have a tongue-and-groove connection. Coniferous wood (usually pine or spruce) is used for production. Length is 2, 3, 4, 6 m, width – from 100 to 200 mm. The thickness ranges from 25-50 mm.
For the production of finishing materials, coniferous and deciduous wood is used, often especially high-quality materials: polished (planed) boards made of oak, beech, ash. The thickness of the floor board is 22-44 mm (optimal - 32-35 mm), width 80-135 mm.
Source stroypomochnik.ru
The width is influenced by the personal tastes of the owners and design requirements. The length of finished lumber is 3-6 m. It is selected depending on the size of the room and taking into account minimizing waste during cutting. The thickness is chosen based on how intense the use will be, as well as on the distance between the lags (the larger it is, the thicker the board will be needed).
timber
If the cross-section (end) of a board looks flattened, then the shape of a beam is close to a square or rectangle. It is used to make logs, elements of roofing structures (beams, rafters), and supports for staircases.
Timber made from particularly strong and water-resistant species (for example, larch) is suitable for making beams and the lower crowns of a house. Walls are built from pine, as the most inexpensive wood; Such timber is often profiled.
In terms of width and thickness, standard timber sizes start from 50-60 mm and end at 250 mm. Standard thickness – 130, 150, 180, 200, 220, 250 mm.
Source 44srub.ru
Types of materials used
Lumber for flooring is selected based on the combination of the following indicators:
- Strength (depends on density). Strength can be used to judge how well the wood retains its original characteristics, does not warp, or dry out during use.
- Wear resistance (or hardness). The ability of wood to resist abrasion (in fact, resistance to mechanical stress).
Source boss-floors.ru
Pine and spruce are the main species for the production of flooring boards in the house. They have all the necessary advantages: a suitable combination of density and hardness, widespread availability (which has a positive effect on cost). The density of coniferous species is quite low, so they are not used for making parquet boards, preferring oak and beech wood.
A good-quality wooden floor is made from oak; ash can serve as an alternative. Beech as a floor covering is suitable only for dry regions: it actively absorbs moisture, which is why it is deformed and affected by fungus. Other popular breeds should also be chosen carefully, taking into account their characteristics:
- Maple. Slightly less dense than oak, comparable in hardness to ash. The wood is considered to be of high quality, but it still does not like excessive moisture. If you are leaning towards maple lumber, be aware that over time the finish will take on a yellowish (or pinkish) tint (which may be important for the interior).
Source parkett-shop.ru
- Birch. The Birch family consists of species that differ in appearance and wood properties. Karelian birch is often used to make flooring, as it is the hardest and hardest.
- Larch. Its high resistance to moisture and high density are known, but few people know that the hardness of the wood is low. Hence the low wear resistance of larch and the possibility of laying the floor only in rooms with low traffic.
The choice of the type of wooden boards depends not only on personal preferences, but also on the construction budget. But no matter what option you choose, you will have to decide on the type of lumber. Grades are established by GOST and describe the external features of the board, for example, the presence and quality of knots, cracks (quantity per unit area), uniformity of texture. The classification can have different types, for example: Extra, A, B, C, or: Elite, Prima, AB, BC, C.
Source stroy-podskazka.ru
Brief description of edged boards
Before considering the grade of edged boards, let us dwell on their features and differences from other types of timber.
Boards are considered to be sawn products with a thickness of less than 100 mm, whose width is at least 2 times greater than the thickness. If the difference is less than or equal to 2:1, the material is timber. The most common board length is 6 meters.
Edged material is made from whole logs by sawing them lengthwise and trimming the side edges. When producing unedged boards, the bark is left on both sides. Semi-edged boards are products with partially unremoved wane; the dimensions of the sides do not match.
Edged products mean unpolished boards with a rough and fibrous surface. This material is much cheaper compared to planed boards, the surface of which is perfectly smooth, the edges are even and exactly correspond to standard sizes. When used for finishing work, edged boards require not only varnish and paint, but also sanding.
Processing quality and profile
The floorboard manufacturing technology includes drying and surface treatment. Based on drying, the following types of lumber are distinguished:
- Natural humidity. Suitable for making subfloors or for flooring, for example, in a country house (in an unheated house).
- Dry. The finishing coating does not require additional processing after installation and does not deform over time; used in heated housing.
- After processing, lumber suitable for laying floors is divided according to two principles:
- Unplaned and planed. The latter, as an economical option, is suitable for interior decoration.
- Unsanded and sanded. Sanded boards on the floor of a house (more often called solid boards) can be laid without additional finishing.
If a board made of solid wood is equipped with a protrusion (tenon) and groove on the side surfaces, then it is called tongue-and-groove. In this case, the profile is what we see if we look at the lumber from the end. It’s good if the profile, in addition to the tongue-and-groove system, has a cut for air ventilation (there can be two cuts).
Source elitwood74.ru
About the intricacies of choosing a floorboard in the following video:
Briefly about the main thing
Choosing lumber for the floor is a rather painstaking task “with many unknowns.” The floor covering must withstand daily loads, therefore, no matter whether you choose a material for a subfloor or a finished floor, you need to take into account a number of characteristics. When choosing, pay attention to the cutting method, processing method and the presence of a profile. The service life of the coating also depends on the parameters of the wood, its strength and wear resistance.
Question
Write in the comments what you think - does the type of base matter when choosing a board: not wooden logs, but, for example, an old wooden floor, cement screed or concrete slabs?
