Resources for Hardwood Floor Manufacturers

Hardwood floors add class and character to any home, retail business or other facilities. They add to the resale value of homes and business buildings, increasing their demand. Additionally, they're considered ecologically sound and helpful in eliminating symptoms of allergy sufferers.

If you see the potential of starting a hardwood floor manufacturing business, or if you work with manufacturers, consider starting your research with an understanding of key terminology relevant to hardwood flooring manufacturers. This guide gets you started with six terms: sapwood, board foot, fiber saturation point, first grade, hand-scraped flooring and pinworm hole.

Sapwood

Sapwood is the softer wood that lies between the area just beneath a tree's bark and its heartwood (the older, harder wood at the center of the tree).

Board foot

One board foot equals 144 cubic inches and is the standard unit for measuring lumber. A board that's 1 board foot can be 1 foot long, 12 inches wide, and 1 inch thick or any combination equaling 144 cubic inches.

Fiber saturation point

Fiber saturation point refers to the point in the process of wetting or drying wood where water has saturated the wood's cell walls while the cell cavities contain no water.

First grade

First grade is the highest of four classifications used to determine the pricing for hardwood floors. A first-grade wood floor might contain a few pinholes, but the wood is almost perfect in appearance. First-wood is also known as clear wood.

Hand-scraped flooring

Hand-scraped flooring refers to an expensive wood flooring that gives the effect of an older floor with lots of character. Craftsmen achieve the effect by scraping individual planks with hand-held tools.

Pinworm hole

In hardwood flooring, a pinworm hole is a little round hole (less than 1/16" in diameter) that was made by a small wood-boring insect.