Customer Expectations

Hardwood Flooring Grading

"Beauty is in the Eyes of the Beholder"

By Jeff Hosking, President and CEO Hosking Hardwood Flooring
© 1997-2004, Copyright Hosking Hardwood Flooring. All Rights Reserved.

We all want to see value with any purchase we make; The best hardwood flooring from a reliable source can be one of the most beautiful investments made to your home. Customers’ expectations can be vastly different. Some people like uniform coloration within the Hardwood flooring, others like a lot of color variation, some do not like knots and/or pinholes, some think this adds beauty. Differences in quality between all of the wood flooring available can be great, depending on the type and grade of hardwood flooring purchased and who manufactured the flooring.

Commonly, the consumer is under the assumption that their new wood flooring will look exactly like the small sample they saw at the flooring store, but this is not always true. Wood, as we all know, is a "Product of Nature." Each individual board is like a fingerprint; no two are exactly a like. Hard wood has natural varied graining, color variations, and character such as knots, pinholes and mineral (darker) streaks. Different wood species and the region of the country they are grown lend their own characteristics; this is what makes wood so appealing.

When hardwood lumber is cut from the forest it is segregated by grades (appearance and clarity within the graining). There can be 4-6 different grades of wood. The very finest, most expensive wood with a lot of clarity and uniformity in color is usually gobbled up by very high-end furniture companies. The other lower costing grades are then purchased by others, including the hardwood flooring industry. Different wood flooring manufacturers will purchase these lower grades with respect to the cost, quality and/or grading they want their flooring to be.

At the manufacturers plant, the wood is run past employee graders on production lines who again continue to cull out character boards such as knots, pinholes and darker mineral streaks. These pieces are put into the lower grades depending on their amount of character. Usually, hardwood flooring manufacturers produce 3-5 grades. The names wood flooring manufacturers give these grades can be unique to the particular manufacturer, but the best grade of hardwood flooring is usually called Clear, Muskoka Wood Flooring Clear grades the next best wood flooring grades are called Select and Better or Prime grade and other lower grade names can be called Select, Traditional, Rustic, Country, Pacific , etc. The lowest end grades for wood flooring are called Cabin, Value or Tavern Grades. For more information regarding hardwood flooring grades click here: Flooring Grades . All of this grading happens on a production line. We are all at the mercy of the graders, who are trying to follow that particular manufacturer’s grading guidelines as they pull boards from the line. But, as we are all human and this is not a perfect world, some boards slip by the inspection process. It is recommended and standard practice within the flooring industry to add 5% to your total square footage when purchasing flooring to cover boards you may not want to use . Remember Wood Flooring is not a perfect product. If you are very particular, we would suggest that you choose a different floor covering than Real Wood Flooring as Wood Flooring is a product of Nature and can contain tiny impurities in product milling/finishing.

When deciding on which Hardwood flooring grades to choose from, the guide below will help, but remember that different manufacturers can grade or call their wood flooring anything they like. The guide below is only meant to help explain some of the differences in the names of the grades. The price you pay for particular hardwood floor can also dictate the overall quality of the hardwood flooring. All the manufacturers flooring that we retail is 1st Quality hardwood flooring, the same hardwood flooring sold in retail stores nationwide. The only difference is our low price, which we can heavily discount for you due to our purchasing power.

If you desire:

• The most uniformity in coloration within the best hardwood flooring than choose a Clear Grade .
• Hardwood flooring with a bit more color indifference than the clear grade, than choose a Select & Better or Prime Grade.
  
• Some manufactures also produce a slightly lower grade called an Exclusive or Selected Grade (Standard).
• More variation in color within the wood flooring, smaller board lengths and the possibility of some small knots within the hardwood flooring then choose a * Rustic , Country, Pacific or Traditional grade.
• Extreme color indifference within the wood flooring, frequent large or open knots, mis milled pieces and shorter boards 8" to 24" long then choose a * Cabin, Value or Tavern grade. It is recommended to add 10-15% for a waste factor for boards you may not want to use. These types of floors are generally called - Utility floors.

*  Beware some internet flooring sites may not tell you that they are selling you these lower grades of wood flooring.

Add a 5% Waste Factor when purchasing your flooring:

When measuring your rooms for hard wood flooring it is always recommended that you add at least 5% for a waste factor. This waste factor is to allow for boards that you may not want to use. Remember that customer expectations can vary and all wood flooring is not perfect. You may receive some boards that have slipped by the inspection process at the mill and do not quite meet that particular grade. Professional installers will use most of these boards by cutting the defect out and using the rest of the board. The waste factor also includes the cutting and fitting waste. When evaluating your wood floor, The National Oak Flooring Association states that all wood flooring inspections be done at a standing position, (not on your hands and knees). The installer must use reasonable selectivity, as these defects are not covered under the manufacturer’s Warranty. 

Another important thing to remember is that all manufacturers’ “milling” of their wood flooring is not the same. Some manufacturers spend a great deal of time making sure their milling machines are accurate and produce near perfect milling, but others do not.

Hosking Hardwood Flooring has been in business for 70 years. We only retail 1 st Quality flooring. We have used hundreds of different manufacturers’ flooring and are able evaluate the overall quality of a particular manufacturer.

Under each of our manufacturers’ product listings at www.hoskinghardwood.com , we offer our own 5 Star rating system: to try and help you determine what type of quality this flooring is. If you click on the blue question mark that is next to the star rating you can read how we rate a particular product.

Moldings are generally made by an independent manufacturer and there is no way to insure that a particular wood molding will perfectly match the chosen floor. We suggest to install boards against the molding(s)  that best match the moldings color for a better blend.

All products retailed by www.hoskinghardwood.com are, unless otherwise stated, warranted by their respective manufacturer. Hosking Hardwood Flooring makes no implied or expressed warranty.

If your hardwood flooring is sold with a warranty you will be covered for anything that may arise within and under the guidelines of that particular manufacturers warranty. Hardwood Floor Manufacturers warranties DO NOT cover - damage to the flooring caused by abnormal environmental issues such as higher or lower than normal moisture conditions causing buckling, cupping or contraction within the wood, improper installation or indentation damage (including damage from spiked heels) , scratching or any damage caused by items being dropped, rolled or dragged on the flooring. Please see our Floor care section of this web site for proper care of your new hardwood floor.

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Hosking Hardwood Flooring
805 South Washington St.
North Attleboro, MA 02760
Customer Service 877-356-6755