Wood Flooring Glossary

The wood flooring industry has a language all its own. In an effort to limit confusion we created this glossary of wood flooring terms. Many of these terms will be explored in greater detail via our blog. If you are looking for more detail on a specific term be sure to check our blog. For even greater detail regarding these terms do not hesitate to contact us.

Wood Flooring Terms

Acclimation: The process of ensuring that wood flooring is allowed the proper time to adjust to the environment in which it will be installed. There are several steps that must be taken to ensure proper acclimation but the key to proper acclimation is ensuring that the wood floor and the subfloor are in equilibrium prior to installation. For more information about acclimation be sure and check out our two part series on the topic: Acclimation Part I and Acclimation Part II.

Coverage Area: The amount of wood flooring required to cover a certain area of space is referred to as the coverage area. Proper measurement of the coverage area is critical to ensuring that the correct amount of hard wood flooring is ordered. While architectural drawings can be used to determine the coverage area, to ensure accuracy we recommend that you physically measure the area in the actual structure as well. Area is a basic measurement of length times width. Therefore if the width of a room is 15 foot and the length is 20 foot then those two numbers should be multiplied together with the result being 300 square foot of coverage area. The coverage area is always expressed in square footage.

De-nailing: De-nailing is the tedious process of removing any metal or other stray materials from the wood. This is a vitally important process because any metal left in the boards will damage the wood working machines that cut and plane the boards. The process is performed using hand tools by employees that possess both the skill and patience for the job. After all of the visible metal is removed a metal detector is used to ensure that no metal is hidden inside the wood. To learn more about the de-nailing process please read our blog entry on the subject.

End Matched: When the ends of each plank are milled with a tongue on one end and a groove on the opposite end the flooring is said to be end matched. This type of millwork allows the ends of adjoining planks to interlock when installed. End matching can make the installation process easier and faster. At Preservation Plank Floors, we do not typically end match our floors. However, we can end match any of our floors up to 10 inches wide.

Hardwood: A botanical term that refers to trees that are 1) deciduous 2) possess broad leaves and 3) produce seeds with some sort of covering. The term really has nothing to do with the hardness or density of wood. The correlation between the term hardwood and the actual hardness of wood is based upon the manner in which the word was used by early North American settlers.

Softwood: A botanical term that refers to trees that are 1) evergreen 2) possess needlelike leaves and 3) produce seeds that lack a covering. The term really has nothing to do with the hardness or density of wood. The correlation between the term softwood and the actual hardness of wood is based upon the manner in which the word was used by early North American settlers.