Hardwood Flooring

What's New in Wood Flooring
While the subject of decorative inlays and borders is not new, some of the techniques in obtaining these finishes are. Today, laser cutting has provided an affordable way to give hardwoods a signature look. For more information concerning this technology, call The Hardwood Council at (412) 281-4980, or visit www.hardwoodcouncil.com.

Hardwood Floor Primer

• Burls--on a tree, these are the rounded growths that, when cut, produce ornamental patterns in lumber
• Grain--the appearance, direction, size, and quality of a tree's inner fibers that give it strength and distinctive patterns
• Growth rings--during a single growing season, layers of wood are added to a tree, which enable the age of a tree to be determined
• Knots--branch locations that have been encased in the later growth of the tree. These areas create hard, cylindrical regions within the wood.
• Plain sawn lumber--boards cut tangent to the growth rings (also known as flat sawn)
• Quarter sawn lumber--boards that are cut radially, across the growth rings.

"Hardwood Flooring" is from the December 2001 issue of Southern Living.