Today I will write a blog that will put many to sleep. Who could possibly want to know anything about unfinished hardwood flooring? At least with prefinished floors there is some emotion involved. Colors, surface textures, and great marketing can make prefinished interesting, but plain, unfinished, raw wood?
Oddly enough, I find the NOFMA grading rules quite interesting. Because of them being so precise we are allowed a visual of what a grade should look like as we read the rules. That’s one thing about prefinished wood that I don’t like…. there are no published grading rules for prefinished hardwood. Each manufacturer is free to base his own prefinished grading parameters on what market he is pursuing. The more we know, the more realistic our expectations. And when your expectations are where they should be it becomes the job of your friends at ReallyCheapFloors.com to meet or exceed those expectations.
First, some background.
NOFMA
In 1909 the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association was formed. (See? I told you this would be boring. I will skip as much as I can.)
Sometime in the ‘30’s the members came up with a set of grading and milling standards that are followed by almost all unfinished hardwood flooring manufacturers even today. And while we will take a moment later to define the different grades our focus in this blog is to familiarize you with the terms used to define common natural and manufacturing defects and attributes. Let’s start with some definitions.
Unfinished Hardwood Grade Definitions
Clear- This is the highest standard grade of hardwood flooring.
Select- The second highest grade, it will often see it marketed as Select and Better, as the market for Clear can be limited.
#1 Common - A popular grade, most hardwood flooring is made of this.
#2 Common -The lowest standard grade of flooring.
Fallout - Any flooring that is caused to drop a grade due to a attribute that did not fit the higher grade.
This is a very important concept that we need to remember, especially in our lower grades. They are defined not so much for what is allowed to be in them, but more for what is not allowed in the next higher grade.
Average Board Length (ABL) - This is another very important attribute. In the unfinished market, every grade has to maintain a minimum ABL. Prefinished? Nope! As we help you to better understand the grades that we offer at ReallyCheapFloors.com ABL will be something we will try to convey how this will impact the floor that you purchase.
Grading Standard -This rule says that the manufacturer is responsible for making certain that the product in the box that they sell contains no more than 5% of product that is not within standards. More on this later.
Imperfections - This is any attribute that is visible in a piece of hardwood. In some cases, we might view the character as a natural defect; other times it is a “beauty mark” that enhances the attractiveness. It is important that we discuss these as definitions as opposed to preferences and opinions as our goal is to learn enough so we can help you select the perfect floor later. Perfect for you!
Sapwood - This is the wood closest to the bark of the tree. It is usually a lighter color than the heartwood.
Heartwood - The center of the tree, it is denser and typically a darker color.
Pin Worm Holes - Pin worms sometimes get into freshly cut lumber or trees, as well as standing timber that’s in a weakened state. The kilning process kills these little fellows but their tracks remain as small-bore holes. We frequently see these in our Cabin grade.
Check - This is a crack in a board that follows the grain. It is typically caused by stress and can sometimes open after a floor is installed. Check is not allowed in any grade of flooring.
Streaks -Usually caused by the absorption of minerals from the soil around the tree. Depending on the specie, it is usually a darker color than either the heartwood or sapwood.
Knots -This is where a limb was once located. Open knots are typically filled during the finish process. Large knots can be a problem, while small knots in many cases add to the look of a floor.
Torn Grain - Caused by the paler when the wood is being reduced to the specified thickness. It is a result of shallow grain that cannot stay attached. It is usually filled in the finish process but t is also commonly seen in our Cabin grade floors.
Machine Burn - A darker streak across the face of a board that is caused by the pausing of the board as it passes under a sander. Not allowed in our First Quality or Builder floors, it is sometimes seen in our Cabin and Blue Label options.
Bark -This is when a small amount of bark is visible from the face. Not something we frequently see but a small amount would be allowed in our Cabin flooring.
Scant Thickness - This is when a part of the board is not the full specified thickness. Not typically seen in prefinished.
Shake -This is a crack that runs with the grain. Shake is not allowed in any of the prefinished floors that we offer.
Split - A crack in a board that goes all the way through
Bird Pecks - Just like it sounds. Darned woodpeckers!
Cupping - This is when the sides of the boards raise up and the center stays down. It is always caused by the addition of moisture which causes the boards to expand.
Bowing - This is a defect where a board warps along the grain lines
I promised that I would define the unfinished grades for you, and I will do that. For clarity sake I will be copying and pasting the grading rules directly from the NWFA bulletin, which bought NOFMA a few decades ago. Don’t worry. As a hardwood professional I pay dues to NWFA and have permission to copy them.
NWFA Unfinished Grade Rules
NWFA-NOFMA CLEAR: A flooring product of mostly heartwood with a minimum number of character marks and discoloration, providing a uniform appearance while allowing for all heartwood natural color variations. Will admit the following: 3/8" (.3750”) (9.53 mm) wide bright sapwood entire length of the piece or equivalent if not more than 1" (25.4 mm) wide for 1/3 the length of piece; small burls and fine pin worm holes; and equivalent characters such as small tight checks; in the absence of these, one thin brown streak 3" (76.2 mm) long to be allowed every 6' (1828.8 mm) of piece.
NWFA-NOFMA SELECT OAK: A flooring product with coloration variations produced by differences of natural heartwood and sapwood, along with characters described. The face may contain: unlimited sound sapwood; slight imperfections in milling; one (1) small tight knot every 3' (914.4 mm) of piece; pin worm holes; burls and a reasonable amount of slightly open checks. Brown streaks should not extend the entire length of a piece. Two (2) flag worm holes to every 8' (2438.4 mm) of the piece are permitted. Slight imperfections in face work (torn grain) admitted. An intermittent, brown machine burn across the face not exceeding 1/4" (.250”) (6.35 mm) in width admitted. Also, a slight quantity of bark on the back or sides admitted. Will admit pieces with one-half (1/2) tongue, full length of the piece. Spot filling is generally required for open characters.
NWFA-NOFMA NO. 1 COMMON OAK
A flooring product which contains prominent variations in coloration and varying characters. The following are not admitted: broken knots over 1/2" (.500”) (12.7 mm) in diameter, large grub worm holes; and splits extending through the piece. Open characters such as checks and knot holes are admitted, but must be sound and readily fill. Not more than 20" (508 mm) scant stock in thickness allowed to every 5' (1524 mm) of length. Minor imperfections in machining permitted. Shall admit sticker stain; varying wood characteristics, such as flag worm holes, heavy streaks, checks, and worm holes; and an occasional dark machine burn across the face not exceeding 1/2" (.500”) (12.7 mm) wide, 1/64" (.0156”) (.40 mm) deep and not more than two (2) to every 3’ (914.4 mm) of length admitted. One-quarter (1/4) tongue, full length of the piece admitted. Extremely dark pieces are not to be included.
NWFA-NOFMA NO. 2 COMMON OAK
May contain sound natural variations of the forest product and manufacturing imperfections. The purpose of this grade is to furnish a floor suitable for homes, general utility use, or where character marks and contrasting appearance is desired. The following are not admitted: shattered or rotten ends, large broken knots, excessive bad millwork, shake, advanced rot, and similar unsound defects. Dark machine burns exceeding 3/64" (.0469”) (1.19 mm) deep not admitted. Knot holes and open characters which will readily fill are admitted. Occasional scant thickness (hit or miss) on the back of the flooring board the entire length of the piece admitted, providing there is full bearing across the board at some point within three inches of the ends. A limited number of pieces with no tongue admitted. National Wood Flooring Association l Revised 04.2018
NWFA-NOFMA 1 1/4’ (15”) (381 mm) SHORTS OAK
Pieces 9” (228.6 mm) to 18” (457.2 mm) long may be bundled together and designated as NWFA-NOFMA 1 1/4’ (15”) (381 mm) SHORTS. Pieces in SHORTS bundles are graded using the same grading rules as pieces in standard bundles. Product can be graded and bundled as CLEAR, SELECT, NO. 1 COMMON, NO. 2 COMMON, or in combination grades (i.e. NO 1 COMMON and BETTER). The Average Board Length Minimum Standard for NWFA-NOFMA 1 1/4’ (15”) (381 mm) SHORTS is 15” (381 mm), regardless of the width or grade of the product.
National Wood Flooring Association l Revised 04.2018
Please don’t hate me for making you read that, but it is a great way to understand how flooring is graded.
Now I will paraphrase the grading rules from NWFA regarding prefinished flooring.
How Distributors Affect Prefinished and Unfinished Grading Standards
Ya’ll can put whatever you want in those boxes. It is your flooring, after all. Just be consistent.
So you are smiling and thinking that I am joking. Nope! That’s what it says!
The reason for that is that unlike unfinished, manufacturers of prefinished flooring make what their customers want. And that is the beginning of the economics of the flooring business, which I will explain briefly.
A manufacturer goes to a large customer and asks what they need. The reply might be, “We need a product with long boards and a good color line. We don’t want it to contain any of the defects allowed in #2 common and we want to buy it as cheap as possible”.
So the manufacturer goes back to the office and decides that he will offer a product that is made up of #1 common and some Select. Just enough Select to keep the board length up. They make a deal and the large customer orders a bazillion feet a year. Everyone is happy, right?
Wood Flooring is Naturally Volatile
Not so fast. The manufacturer is buying mill run lumber, so he has to buy all the grades in the tree. He has a great outlet for the #1 Common and the bottom part of the Select but what will he do with all of the Clear and #2 Common? And the rest of the Select? What he has left over will be close to half of his lumber coming in. He cannot eat or burn it. He has to find another customer that will buy it or he will go broke.
So he starts going to distributors, looking for a customer to buy a high-graded, Select and Better floor. Of course, he cannot call it that because there is no such thing as a Select and Better prefinished floor.
After several tries he makes a deal but he has to sell it at a lower price than he hoped. And his #2 Common inventory is filling his warehouse. So he calls up Ted at ReallyCheapFloors.com and says, “Ted, I need an outlet for 100,000 sq ft of Cabin grade each month. (Notice how the #2 Common turned into Cabin? More on that later) I can put that in any color you want, and it will be mostly 3 ¼ width with a small amount of 2 ¼.”
Ted studies his needs, and what he might could accomplish with that product, and makes an offer.
Again, the manufacturer did not get as much money as he wanted for the product but it had to go somewhere.
Unfortunately, that original deal isn’t looking as good as it did in the beginning because the prices for the other 2 products were lower than expected. What can the manufacturer do to help his profit?
Profit Boosting Inventory Changes
Because his product line is not defined by specific attributes, he has the option of changing the parameters of what goes into the different products. For instance, he can take the long boards from the #2 Common that were dropped there due to discoloration and add them to the product that is being stained a dark color. Now that #2 board is a #1 board and worth twice as much money! Also, as his top quality business improves he can remove more of the Select and Better from his original sale and sell it at the higher price that the Clear will bring.
The point that I trying to make is that it is important that the manufacturer have the freedom to sell what he wants, as he wants. If the contract with the first customer becomes untenable then things will have to change. And they do.
For instance, 20 years ago 80% or more of all prefinished was in Natural, Gunstock or Butterscotch. That meant that boards that had dark streaks had to go into Cabin grade, regardless that they were long boards with no other defects. Skip forward a few years and that board gets a Saddle finish and moves up to Select. Now it is worth 3 times more than Cabin! This allowed all of the factories to greatly reduce the amount of Cabin grade that they sold, and increased profits.
Let’s finish this little get-together with a final note on Grading Standards. Just remember…..up to 5% of each box can have any defect. It can be the wrong color or width even. This is to allow the manufacturer to make an occasional mistake and not get hammered on a warranty claim. Remember that it is the responsibility of the installer to keep those possible misfits out of your floor.
