PermaGrain, Inc.

What are manufacturing defects?
Includes all defects or blemishes that are produced in manufacturing, such as chipped grain, tom grain, skips in dressing, hit and miss (a series of surfaced areas with skips between them), variation in machining, machine burn, mismatching.

What does distressed mean?
A heavy artificial texture in which the floor has been scraped, scratched, or gouged to give it a time-worn antique look. (A common method of distressing is wirebrushing.)

What does it mean to cure?
To change the properties of an adhesive by chemical reaction (which may be condensation, polymerization, or vulcanization) and thereby develop maximum strength. Generally accomplished by the action of heat or a catalyst, with or without pressure.

What does prefinished mean?
A completely finished floor that requires installation only.

What is Acrylic/Wood?
The generic name for wood-plastic-composites utilizing wood impregnated with acrylic monomers and polymerized within the wood cells by gamma irradiation. Some versions are cured by heat radiation. (In the case of acrylic/wood parquet, a semi-built-in finish is developed.)

What is Chipboard?
A paperboard used for many purposes that may or may not have specifications for strength, color, or other characteristics. It is normally made from paper stock with a relatively low density in the thickness of 0.006” and up.

What is a base shoe?
A molding designed to be attached to base molding to cover expansion space. Similar to quarter round in profile.

What is a board foot?
A unit of measurement of lumber represented by a board 1’ long x 12” wide x 1” thick or its cubic equivalent. In practice, the board foot calculation for lumber 1 inch or more in thickness is based on its nominal thickness and width and the actual length. Lumber with a nominal thickness of less than 1 inch is calculated as I inch.

What is a bow?
The distortion of lumber in which there is a deviation, in a direction perpendicular to the flat face, from a straight line from end to end of the piece.

What is a burl?
A swirl or twist of the grain of the wood, which usually occurs near a knot, but does not contain a knot.

What is a crook?
The distortion of a board in which there is a deviation, in a direction perpendicular to the edge, from a straight line from end to end of the piece.

What is a knot?
That portion of a branch or limb, which has been surrounded by subsequent growth of the stem. ‘Me shape of the knot as it appears on a cut surface depends on the angle of the cut relative to the long axis of the knot. • Small Knot - In hardwood strip flooring not over ½” in diameter. • Pin Knot - A knot that is not more than ½” in diameter. • Sound Knot - A knot cut approximately parallel to its long axis so that the exposed section is definitely elongated.

What is a reducer strip?
A teardrop shaped molding accessory for hardwood flooring, normally used at doorways, but sometimes at fireplaces and as a room divider. It is grooved on one edge and tapered, or feathered, on the other edge. Various lengths are available.

What is a square edge?
A flooring that is NOT Tongue & Grooved. Square edged strip flooring is face nailed when installed. (Also See Jointed Flooring.)

What is an annual growth ring?
The layer of wood growth, including spring and summerwood formed on a tree during a single growing season.

What is compression set?
Caused when wood strips or parquet slats absorb excess moisture and expand so much that the cells along the edges of adjoining pieces in the floor are crushed. This causes them to loose resiliency and creates cracks when the floor returns to its normal moisture content.

What is crowning?
A “convex” or “crowned” condition or appearance of individual strips, with the center of the strip higher than the edges. (Opposite of cupping.)

What is cupping?
A “concave” or “dished” appearance of individual strips, with the edges raised above the center. (Opposite of crowning.)

What is decay?
- The decomposition of wood by fungi. • Advanced Decay - The older stage of decay in which destruction is readily recognized by soft, pitted, or crumbly areas. Decided discoloration or bleaching of the rotted wood is often apparent. • Incipient Decay - The early stage of decay that has not proceeded far enough to soften or otherwise perceptibly impair the hardness of the wood. It is usually accompanied by a slight discoloration or bleaching of the wood.

What is delamination?
The separation of layers in a laminate, through failure within the adhesive, or at the bond between adhesive and laminate.

What is dimensional stability?
The ability to maintain the original intended dimensions when influenced by a foreign substance. Wood is hygroscopic, and is not dimensional stable with changes in moisture content below the fiber saturation point.

What is eased edge?
The chamfered, or beveled edge, of strip flooring, plank, block, and parquet at approximately 45 degree angle. Eased edge is considered to be less of a indentation than beveled edge flooring.

What is end matched?
In strip and plank flooring the ends of individual pieces have a tongue milled on one end and a groove milled on the opposite end, so that when the individual strips or planks are butted together, the tongue of one piece engages the groove of the next piece.

What is fiberboard?
A broad generic term inclusive of sheet materials of wisely varying densities manufactured of refined or partially refined wood (or other vegetable) fibers. Bonding agents and other materials may be added to increase strength, resistance to moisture, fire, or decay, or to improve some other property.

What is filler?
In woodworking, any substance used to fill the holes and irregularities in planed or sanded surfaces to decrease the porosity of the surface before applying finish coatings. • Wood Filler - (for Cracks, Knot Holes, Worm Holes, Etc.) Usually a commercial wood putty, Plastic Wood, or other materials mixed to the consistency of putty. A wood filler may also be mixed on the job using sander dust from the final sanding, or other suitable material, mixed with sealer, or finish.

What is fire resistance?
The property of a material or assembly, to withstand fire or give protection from it.

What is fire retardant?
A chemical or preparation of chemicals used to reduce flammability or to retard spread of a fire over the surface.

What is flame spread?
The propagation of a flame away from the source of ignition across the surface of a liquid or a solid, or through the volume of a gaseous mixture.

What is hardwood?
Generally, one of the botanical groups of deciduous trees that have broad leaves in contrast to the conifers or softwoods. The term has no reference to the actual hardness of the wood.

What is heartwood?
The wood extending from the pith of the sapwood, the cells of which no longer participate in the life processes of the tree. It is usually darker than sapwood.

What is laminated wood?
An assembly made by bonding layers of veneer or lumber with an adhesive. May also refer to edge-glued lumber items such as treads, etc.

What is moisture content?
The amount of moisture in wood expressed as a percentage of the weight of the oven dry wood. National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association hardwood flooring is manufactured at 6% to 9% moisture content, with a 5% allowance for pieces up to 12% moisture content. American Parquet Association parquet flooring is to be 7% to 11% moisture content at time of shipment. 5% of the flooring may be outside of this range.

What is nosing?
A hardwood molding used to cover the outside comer of a step, milled to meet the hardwood floor in the horizontal plane, to meet the riser in the vertical plane. (Usually used on landings.)

What is particle board?
A generic term for a material manufactured from wood particles or other lignocellulosic material and a synthetic resin or other suitable binder. • Flakeboard - A particle panel product composed of flakes. • Oriented Strand Board - A type of particle panel product composed of strand-type flakes which are purposefully aligned in directions which make a panel stronger, stiffer, and with improved dimensional properties in the alignment directions than a panel with random flake orientation. • Waferboard - A particle panel product made of wafer-type flakes. Usually manufactured to possess equal properties in all directions parallel to the plane of the panel.

What is plank?
Solid boards, usually ¾” thick and 3” to 8” wide designed to be installed in parallel rows. Edges may be beveled to simulate the appearance of Colonial American plank floors.

What is quartersawed?
The annual growth rings form an angle of 45 Degrees - 90 Degrees with the surface of the piece. In Quartersawed strips the medullary rays or pith rays in ring porous woods are exposed as flecks, which are reflective and produce a distinctive grain pattern.

What is sapwood?
The wood near the outside of the tree. Usually lighter in color than heartwood.

What is softwood?
General term used to describe lumber produced from needle and/or cone bearing trees (Conifers)

What is strip flooring?
Solid boards to be installed in parallel rows now produced in these thicknesses ½”, ¾”, 33/32” and these widths 1½”, 2”, 2¼”, and occasionally 3¼”. The strips are tongue and grooved and end matched. They are for nail down installation directly to wood or plywood subfloors; or over wood screeds on concrete slab construction.

What is tongue and groove?
Solid boards to be installed in parallel rows now produced in these thicknesses ½”, ¾”, 33/32” and these widths 1½”, 2”, 2¼”, and occasionally 3¼”. The strips are tongue and grooved and end matched. They are for nail down installation directly to wood or plywood subfloors; or over wood screeds on concrete slab construction.

What is warping?
Any distortion of a piece of flooring from its true plane that may occur in seasoning.

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