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| Southern Pine Flooring: Sizes & Patterns |
Sizes and Patterns
The most common thicknesses of Southern Pine flooring are 1" and 1-1/4"
nominal (3/4" and 1" actual). The general information and recommendations
contained in this publication are applicable for these thicknesses.
Standard widths range from 2" nominal (1-1/8" actual) to 6" nominal
(5-1/8" actual). Wider widths are also manufactured. Typically,
strip flooring is a term given to material that is 3-1/2" or narrower
and plank flooring is classified as material that is 4" and wider.
Southern Pine flooring is widely available in lengths ranging
from 8 to 16 feet. Longer or custom lengths maybe available on a
"special order" basis. Increasingly, finger-jointing is being used to
produce longer lengths, making more efficient use of high-grade
stock; see photo. If not otherwise specified, Southern Pine flooring
will have tongue-and-groove (T&G) edges with plain ends.
A specification option is end-matched flooring. End-matched
floor boards have a tongue or a groove on each end. Refer to
Figure 1. This tongue-and-groove pattern on the strip flooring sides
and ends provides load-bearing capabilities for screed installation
systems where end joints occur between the screeds (the subflooring
nailing base). End-matching also reduces
the amount of strip end cuts in comparison to plain-end
flooring, and somewhat reduces waste and labor.
As a log is sawn, the position of the log relative to the
saw cut determines the wood grain’s orientation relative to
the flooring wear surface. Refer to Figure 2.
Flat or mixed grain flooring is commonly referred to as
"flat-sawn" flooring. It has a growth ring configuration parallel
to the wearing surface but, in general, it is graded and
sorted irrespective of the wood grain orientation and consequently
is considered “mixed grain” flooring.
Another grain configuration that can be specified is edge
or vertical grain flooring, where the growth rings are perpendicular
to the flooring wear surface. This product is
equivalent to "quarter-sawn" material in hardwood flooring.
Edge-grain flooring has a harder wearing surface than flatgrain
material, and is desirable for high-traffic areas such as
kitchens, hallways, or family rooms. Commercial or institutional
floors for offices, schools, retail or industrial environments
resist wear and indentations better by using Southern
Pine edge-grain material.
Typically, Southern Pine flooring is manufactured with a
“stress-relief” pattern on the underside of each piece to minimize
the effects of moisture-related dimensional changes.
Relief types include a shallow, wide groove known as a
"hollow back", or a series of grooves commonly referred to
as "scratch-back". Refer to Figure 1.
Prior to final product selection, consult a knowledgeable
flooring dealer who can describe flooring grades and patterns,
as well as provide samples of Southern Pine flooring.
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