This mini-guide does not pretend to be comprehensive on such a vast, just wants to be a little help to know the key terms in the world of wooden floor and then be able to make choices with greater knowledge of the facts.
The search for the right wood floor for your needs is a task that can be very complicated, since the emergence of new types of construction and installation and the increasing number of tropical woods from unknown names make the range available on the market a real jungle.
All information provided in this section must be thorough professional with a wooden floor, making sure it is up to date on market trends as experience alone is often not enough.
What types of flooring on the market?
First, a bit 'on the words of clarification: The term defines any parquet flooring which has a minimum thickness of the top layer of real wood 2.5 mm. for all other models is the general term applied to wood flooring.
The main construction technology of the wood flooring are: *
Parquet solid / solid or monolayer
* Flooring / floor prefinished or laminate flooring veneer
*
* * laminated floor Parquet floor solid / solid
With This term indicates the floor made up entirely of solid wood. It 's the traditional parquet excellence, although in recent years has lost much market share in favor of the new laminated products or supported.
Features are:
* Durable, with the ability to be sanded several times in the event of bumps, scratches, etc. * Ability to create
laying the particular design. * Thermal insulation
considerable
The main disadvantages are related to the nature of the floor, which causes some attention in the maintenance, making it less suitable for environments with high intensity step, or in the presence of children and animals, as well at cost, which in the case of particular species can reach considerable odds, and to which are added the higher costs of installation, glue, etc.. compared to prefinished. * Pre-finished parquet floor
/ supported.
elements of installation are made of a medium that may be of plywood, laminated, laminated , etc.. on which, by gluing, shall be a layer of solid wood, not less and 2.5 mm. to have the name Parquet. The floor can be in two layers (top layer + medium) or 3-layer (top layer + support + counterbalancing), much more stable than the two layers. The support and 'made in woods such as spruce or birch, and the counterbalancing, most valuable in cases, where' be made of the same wood as the noble part.
The main features are: *
favorable price, are generally less expensive than solid flooring.
* Speed \u200b\u200bof installation, with rare exceptions it was prefinished floor ready for laying.
* Wide choice, the range of prefinished floors provides for many species and finishes.
As in the case of solid flooring for the floor laminated apply rules of prudence in the use and maintenance because the layer of noble wood is sensitive to impact, scratches, etc..
* Floor veneer
has a thin layer of real wood, 1 mm. or less, and is the most economical solution for a wooden floor. The huge advantage of this type of floor is reduced overall thickness, usually less than 1 cm. That allows the installation of this floor over other existing concrete floors without removing anything and without having to work on doors, etc..
* laminate flooring.
It 's a floor "wood look", which consists of a base of wood fiber on which it is determined by rolling a sheet of laminate that mimics wood. It 's the type of floor in recent years has spread to more market with the introduction of many variants and types.
* What are the formats and sizes on the market?
can purchase different sizes of wooden parquet floor, which can be used for one or more types of visas on the floor, in principle, the most common sizes are:
* Lamparquet: element with width between 50 and 70 mm., length between 250 and 350 mm., 9 to 10 mm thick. and is used exclusively for the p Arquet solid wood frame, posing with glue. The view is planar face, smooth but not polished.
* strip or Listoncino: element with a width of 70 to 8 0 mm., Length between 350 and 500 mm., Thickness between 14 and 15 mm. And is used exclusively for parquet mass ello, posing with glue. The view is planar face, smooth but not polished.
* Listoncino male-female: element with width between 80 and 120 mm., Length between 650 and 1200 mm., Thickness between 14 and 16 mm. same characteristics as the previous version, but with fins and grooved on each piece to facilitate bonding by interlocking.
* Plank or Plank: element with a width between 120 and 190 mm., Between 1200 and 1900 mm length., Thickness between 15 and 16 mm. And can be used for both solid wood flooring, parquet for prefinished with posing with glue, by male / female or floating joints. The view is planar face, smooth but not smooth in the case of solid wood, already finished and ready for use in the case of pre-finished.
* Maxlistone or Maxiplancia: The characteristics are the same as the plank, but the length from 1500 mm. to over 2 meters. And 'the size peak in the floor underlayment, and, in the event of formats Monoplancia reaches a price point considerably, making it suitable for living areas and particularly elegant and sophisticated.
Depending on the type of construction will also face having a division in:
* Monoplancia or Monostrip: the entire visible surface of each piece is made of a single layer of wood * 2
strip: the surface of each piece is divided into two separate files of equal width, which then creates an effect to the plank floor.
* 3 strip: the surface of each piece is divided into three separate files of width equal number of small segments, the 'effect is called the lamparquet.
* What are the types of wood and how it is shown the quality?
types of wood used for the manufacture of parquet or prefinished are now numerous, and range from traditional Italian classics such as oak, beech, walnut, tropical woods up to more and more ' widespread. The wood species most sold in Italy, adding and prefinished parquet blocks are as follows:
1) Oak
2) Afzelia
3) Iroko
4) Teak
5) Cherry
6) Merbau
7) Wenge
8) Cabreuva
10) Afromosia
while also starting from the same wood flooring can be obtained very different, due to the choice of wood that can greatly affect the appearance. The NAME oni more used to identify the choice of the floor are as follows:
* FIRST: best indicates the degree of selection, all elements are of uniform color and grain and free of defects or deviations
* TRADE or flames: is the choice best-selling ever, is characterized by a fiber straight or narrow flame (wood grain that form V or waves very close together), with a rate of 7% of small knots.
* NATURE: Similar to commercial quality, but the color is not selected, so the pieces may also considerable differences in tone between them. * RUSTIC COUNTRY
or: E 'choice in which nodes that are present both sapwood (the younger part of the wood, always very clear) in amounts varying according to the wood species. These visual features give the wood a very marked appearance "of another era," are therefore suitable for rustic or poor art, professional offices and commercial premises, etc..
* What are the finishes / coatings possible?
The wooden floor before it can be used to obviously be properly painted, is to highlight the beauty of the wood fiber, is to ensure protection and durability. Usually the floor is solid wood or fully supplied raw to be painted, while the prefinished is, as the name implies, already painted and ready to be walked on immediately after installation.
The main methods of painting are: *
PAINTED: The floor is covered with special transparent varnish for wood, which makes the surface shiny and bright color and highlighting the wood grain. The floor is so very easy to clean with suitable products, in the case of striped or damage must be polished by a parqettista (average length of a floor painted 10-15 years).
* OIL: The floor with oil absorbing light without reflecting it, so it is much less bright painted but precisely for this reason it is more realistic colors. This floor is much more delicate than painted, and because it absorbs more liquid and dirt and because it is much easier to scratch, but has the advantage that can easily be restored only by applying a layer of the special oil and then passing a cloth or polishing machine. Very difficult maintenance.
* BRUSHED: A special finish, which is emerging on the market in recent years, is brushed, which is obtained by passing the metal floor brush before finishing treatment itself.
This makes the surface rough to the touch, with all the veins and pores of the wood in relief.
This technique can be applied to both the painted floors, which will then be less realistic and more durable than that OIL that this combination achieves maximum effect "natural" with a very specific end result, rustic and elegant at the same time but also delicate and to be treated with caution.
* How to lay a parquet?
* INSTALLATION GLUE: E 'the traditional method of laying the floor for excellence, and is used primarily for solid parquet in various formats. Each element is glued to the ground (preferably cement slab), to be perfectly level and smooth. It 'a laying system that guarantees a perfect fit in any condition, but that requires skill and patience during the installation and a variable time before you can walk on the floor.
floating * / float: As the term itself or the floor is simply "resting" on the ground below, without any attachment or link, so you can lay the new floor directly over the old one without removing it. All
floor pieces are bound together simply tuck in without the use of glues or other, and are now functional!
It 'a very easy, fast and cheap, which allows anyone to replace a floor or posarne a new one, the only warnings are:
- Leave at least 1 cm. as an escape from walls and other obstacles, as the floor needs space because of its natural expansion due to temperature and humidity. These unsightly escape routes can be covered with appropriate skirting
- In the background, be it cement or an old existing floor, and wooden floors should be spread a layer of insulation, which promotes the expansion of the floor and creates a barrier against the possible infiltration of moisture.
Good Life.
