What does Nofma stand for?

What does Nofma stand for?

NOFMA stands for National Oak Flooring Manufacturer’s Association, but the NOFMA standards program goes beyond oak. The certification program is administered by the National Wood Flooring Association, and the standards can be applied to many types of hardwood flooring.

What is character grade lumber?

CHARACTER GRADE. View fullsize. Known for its natural grain irregularities, mineral streaks, and both sound and open knots, character grade lumber contains a mix of heart and sap woods. Its color variations are visible throughout each board face. Shown on White Oak, Flat Sawn.

What is character grade oak?

CHARACTER OAK Technically, as documented by Making the Grade, this refers to a relatively low grade of timber that exhibits a mix of inter-grown knots, pin knots, heart shake, or colour variations. everything one normally expects from real Oak.

What is character grade hickory?

Character-grade hickory flooring refers to wooden planks that contain a very high amount of variation in the natural wood characteristics. These characteristics include a rather pronounced coloration variance, knots in the wood, streaks of minerals, cracks, holes, and other marks born of the milling process itself.

What is the best grade of hardwood?

What Does a Lumber Grade Mean? Grades are based on the amount of usable clear material in a board. The highest grade boards are FAS and Select, followed by #1 Common and #2 Common.

What does character grade mean?

Typically, character grade will include both heartwood and sapwood and allows a wider range of color variation. Knots are larger and you should expect checks (cracks across the growth ring) and possibly some end shake (cracks between the rings).

Are there different grades of oak?

The letter can be an A for exceptional quality oak, or it can be a number 1 to 3, with 3 being of lower quality. 1 being good quality and 3 would have quite a bit of character, such as knots and sap. There is also a 4 which is the lowest quality, but we don’t supply that.

What’s the difference between nofma and FAS grades?

NOFMA grades, then, are largely an indicator of what the face of a board can be expected to look like, rather than an assessment of inherent quality, stability, hardness, or other factors. This is the wood referred to by the NHLA as FAS (Firsts and Seconds).

What kind of wood is a premium grade?

This is the wood referred to by the NHLA as FAS (Firsts and Seconds). It is premium grade wood and, as its category name suggests, its face is pretty much free of character marks like knots and burls.

How are hardwood floors graded in the US?

Almost all boards sold for hardwood flooring in the U.S. are graded according to standards originally laid out by the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association (NOFMA) to help create consistency in the quality of Oak flooring in the U.S.

Which is better clear grade or solid grade wood?

Since boards that can be graded as Clear are somewhat rare, it is often easier to find engineered Clear Grade, as a single piece of clear lumber goes much further when sliced thin for engineered boards than it would as a solid floor board. For the same reason, Clear Grade wood will almost always cost more than other grades.