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ffnnnWOOD floors are getting a Ilfacelift. Custom painted wood flooring is quickly becoming the hottest trend in faux decorating. combining wood layout with an artistic flavor. Updated styles of marble, stone and even checkerboard now grace wood floors across the country, replacing carpet and linoleum in kitchens, dining rooms and foyers.

Painted hardwood floors add versatility to a room, pairing traditional elements with a splash of panache. Architects are capitalizing on the trend and transforming older hardwood floors into attractive focal points of the home. The results are striking. Custom painted hardwood floors may make a room appear larger or may complement a certain look. A checkerboard design may evoke a classic look, while gingham may portray a country setting.

No matter the chosen design, painted hardwood floors are becoming artistic investments for homeowner. Homeowners are also customizing their floors by creating illusions of grandeur and beauty through painted design.

Story at a Glance

Latest fad: painted hardwood floors faux finishes mimic gingham patterns, oriental rugs, marble tiles.

Custom painted floors refect personality and an unmatched attention to detail.

Gingham patterns, oriental rugs and marble tiles can be simulated by new colors, paint and a brush.

Painted hardwood floors provide a long-lasting beauty that will be enjoyed for decades to come. Finishes and lacquers are often added to protect the designs as well as the floors. Many homeowners are choosing hardwood floors with surface finishes because they require no waxing and are easily maintained by sweeping or dust-mopping.

Painted wood is also versatile and affordable. Unlike other flooring materials, as taste and trends change, so can the look of wood floors. The painted wood designs can be easily sanded off and refinished to the timeless look of natural hardwood.

"Faux finishes are definitely mak- ing a statement throughout the wood flooring industry as well as the design industry," says Ed Korczack, executive director of the National Wood Floorins Association. "The look for

1997 is a balance of simple natural products like wood but with a trendy, creative twist. The possibilities are unlimited, allowing any homeowner to create a true one-of-a-kind floor."

A Mdium & natural ton€s are most fra quenily chosen cotors for wood fbodng42.5o/o &fi.$Yo respcctively. An additional 10.4olo say white tones are mo6l popular.

A While the living room is most often mentioned as the place for wsod floors (28.8%), ttp remainder of dosigrers were evenly divi&d betwst dinirp roons, fop ett, kitchens & derls.

VOUR CUSTOMERS want the

I warmth of North American hardwoods like ash, maple, oak and poplar. Unfortunately, finite budgets often preclude you from selling flooring, cabinetry or woodwork simply by wood and by style.

How do you and your customer know what you are getting if You don't specify "the best"? The answer is there is no single best-but there is a best solution for your Project. Buyers sometimes confuse quality, consistency and uniformity. Natural hardwood products are never as uniform as, say, wallpaper from a catalog, and that's a source of their charm. But "less uniform" doesn't mean "inconsistent" or "lower qualitv.

To describe the look you and your client want, and to determine the degree of uniformity their budget allows, it is helpful to understand the three hardwood product grading standards. They cover almost any combination of species, quality or application you are likely to encounter, and are similar in spirit to the familiar structural lumber standards.

The three basic hardwood grading standards are issued by: o the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA), whose rules prevail in grading hardwood lumber, r the National Oak Flooring Manufacturing Association (NOFMA), whose standards cover hardwood flooring, o and the Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI), whose guidelines deal with the quality, materials, work- manship and installation of finished wood products (including softwoods), such as cabinetry, stairways and rails, doors, window frames, chair rails and paneling.

Grades For Usabillty

NHLA grades describe only the amount of material in a board that a manufacturer of fl ooring, furniture, cabinetry or millwork will be able to use. In NHLA terms, FAS (firsts and seconds) describes higher, more valuable grades-long, wide clear boards with little waste. Intermediate grades, like selects, #l and #2, are assigned in descending order as size percentage of clear lumber and value decline. In this system, about half of every log is non-appearance grade, destined for applications like pallets and crates.

Story at a Glance

Hardwood grades help match the vision with the budget makang hardwood character atfordable for everyone.

Grades For Appeariance

The NOFMA grading system is appearance-based. To understand these grades, it is necessary to be familiar with the terms "heartwood" and "sapwood," and "plain sawn" and "quafier sawn."

Heartwood is the oldest, densest, innermost section of the log. It is often darker and richer in color than sapwood, which lies closest to the bark. The color differcnce may be so pronounced that heartwood and sapwood from the same tree ar€ marketed under separate nnmes. Red pecan, for instance, is the heartwood: the sapwood of the same tree is sold as white pecan.

Boards can be cut from a hardwood log in two principal directions: tangential to the annual rings (plain sawn or flat sawn), or radially across the rings (quarter sawn).

Arched or flame-shaped markings, evident in bold-grained hardwoods, such as oak, characterize plain sawn wood, while quartersawn or "quartered" boards show a pattern of roughly parallel lines. Both have advantages in price, appearance and function, depending on application and species.

NOFMA divides unfinished strip flooring into four grades: clear, select. #l common and{2 common.

Clear and select grades are frrther distinguished by sawing direction using the designations: clear plain, clear quartered, select plain and select quartered.

Length also plays a part in NOFMA terminology; l-ll4 shorts, for instance, are l5-inch- to 3-footlong flooring strips. Builders might request l-l/4 shorts to reduce waste in bay windows and other irrcgular configurations.

NOFMA also maintains separate grading standards for pre-finished oak flooring: prime, standard, and tavern.

Since more than 90% of the hard- wood flooring sold in the U.S. is oak, NOFMA grading dominates flooring. However, NOFMA also certifies maple, beech, birch and pecan flooring as first, second, or third grade. First grade strips are practically free of character marks, but permit natural variations in color. Second grade displays tight, sound knots and other light character marks. Third grade flooring must merely provide a serviceable floor.

Guidelines for Quality

AWI sets the standards for the appearance, engineering, fabrication, finishing and installation of wood products.

Builders and architects need to be aware of only the three AWI grades when specifying woodwork: premium, custom and economy.

To illustrate, in custom grade millwork, the gap between doors, drawers or panels and frames must be 1/16" or less. In premium grade work, the tolerance is l/32"; in economy 3/32" is acceptable.

A partial list of other variables specified within these grades include the flatness of doors, flushness of joints, surface smoothness, hardware and construction techniques. Most architectural woodwork is custom grade, with premium grade reserved for special projects or focal points. Economy grade represents the minimum expectation of quality, workmanship, materials and installation.

AWI appearance grades refer only to character marks in finished products. Grade I. Grade II and Grade III limits, which set standards for clear surface area, vary by species.

Since a log produces only a few clear boards-pieces free from character marks and other distinguishing features-boards with fewer character marks rate the highest grades. Much of the remaining lumber offers good value, and may be perfect for your project. With a knowledge of lumber grading, you can take advantage of diversity, balance the variables and get consistent results.

3 Budgets,3 Guidelines

At the top of the line, clear, topquality materials should be specified. To avoid trouble, however, be sure the client realizes that not even the most expensive woods are completely uniform in color and grain.

On a moderate budget, hardwoods with occasional character marks, such as knots or mineral streaks, may be specified. Used with good taste, they enhance a home's one-of-a-kind personality. An educated client will appreciate their economy and rich appearance. o Character marks record a tree's career in the forest: growth rings tally a lifetime of spring renewals; knots show where limbs have sprouted; bird pecks reflect interaction with forest life, and mineral streaks tell of trace elements absorbed through water and soil. o Installing character-marked hardwood grades means that more of each tree harvested is used responsibly in lasting applications. o Hardwoods with character marks extend the range of creative options for homeowners, builders, architects, designers and woodworkers.

On a constrained budget, there are still creative solutions that take advantage of greater variations in appearance, and still look and feel better than substitute materials.

Hardwoods that carry character marks have a lot of appeal, especially for homeowners who appreciate natural materials.

When you understand the basics of grading, you can make informed suggestions, clearly defining what your customers can expect and your supplier can provide. Don't be intimidated by the fine details of the terminology. Your hardwood products supplier can help you clarify the details; just remember that grading is one way to ensure a match between the budset and the vision.