Wood Flooring classification

Parquet classification: appearance and origin, types of wood and characteristics

Origin and denomination of the wood species for the production of wooden floors at the best price.

However, this standard is not exhaustive of all wooden parquet on the market, therefore for those not contemplated at the moment it is possible to use the two national standards:

Solid wood floors with tongue and / or groove UNI EN 13226

• UNI 2853 Nomenclature of wood species that grow spontaneously in Italy
• UNI 2854 Nomenclature of exotic wood species grown in Italy

Although these standards are quite dated and subject to shortly to be updated and revised, at the moment they can represent a useful reference for operators, also because they report, together with the commercial names, the most used synonyms.

For the species that are not found in any of the aforementioned standards, the suggestion may be to refer to the fundamental text on the subject entitled “Wood technology”, author prof. G. Giordano.

For example, the Jordan gives the botanical name Myrocarpus frondosus m to “cabreuva”, a wood widely used in wooden floors, not included in any technical standard. fastigiatus, which allows you to uniquely trace the type of wood.

Here are some of the most important components that will make up the price of the wooden floor:
Types, formats, installation methods, appearance and humidity classes must be considered in relation to the type of product used, whether solid with or without joints, multilayer, mosaic or other.

Also in this case, the specific product standards developed in Europe can be taken as a reference which, starting from 2004, have also been implemented at national level.

The UNI EN 13226 standard defines the general and dimensional characteristics, with the relative tolerances, of solid wood elements with female and / or male interlocking for internal use such as wooden floors.

The standard concerns elements with or without surface treatment.

Classification of wooden parquet and respective prices based on appearance

The standard, like the other product standards illustrated below, introduces the new concept of “appearance class”, depending on the wood species considered, which exceeds that of “quality or choice”, reported in the previous Italian standard U40. 05.258.0: 1997 “Hardwood elements for floor coverings Classification based on defects”. The old classification I (first quality or first choice), Il (alburnata or zebra) and 111 (nodata or natural or rustic), widely spread on the national market, is replaced by the new classification designated with the symbols of CIRCLE, TRIANGLE and SQUARE, as well as an “open class” representing a particular selection offered by the manufacturer or requested by the buyer.

By way of example, Table 9 shows an example of classification for oak and other hardwoods.

Tab. 9 – Appearance classification for Quercus spp. (Oak tree) – excerpt of the norm
UNI EN 13226

Tab. 8 – Name of the main wood species – excerpt of the UNI EN 13556 standard