Grades
Softwood Flooring Grades are closely related to grading
rules for lumber but can vary. In some cases specific
names such as "Frontier" or "Hamilton"
are used to describe a certain grade of pine flooring.
In these cases it is important to read the specific
description of that product and view a picture or
sample to get a feel for how rustic or how clear a
particular floor is.
The most common descriptions of pine or softwood
flooring is as follows:
C Select or D Select
- These grades describe the cleanest appearance in
pine flooring allowing for small knots in limited
quantity. Some tongue and groove flooring such as
Southern Yellow Pine
are described as D and Better Select and have a very
clean knot-free face.
#1 or #2 Common
- These grades usually describe Ponderosa
Pine or Norway
Red Pine in a "knotty grade" floor
and are more rustic in appearance. Knots can be sizably
bigger and more frequent although they typically must
be sound, tight red knots. This type of flooring is
usually not tongue and grooved but rather sanded on
four sides and butted together, and usually face nailed
using square cut nails.
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