10 rules for choosing a parquet board

*Overview of the best according to the editors of Healthy Food Near Me. About selection criteria. This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

Wooden flooring should be wear-resistant, durable and strong, resistant to mechanical stress and as easy to maintain as possible. At the same time, it is important that it fits into the overall interior of the room. Today we will tell you how to choose a high-quality parquet board and what parameters you need to pay attention to when buying.

Parquet board construction

Parquet board is a modern substitute for parquet. She, unlike her “progenitor”, requires less time for laying and reduces wood consumption. In addition, it is cheaper and easier to maintain.

The parquet board consists of several layers (usually three), while the middle layer is perpendicular to the top and bottom. The first, top layer is made from precious woods (oak, rosewood, etc.). On average, its thickness is 4 mm. For better preservation, it is treated with a special varnish, oil coating.

The intermediate layer is made from less valuable wood materials (usually coniferous trees). Sometimes HDF boards are used as a “filling” – thin plates made of material left after wood processing, or sanitary cutting wood. HDF boards conduct heat well, so they are often used to create underfloor heating systems.

The middle layer improves the resistance of the flooring to mechanical stress and the ability to “tolerate” temperature changes. It is on it that tongue and groove (using waterproof glue) or lock (not requiring gluing joints) joints are cut.

The bottom layer (1,5 mm thick) reinforces the rigidity of the parquet substitute. It is made from solid spruce or birch wood.

The thickness of the parquet board, taking into account all the words, is 1,3–2 cm.

There is another “brother” of parquet – an engineering board. It is made of several layers of plywood, laid at right angles to each other, with a strong natural wood top layer glued on. Great for creating a “warm” floor. Unlike classic parquet boards, engineered parquet is resistant to temperature and humidity changes. It has high thermal insulation properties, it is possible to grind.

Types of parquet boards

Depending on how the planks are laid, the following types of parquet boards are distinguished:

1. Single lane. It imitates a solid array of wood, made from one plank, without division into segments. Looks great in large apartments, visually expands the space, but has the highest cost.

2. Two-lane. It is made of wooden strips laid in two rows. It looks like parquet. It is produced from various types of wood, both traditional (ash, oak) and more original (zebrano, wenge, ebony). This modernized parquet is designed for small apartments (if the parquet board has short slats) and spacious rooms (if the parquet board has long slats).

3. Three-lane. It is made of wooden strips laid in three rows. It costs less than its single-lane and two-lane “brothers”.

4. Multiband. Made from strips of wood stacked in 10 or more rows.

Options for choosing parquet boards

Color

Natural wood goes well with different styles and types of interior design. The versatility of the flooring facilitates the repair and selection of furniture and. But still, when choosing the color of the parquet, one should take into account the size of the apartment and the permeability in the room:

White and light gray wooden floors are suitable for rooms with little traffic, as well as small, small-sized apartments, as light shades visually expand the space. But on them stains and other defects are clearly visible.

Warm, honey-colored wood floors mask dirt and create a pleasant, comfortable and friendly environment. They are ideal for spacious rooms that lack comfort.

Dark wood flooring creates a more formal, austere setting. It is also used to create a modern interior design, often combined with light-colored furniture.

Material

When buying, it is important to pay attention to the type of wood, as well as the origin of the wood. It is important that the manufacturer controls the entire production process from the supply of material to the plant to the introduction of the product to the market. Well, if the product has received FSC certification, this means that the wood is supplied legally and is harvested from high-quality material.

In the production of improved three-layer parquet, various types of wood are used. The service life and integrity of the floor covering depends on their density and hardness. When buying, consider:

1. If the floor material is not dense enough, it will sag under the weight of the furniture, the human body, and dents will remain on it. If the flooring is made of wood with low hardness, it may crack with increasing humidity, temperature changes;

2. Wood from aspen, spruce, linden, willow has a low density, and wood from sandalwood, rosewood and ash has a high density. Medium density in birch, maple, oak and beech;

3. In the production of parquet, hardwoods such as maple, elm, oak, brazilian and walnut, olive tree, jatoba, macassar, ash are often used. Larch and birch wood is considered less hard. The softest wood species are poplar, alder, pine, aspen;

4. If you plan to install a “warm floor” system, give up parquet made of khatoba, larch, maple and beech;

5. Wood from oak and ash is considered the most durable and hard. It rarely cracks and withstands a humid environment well;

6. Beech does not tolerate changes in humidity.

Покрытие

Parquet substitutes are processed with a varnish or oil coating. This is necessary to extend the service life and increase wear resistance.

Lacquered parquet forms a layer that protects against UV rays and dirt. It increases the scratch resistance of the flooring. In the event of an impact, the lacquer layers absorb some of the impact force and the underlying layers remain “safe”. Parquet boards treated with varnish are cheaper than boards treated with oil. The lacquer layer should be renewed every 3-7 years. Restoration cannot be done locally, only the entire board.

The oil coating is absorbed into the pores of the wood, which increases the resistance of the material and scratch resistance. Oil emphasizes the naturalness of the flooring. The more oil layers applied to the parquet, the better. In case of mechanical damage, the coating can be renewed locally. Compared to a varnish coating, an oil coating “perceives” sharp changes in temperature and air humidity better. The main advantage of oiled parquet is naturalness, warmth and comfort. But it does not protect well from stains.

Top manufacturers

1. Battic wood;

2. Karelia;

3. Quick Step;

4. Kahrs;

5. Tarkett;

6. Barlinek;

7. Polarwood.

What to choose – laminate or parquet board

When choosing a floor covering, we often think about what to choose: a laminate or a parquet board. Each of these materials has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Laminate outwardly imitates wood species, but in fact it is based on chipboard or fiberboard. It consists of four layers. The bottom layer prevents deformation, then comes chipboard, on top of which a decorative layer imitating parquet is installed. From above, the board is treated with a protective resin.

For your convenience, we have compiled a comparative table of laminate and parquet.

Attention! This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.