by hbirch | Dec 16, 2013 | Wood
Radiant Heat refers to a heating system that raises the temperature of a floor or wall surface. Radiant heat in the floor creates a macroclimate of dry air that can put undue stress on a wood floor if not properly designed and regulated. Engineered flooring is routinely warranteed for radiant heat as long as correct installation procedures are followed. Before installation, the system should be slowly brought to operating temperature (3-4 days), and then turned off. This is designed to drive any latent moisture out of the subfloor. After installation, the same procedure is repeated, taking care to ramp up to operating temperature slowly (so as not to “shock” the wood). (more…)
by hbirch | Dec 16, 2013 | Wood
In most cases, the installation of wood flooring is well within the average do-it-yourselfer’s ability, and is a very satisfying job because it results in such a dramatic transformation. Job-site sanding and finishing, which is only required for unfinished wood flooring, is a job we think best left to the professionals. If the room is ready for installation, and all materials and tools are present, one can expect to lay about 200 square feet in a day. Professional installers, working as a team, can often accomplish three times that amount.
There are three common ways to install a wood floor: (more…)
by hbirch | Dec 16, 2013 | Wood
Solid Wood Flooring is the term for individual pieces of wood milled to a tongue-and-groove profile, typically ¾” thick. It is available with a factory-applied finish, or as an unfinished floor (requiring jobsite sanding and finishing). The use of prefinished flooring is popular because it avoids the delays and mess of a sand-in-place floor, and because the new generation of factory-applied finishes is considered superior and longer-lasting. Solid wood flooring offers the most choices in specie, grade and dimension.
Engineered Wood Flooring is a sandwich of alternating wood layers designed to provide stability. It’s basically a solid wood top (or “wear”) layer that is permanently bonded to its own wood subfloor, thereby allowing it to be installed directly over concrete or below grade. An engineered floor will be subject to over 75% less seasonal movement than a solid wood floor of the same specie and width. It makes good use of the timber resource by concentrating the best wood on the wear layer. Planet Hardwood recommends engineered flooring for glue-down and floating installations, and for flooring wider than 6” in width. Many engineered floors can be nailed down also, and some offer a thick re-sandable wear layer comparable to a solid wood floor.
by hbirch | Dec 16, 2013 | Ecology, Wood
Nearly 25% of all industrial wood consumption is from plantation sources, and that number is expected to double over the next 50 years. Most of the Teak flooring sold in America is sourced from plantations in Central America, and just about all of our Southern Yellow Pine is plantation grown. Radiata Pine plantations occupy nearly 8% of New Zealand’s land area and Palm Oil and Rubberwood plantations occupy over 80% of Malaysia’s arable land.
Plantations are a mixed blessing. They remove pressure from the primary forests and can additionally reclaim degraded lands, halt soil erosion and sequester carbon. However, they can also replace a bio-diverse native forest with a mono-specie. Most woods do not lend themselves to plantation forestry and can only grow in a natural habitat. (more…)
by hbirch | Dec 16, 2013 | Ecology, Wood
To identify the most environmentally responsible building material, the choice would logically rest on two fundamental principles:
- It is a renewable resource.
- It is a biodegradable resource.
Wood is the only common building material that satisfies those criteria. Measured against plastic, steel, aluminum, concrete, or cloth, wood is the most environmentally friendly in terms of low emissions, energy consumption and toxic by-products. Every part of the tree has a use.
Trees are mostly carbon. The carbon comes from the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, and through the process of photosynthesis is converted to wood fiber. This carbon is “fixed” in the wood, and can only be released if the wood is burned or allowed to rot above ground. A young growing forest helps to balance the excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. This is an ongoing renewable natural process.
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