Flooring "Cuts"

Member of the

National

Wood

 Flooring

Association

The angle at which a board is cut makes big differences in how the finished product looks. Wood flooring is either plainsawn, quartersawn or riftsawn.

Plainsawn is the most common cut. The board contains more variation than the other two cuts because figure patterns resulting from the growth rings are more conspicuous.

Quartersawn type cutting produces less board feet per log than plainsawing and is therefore more expensive. Quartersawn wood is more dimensionally stable than plainsawn, it twists and cups less and wears more evenly.

Riftsawn is similar to quartersawn, but the cut is made at a slightly different angle.