• Home >
• Products & Processes >
• American Hardwood products >
• Flooring

American hardwood flooring

This section provides information about the American solid hardwood flooring industry, the production process and product and species availability in export markets. Solid hardwood flooring refers mainly to machined profiles, manufactured from American native species.

HARDWOOD FLOORING INDUSTRY

The hardwood flooring industry is spread throughout the eastern USA. The bulk of solid hardwood flooring is manufactured for the American domestic market and the primary product is strip flooring. Other products include wide board (plank) flooring, and block or parquet flooring. The industry comprises specialist manufacturers whose primary function is to service demand in the USA for hardwood flooring. In addition, hardwood sawmills and lumber producers, who have diversified into added value manufacture, play an increasingly important role in servicing both USA and export markets, particularly with board or plank flooring.

PRODUCTION

Kiln-dried sawn hardwood lumber is selected for suitability according to grade and specification. The lumber is then ripped to obtain the correct width according to the required specification.

Lumber used for the manufacture of flooring is kiln dried to 6-9% MC in line with industry standards and USA building code requirements.

The main NHLA lumber grade used by the flooring industry is No 2 Common, although higher grades will be utilised for wide board flooring and special colour and quality requirements.

Solid hardwood flooring falls in to three main categories:

Grading

Flooring is graded according to appearance. There is no nationally or internationally accepted standard applicable to all flooring manufacture, in the way the NHLA rules apply to hardwood lumber production. Therefore grades and quality standards tend to be set by individual producers based on customer requirements.

However, flooring standards do exist and are adhered to by specific groups of producers. For example, the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association (NOFMA), which represents most of the major producers of hardwood flooring in the USA, publishes and enforces hardwood flooring standards for its members who produce strip flooring, and most producers of solid hardwood flooring incorporate the basic principles upon which these rules are structured. The NOFMA rules also cover other species such as ash, walnut, maple, hickory, pecan, beech and birch.

Board/plank flooring grades tend to relate to the NHLA lumber grade the flooring profile is manufactured from, for example ex No 1 Common, or ex FAS.

Export packaging

Most pre-machined flooring is bundled to thickness and width and in random lengths. For strip flooring produced to the NOFMA rules, individual bundles will be stamped with the appropriate quality mark. Bundles are strapped and palletised to assist with handling, and some may be wrapped in polythene for protection.

EXPORT AVAILABILITY

The table below indicates flooring product availability for the main commercial American hardwood species suitable for flooring. This information is cross-referenced with AHEC’s publication ‘Species’.

Hardwood flooring profiles and fixing methods can vary greatly from one country to another. Therefore some export markets demand products that have different specifications, tolerances and quality requirements from the standard products sold and produced for the market in the USA. For example, 21/4" (57.16mm) width tongue and groove strip flooring is a mainstay of the American domestic market, but for many exports markets there is very little demand for this size. Flooring companies that specialise in export are able to tailor production to meet specific market or customer needs. The lack of standardisation of flooring internationally and the need for flexibility, quick delivery and a cost effective product, mean that significant volumes of American hardwood flooring are manufactured from imported lumber in export markets. This results in improved species and product availability.

EXPORT DISTRIBUTION

American hardwood flooring is distributed in two main forms – either as a pre-machined (and sometimes factory-finished) product exported from the USA and channelled through distribution outlets in export markets, or as flooring products (solid, multi-layered and other veneered products) manufactured in export markets from imported American hardwood lumber and dimension.