Parquet: all the riches of nature

Parquet is a classic floor covering, which is very popular, despite the appearance of inexpensive artificial imitations in the form of a laminate or linoleum. This material is made from natural hard wood. The advantage of the products is a wide range, impeccable appearance, high status, the ability to create an original exclusive drawing on the floor. There are different options for flooring, which allows you to choose the material not only in cost, but also in decorative features.

Design Features

There is no single standard regarding the format of parquet; manufacturers produce the following types of products:

piece parquet - produced in the form of small strips, the installation of which is facilitated by the presence of a tenon groove system, the width can vary from 40 to 70 mm, the length is always a multiple of the width and is 200-500 mm. Thickness depends on the type of wood species, production features. The most popular trims are 14-22 mm thick;
parquet board is a complex multilayer structure, coniferous wood is the basis, and the front layer is made of valuable wood from 5 to 16 mm thick, has a length of 1, 2.5 meters, and a width of 150-200 mm. The presence of a locking system simplifies the installation of this type of flooring;
panel parquet - the design is similar to a parquet board, but the dimensions are more compact. Most manufacturers produce this kind of square flooring with a face length of 400 to 800 mm.Unlike a parquet board has a more significant thickness - up to 40 mm;
massive board - the category of parquet includes a board with a tenon groove system and a width of up to 200 mm, length varies from 2 to 2.5 meters, and thickness - from 14 to 22 mm.

Products are produced without a protective coating or processed in the factory with oil, wax or varnish.

European Parquet Classification

In the market of our country, the bulk of the flooring is represented by European companies. In their catalogs you can find the following varieties of flooring:

select - a board with a predominance of radial cut, is of high quality and lack of knots, a small uniform pattern; natur - a natural pattern with a small number of small knots; there is no play of shades in the color scheme;
test - parquet from mixed cut boards, has a contrasting color scheme;
classic - spectacular textured pattern of tangential cut; wagon - a variable pattern of tangential and radial cut strips, there are small knots;
antique - has a darkened color, a variable game of shades, different types of cut are combined.

Some manufacturers classify parquet on the quality of the board, the comparison is based on the presence of knots:

prime - the complete absence of knots;
select - small healthy knots;
rustic - any knots are allowed, including knocked out.

This classification divides products into three main price categories.

Types of cut

Most parquet reviews highlight the difference between cuts. The log from which parquet blanks are made can be sawn in different directions. There are two main types:

radial cut - goes through the middle of the trunk, the surface is obtained with a small uniform texture pattern. The most expensive type of flooring, which is appreciated for the stability of the shade;
tangential cut - is performed along the tangent to the annual rings, so the surface of the board has a characteristic pattern of stains.

There is a semi-radial cut, as a result of such processing of wood, an average drawing in saturation of the texture is obtained.

Types of wood

Parquet is produced from wood of various species, thanks to this the range of material is almost limitless. There is no special classification by origin or certain botanical features; all types of material, depending on the species, are divided into two main groups:

light - ash, beech, birch, larch;
dark ones - ebony, merbau, walnut, yew and other species.

Intermediate species are no less diverse, including cherry, hornbeam, oak, olive tree - depending on the processing technology, parquet from this wood may be dark or light. Some breeds may change their hue depending on the angle of illumination. Such species include cherry, cherry, maple. Due to the variety of natural wood and the developed technologies for its processing, the natural color scheme of parquet can vary from white to dark brown and black.