Prefinished hardwood floor is classified in several different ways to emphasize the way it looks and the way it operates. If you are looking for a great-looking hardwood floor on a budget or just looking for something truly unique, you should consider rustic grade. Rustic grade is differentiated from select grade, natural grade, and a few other grades of wood. Rustic grade is often considered the “low grade” prefinished flooring, but that’s not necessarily the case.
What is Rustic Grade?
When wood is cut and shaped, there are some natural flaws that come with the wood. There are also going to be some man made flaws in the wood. For example, if the wood has worm holes or hummingbird holes, those will be natural flaws in the wood. The planks of wood cut from that tree that contain the holes will not be eligible for being select grade. They’ll likely be common grade one or common grade two. Furthermore, the heartwood, sapwood, summer wood, and spring wood are going to be different colors. The fertilizers, rain conditions, and much more will also affect the color of the wood. If the planks are cut and contain different colors, they’ll be common grade as well. Those are natural blemishes.
Alternately, while the wood is processed, it can be damaged by the manufacturers. If there are inconsistencies in the cutting, burns from the sander, or some kind of splintering, those would be man made flaws. Those manmade flaws will make the wood common grade as well.
When these flawed pieces of wood are sanded, stained, and finished anyway, they become rustic grade.
Why Choose Rustic Grade?
Rustic grade flooring can be beneficial for a couple of reasons. Since the wood is technically of a lower quality, it will cost you less per square foot for hardwood flooring. Also, rustic grade flooring looks great. The flooring is not consistent and uniform like select grade flooring, but it is truly unique. Because the flaws are natural and/or accidental, there is no way to recreate a rustic floor. No two rustic floors will ever look alike.
A rustic floor is also easier to repair than a select grade floor. A select grade floor is very uniform, which means that any difference in wood tone or grain will stand out awkwardly. A rustic floor plank can be replaced with an inconsistent plank without affecting the overall look of the floor.
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