Flooring Jargon & Lingo – Explained in Plain English

Usually made up from 4 different Stained Concrete College Station the bottom layer being the stabilizing layer the middle being the HDF core layer then comes a paper photographic image and finished of with a top layer of very hardwearing laminate it comes as planks and panels in wood, stone, tile, and other looks.

Solid Wood Flooring
This is made up from 100% wood thickness can range from 10mm up to 22mm and comes in an array of species with the most popular being Oak Beech Maple Ash Cherry most solid wood floors can be nailed down through the groove at a 35 degree angle or can be fully glued to the floor.

Structured Flooring
This is made up from 3 different layers all of which are laid on top of each other at 90 degree angles this stops the wood from expanding the bottom and middle layer usually consists of spruce wood and on top of this is a layer of real hardwood which can range in thickness from between 1.5mm and 4mm the overall thickness of structured flooring can range from 10mm to 14mm this can be laid in several ways with the most common being glue between the tongue and groove

Engineered Flooring
This is another name for the above structured flooring

Veneer Flooring
This is very similar to laminate flooring it has a stabilizing base layer and a middle layer of HDF but the top layer is a thin layer of real wood usually around 0.7mm thick this cannot be sanded down the overall thickness can range from between 7mm & 10mm

Plank Flooring
This is when the whole of the flooring board is cut from the wood in one piece and can come in structured engineered veneer or sold wood flooring because it is out of one cut this type of flooring is usually a lot more expensive than 2 strip or 3 strip flooring.

Two Strip Flooring

Much the same as above but this time there are 2 different strips of wood on the surface of the flooring.

Three Strip Flooring
Here the width of the board is made up from 3 different pieces of flooring because these are smaller pieces of wood they are also cheaper to buy.

Oiled Flooring
This is when the surface of the hardwood floor is finished of with usually around 3-4 layers of special oil this gives the floor protection while allowing the natural beauty of the floor to come out.

Lacquered Flooring
This is when the surface of the hardwood flooring is finished off with a lacquer to give the floor even better added protection. This usually consists of 3-4 layers of lacquer.

Unfinished Flooring
This is when the flooring comes with no finish at all just the natural wood it is recommended that you apply one of the above finishes this can be done after installation.