Article Number: 22355
From Forest to Floor - American Lumber Icon Advises what to know before Specifying Hardwood Flooring
Construction of multifamily luxury condos and apartments still represents great opportunity for architectural specification. In particular, for end-users consisting of millennials relocating to metropolitan areas and baby boomers. From young families starting out to empty nesters looking to downsize, the multifamily construction market still remains strong. Clearly, demand for higher-end condos and high-rise apartments in major markets has kept those in the commercial construction arena very busy during these highly insane times.
Overall, various floor coverings continue to replace carpet for many reasons. This is in part because today’s buyers or renters are opting for more luxurious larger kitchens, upscale foyers and stately dining rooms and thus, are insisting upon hardwood flooring. Perhaps the main reason for this demand is that imitation is the best example of flattery. Quickly, think of how many of today’s porcelain tile, luxury vinyl, laminate and other flooring products are manufactured with a “wood-look.” Why are these faux wood flooring products so popular? The answer is obvious. The look of natural wood is and always will be in vogue. Those others are wood wannabes. The real deal is real wood.
Builders of extravagant high-rises, particularly in major metro areas and 55+ retirement communities… are being pushed to cater to the luxury market due to rising costs of land, labor and construction materials. Hardwood flooring is truly in demand, especially when a great majority of these new apartments and condos target the more affluent. Research across the nation states that newly constructed luxury high-rise units priced above $700,000 typically have roughly 1,000 to 2,000 square feet of hardwood flooring installed.
Dave Graf is President of Graf Brothers, the northern Kentucky-based firm which sells logs, rough lumber and is back to producing hardwood flooring. This being his fifth decade within the industry, Dave knows a thing or two about wood. When queried why hardwood flooring is in demand, especially for today’s higher-end spenders, his answer was simple. “It’s sexier.”
Located on an 80-acre site, Graf’s company specializes in… and, is the world’s largest producer/provider of rift & quartered white oak lumber products.
“It all starts out with the logs,” Graf declared. “Clearly, the best logs equal the best lumber. Most other sawmills, which cut down trees to ultimately produce lumber for flooring purposes, start with logs having a 12” diameter. We believe in ‘selective cutting’ and insist on logs with at least a 16” diameter. Why? It has to do with sustainability. Because harvesting logs this size, every 20 years we can then go in and re-harvest that forest again. Cutting down logs which are 12” in diameter,” Graf continued, “ultimately means the forest won’t grow enough to be re-harvested, at least for another 50 years.”
Graf Brothers both manages its own forests and also recommends to other landowners what must be done to gain optimal tree growth. “We’re so focused on taking care of log-bearing forests, we’ve even gone so far as building ‘board roads’ where after harvest, the mats will be removed and the owner can use that area for planting more new trees. And the planks could be re-purposed, as well.”
Graf went on to say that once logs are cut, they then go to one of four Graf Brothers sawmills. At the log yards, each log is then kept underwater from April to November to prevent cracking or checking, minimize rotting or drying out and also, to optimize color and visual character. White Oak, which is Graf Brothers’ specialty, goes on to its milling department, to be rift and quarter sawn.
“Two or three centuries ago, the only large transport vehicles for logs were river rafts,” stated Graf. “A century or so later, due to upgraded technology and more, these submerged inventories could somehow be reclaimed. Once dried and then cut into planks, wood patterns were extremely pronounced and wood color was greatly brightened. And, the cut wood material was very hard. These types of wood are still occasionally located and then reclaimed. The lumber product that can be made from it is very good-looking… and, very high-performance. And obviously, expensive.”
Graf Brothers has five log yards in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. “We also turnaround and regularly sell cut logs to other sawmills within a 100 mile radius of our locations. Logs we cannot use for in-house production work such as cutting into blanks for other firms or for our own hardwood flooring production, we sell to various companies within a ten state area. Most of these customers have been doing business with us for years, because, immodestly, they know we know wood.”
Graf stated there are basically four types of lumber produced in America to be made into hardwood flooring. How these lumber types are categorized depends upon procedures in which each log is positioned and then cut at the sawmill. The most common, PLAIN SAWN (or “flat sawn”) is 98% of the total production in North America; the least expensive way to transform logs into lumber. The annular rings range from 30 degrees or less to the face of the board. Plain sawn lumber is that which what most of the commodity hardwood flooring materials are produced.
(Show diagram of wood types)
QUARTER SAWN LUMBER, more costly than plain sawn, has straight grain patterns, where annular growth rings intersect the board’s face at angles of 60 to 90 degrees. Each log is cut into four quarters at a radial angle, resulting in interesting flecking patterns.
Even more expensive, RIFT SAWN is the least common. Here, annual rings range between 30-60 degrees; with 45 degrees the most sought after. Manufactured by milling perpendicular to the growth rings produces a linear grain pattern containing no flecking. This method produces the most waste, increasing cost. Rift sawn lumber is dimensionally stable, and has a unique linear appearance. It is often produced to complement quarter sawn lumber, thus the category, “RIFT & QUARTERED (R&Q).”
R&Q cuts are very dimensionally stable and can withstand seasonal expansion and contraction in wood flooring. Along with stability, these cuts offer higher-ranked hardness ratings than standard cuts. Rift & quarter sawn produces a tight, straight grain running parallel to the board with little to no ray fleck. Quarter sawn displays the straight grain along with ray flecks that run across the grain. “For the most part,” Graf declared, “once architects and designers know about the high performance of rift and quarter sawn lumber, they will want to specify it for their projects. They want it for their looks… but much more importantly, even more than for it beauty; they want it for its long-term durability and performance.”
Over the course of time, we all know wood moves. R&Q doesn’t buckle and/or pyramid upwards. Rather, due to its composition, each board gets thicker. Thus, end-users’ floors are tighter and even less apt to be repaired or replaced than those using less expensive commodity plain sawn log material.”
Architects, developers and installers all must consider cost-saving measures such as specifying products with long life cycles that need less replacement. Higher-end wood flooring is the ideal choice, as not only will it increase property value, but it won’t have to be replaced each time a tenant moves out.
“And remember,” concluded Dave Graf, “there are many people, such as those in my age group, that don’t buy for investment purposes, but buy a new home, whether a major or seasonal residence, to be enjoyed for as long as possible. This market place of buyers should be educated on the benefits of higher end lumber cuts… especially that of rift and quartered.”
Overall, various floor coverings continue to replace carpet for many reasons. This is in part because today’s buyers or renters are opting for more luxurious larger kitchens, upscale foyers and stately dining rooms and thus, are insisting upon hardwood flooring. Perhaps the main reason for this demand is that imitation is the best example of flattery. Quickly, think of how many of today’s porcelain tile, luxury vinyl, laminate and other flooring products are manufactured with a “wood-look.” Why are these faux wood flooring products so popular? The answer is obvious. The look of natural wood is and always will be in vogue. Those others are wood wannabes. The real deal is real wood.
Builders of extravagant high-rises, particularly in major metro areas and 55+ retirement communities… are being pushed to cater to the luxury market due to rising costs of land, labor and construction materials. Hardwood flooring is truly in demand, especially when a great majority of these new apartments and condos target the more affluent. Research across the nation states that newly constructed luxury high-rise units priced above $700,000 typically have roughly 1,000 to 2,000 square feet of hardwood flooring installed.
Dave Graf is President of Graf Brothers, the northern Kentucky-based firm which sells logs, rough lumber and is back to producing hardwood flooring. This being his fifth decade within the industry, Dave knows a thing or two about wood. When queried why hardwood flooring is in demand, especially for today’s higher-end spenders, his answer was simple. “It’s sexier.”
Located on an 80-acre site, Graf’s company specializes in… and, is the world’s largest producer/provider of rift & quartered white oak lumber products.
“It all starts out with the logs,” Graf declared. “Clearly, the best logs equal the best lumber. Most other sawmills, which cut down trees to ultimately produce lumber for flooring purposes, start with logs having a 12” diameter. We believe in ‘selective cutting’ and insist on logs with at least a 16” diameter. Why? It has to do with sustainability. Because harvesting logs this size, every 20 years we can then go in and re-harvest that forest again. Cutting down logs which are 12” in diameter,” Graf continued, “ultimately means the forest won’t grow enough to be re-harvested, at least for another 50 years.”
Graf Brothers both manages its own forests and also recommends to other landowners what must be done to gain optimal tree growth. “We’re so focused on taking care of log-bearing forests, we’ve even gone so far as building ‘board roads’ where after harvest, the mats will be removed and the owner can use that area for planting more new trees. And the planks could be re-purposed, as well.”
Graf went on to say that once logs are cut, they then go to one of four Graf Brothers sawmills. At the log yards, each log is then kept underwater from April to November to prevent cracking or checking, minimize rotting or drying out and also, to optimize color and visual character. White Oak, which is Graf Brothers’ specialty, goes on to its milling department, to be rift and quarter sawn.
“Two or three centuries ago, the only large transport vehicles for logs were river rafts,” stated Graf. “A century or so later, due to upgraded technology and more, these submerged inventories could somehow be reclaimed. Once dried and then cut into planks, wood patterns were extremely pronounced and wood color was greatly brightened. And, the cut wood material was very hard. These types of wood are still occasionally located and then reclaimed. The lumber product that can be made from it is very good-looking… and, very high-performance. And obviously, expensive.”
Graf Brothers has five log yards in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. “We also turnaround and regularly sell cut logs to other sawmills within a 100 mile radius of our locations. Logs we cannot use for in-house production work such as cutting into blanks for other firms or for our own hardwood flooring production, we sell to various companies within a ten state area. Most of these customers have been doing business with us for years, because, immodestly, they know we know wood.”
Graf stated there are basically four types of lumber produced in America to be made into hardwood flooring. How these lumber types are categorized depends upon procedures in which each log is positioned and then cut at the sawmill. The most common, PLAIN SAWN (or “flat sawn”) is 98% of the total production in North America; the least expensive way to transform logs into lumber. The annular rings range from 30 degrees or less to the face of the board. Plain sawn lumber is that which what most of the commodity hardwood flooring materials are produced.
(Show diagram of wood types)
QUARTER SAWN LUMBER, more costly than plain sawn, has straight grain patterns, where annular growth rings intersect the board’s face at angles of 60 to 90 degrees. Each log is cut into four quarters at a radial angle, resulting in interesting flecking patterns.
Even more expensive, RIFT SAWN is the least common. Here, annual rings range between 30-60 degrees; with 45 degrees the most sought after. Manufactured by milling perpendicular to the growth rings produces a linear grain pattern containing no flecking. This method produces the most waste, increasing cost. Rift sawn lumber is dimensionally stable, and has a unique linear appearance. It is often produced to complement quarter sawn lumber, thus the category, “RIFT & QUARTERED (R&Q).”
R&Q cuts are very dimensionally stable and can withstand seasonal expansion and contraction in wood flooring. Along with stability, these cuts offer higher-ranked hardness ratings than standard cuts. Rift & quarter sawn produces a tight, straight grain running parallel to the board with little to no ray fleck. Quarter sawn displays the straight grain along with ray flecks that run across the grain. “For the most part,” Graf declared, “once architects and designers know about the high performance of rift and quarter sawn lumber, they will want to specify it for their projects. They want it for their looks… but much more importantly, even more than for it beauty; they want it for its long-term durability and performance.”
Over the course of time, we all know wood moves. R&Q doesn’t buckle and/or pyramid upwards. Rather, due to its composition, each board gets thicker. Thus, end-users’ floors are tighter and even less apt to be repaired or replaced than those using less expensive commodity plain sawn log material.”
Architects, developers and installers all must consider cost-saving measures such as specifying products with long life cycles that need less replacement. Higher-end wood flooring is the ideal choice, as not only will it increase property value, but it won’t have to be replaced each time a tenant moves out.
“And remember,” concluded Dave Graf, “there are many people, such as those in my age group, that don’t buy for investment purposes, but buy a new home, whether a major or seasonal residence, to be enjoyed for as long as possible. This market place of buyers should be educated on the benefits of higher end lumber cuts… especially that of rift and quartered.”
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