Hardwood Flooring - Widths and Edges

WIDTH:
Once you have chosen hardwood as your future flooring material, you will be provided with flooring boards in various sizes to choose from. But these sizes are basically divided in 'strips' and 'planks'. Strips are the hardwood boards with narrower widths while planks are the wider units.

The width feature should be kept in mind while choosing the flooring material, because the board width can visually impact a room. Narrow width boards will give the feeling of spaciousness in a small room. Wider boards work well in a large room or wide area. Having this knowledge can give you the perfect sense of selecting the right width for your flooring board.

EDGES:
Besides from the different widths, hardwood floors have a variety of edges as well. The flooring boards either have a beveled edge, or a square edge. Today, most hardwood floor manufacturers also refer to beveled edge as "eased edge". The reason comes from the tapered edge of eased edge boards, having been reduced from the old deeply grooved edge of beveled edge boards.

These beveled edges have particular advantages. One: they can be produced faster than the square edges, reducing the production cost. Two: A beveled edge floor is more adjusting when installed over irregular subfloors and the problem of 'overwood' doesn't occur. It prevents uneven plank heights abutting each other.

Here is a quick description of all three hardwood flooring board edges:

Square Edge Hardwood Flooring Boards:

The edges of all boards meet at the square edge, creating a uniform and smooth surface of a floor with a consistent board to board blend. This particular edge style gives a formal feeling to the room.

Eased Edge Hardwood Flooring Boards:

Each board is slightly beveled. Some manufacturers add an eased edge to both the length of the planks as well as the end joints. Eased edges are meant to hide minor irregularities, for example uneven plank heights. It is also called micro-beveled edge.

Beveled Edge Hardwood Flooring Boards:

The beveled edge planks have a very distinguishing groove in them. They are applied with urethane finish at the factory, sealing the beveled edges completely. This added feature helps in cleaning dirt and grit easily through sweeping or vacuuming.