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Mansion Hill Custom Floors

MAKING THE CUT


Plainsawn White Oak


Diversity in hardwood flooring is a designer's dream come true! It's the key to

keeping creativity flowing for designers and architects. Just the thought of a world

with uniform flooring options gives us goosebumps.

Fortunately, our clients can pick and choose each aspect of their wood floors. From

the wood species to lengths and widths, to stains, to cuts – we can create one-of-akind

flooring to complement your designs.

The cut of the wood plays a pivotal role in the final appearance. Sawing methods

create many wood flooring options and looks, even within the same species of

tree. The way the wood is cut affects how it is dried, how it will look as flooring,

and how it will perform in the home or office once it is installed.


We’ve created a high-level glossary of the four types of cuts to consider while

making your selections.

• Plainsawn (also called flatsawn): The face of a plainsawn board has what

is referred to as a “cathedral” grain pattern. Most of the lumber produced

by plainsawing is flat-grained, with some vertical-grained wood included.

Plainsawn lumber will tend to contain more variation within and among

boards than other cuts.

• Quartersawn: Quartersawn wood typically produces vibrant ray flecks

along with a tight wavy grain pattern. A lot of people refer to this wood as

“tiger striped.”

• Riftsawn: Similar to quartersawing, riftsawing results in floors that have

an accentuated vertical grain but minimal fleck effect.

• Livesawn: Livesawn wood is a combination of plainsawn, quartersawn

and riftsawn lumber. The cut is straight through the log at the center, and

all remaining cuts are made parallel to the first cut. Livesawn produces

very wide boards with very little waste.


Image credit NWFA.org


Two More Terms to Know

• “Rift and quartered” is used when quartersawn and riftsawn woods are sold

together.

• “Hit-skip” is typically seen in reclaimed wood. It describes the saw-mark

texture from when the boards were originally milled. Because the saw blade

hits and skips different portions of the boards, each board is unique.


While we’ve provided a quick guide to cuts, we’re always happy to talk through

how they affect wood flooring and what type of cut will best serve your design

needs.


handpick every essential detail for creating your ideal wood flooring masterpiece.

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