"Appearance alone determines the grades of hardwood flooring since all grades are equally strong and serviceable in any application."

Clear Oak:
A flooring product of mostly heartwood with a minimum number of character marks and discoloration, providing a uniform appearance while allowing for all heartwood natural color variations. Will admit the following: 3/8" bright sapwood entire length of strip or equivalent if not extending further than 1" for 1/3 length of piece: small burls and fine pin worm holes; and equivalent characters such as small tight checks; in the absence if these, one thin brown streak 3" long to be allowed every 6'. Standard Packaging: Bundles can be 1 1/4" and longer; Average length, bundled or nested, 3 1/4".

Select Oak:
A flooring product with coloration variations produced by differences of natural heartwood and sapwood, along with characters described. The face may contain: unlimited sound sapwood; slight imperfections in milling; a small tight knot every 3'; pinworm holes; burls and a reasonable amount of slightly open checks. Brown streaks should not extend the entire length of a piece. Two flag worm holes every 8' are permitted. Slight Imperfection in face work (torn grain) admitted. An intermittent, brown machine burn across the face not exceeding 1/4" width admitted. Also a slight quantity of bark on the back or sides admitted. Will admit pieces with 1/2" tongue. Spot filling is generally required for open characters. Standard Packaging: Bundles to be 1 1/2" and longer; Average length, bundled or nested 3 1/4".

No. 1 Common Oak:
A flooring product which contains prominent variations in coloration and varying characters. The following are not admitted: broken knots over 1/2" in diameter, large grub wormholes, and splits extending through the piece. Open characters such as checks and knot holes are admitted, but must be sound readily fill. Not more than 20" scant stock in thickness allowed every 5'. Minor imperfections in machining permitted. Shall admit sticker stain; varying wood characteristics, such as worm holes; and an occasional dark machine burn across the face not exceeding 1/2" wide, 1/64" deep and not more than two each 3'. 1/4" tongue allowed. Extremely dark pieces are not to be included. Standard packaging: Bundles to be 1 1/4" and longer; Average length, bundled or nested, 2 3/4".

No. 2 Common Oak:
May contain sound natural variations of the forest product and manufacturing imperfections. The purpose of this grade is to furnish a floor suitable for homes, general utility use, of where character marks and contrasting appearance is desired. The following are not admitted: shattered or rotten ends, large broken knots, excessive bad millwork, shake, advanced rot, and similar unsound defects. Dark machine burns exceeding 3/64" deep not admitted. Knotholes and open characters, which will readily fill, are admitted. A limited number of pieces with no tongue which may be face nailed are admitted. Standard Packaging: Bundles to be 1 1/4" and longer; average length, bundled or nested, 2 1/4".

Installation Considerations:
There are many types of hardwood floors to select from. Most have requirements for different areas of the house where they can be installed. Take note of moisture level and the sub floor material where the flooring will be installed. Solid hardwood floors are affected by moisture and tend to expand and contract when exposed to moisture. This is especially true for the 3/4" solid hardwood floors. The same is not so for engineered hardwood. Therefore solid wood flooring is not recommended to be installed in a basement or over a concrete slab. If you are building from the ground up (New Construction), design considerations must be taken into affect ahead of time if you plan to install hardwood over a concrete slab. Other types of hardwoods are stapled or nailed over a plywood sub floor. There are also glue down installations otherwise referred to as a "floating floor". While shopping for wood flooring be sure to understand where you are going to install your flooring determines what types of flooring options you will have.