Engineered Flooring Specifications
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Lifetime Structural Integrity Warranty
Heidelberg Wood Flooring warrants its domestically produced, first quality engineered plank to be
free of defects, manufactured with sound best grade available materials including wear layer,
substrates, and adhesives. Heidelberg Wood Flooring also warrants that these engineered hardwood
floors will not delaminate (i.e. separations of layers) when properly installed and maintained.
Engineered Wood Floor
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Plywood substrate: Exterior Grade Baltic Birch. No urea-added formaldehyde phenolic
adhesive that is CARB 2 (California Air Resource Board) Compliant.
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Adhesive for Wood Veneer to Plywood is not a formaldehyde-based resin product and does
not contain urea-formaldehyde or similar formaldehyde resins.
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Wear Layer: Hardwood wear layer is kiln dried, sawn lumber sourced from responsibly
managed forests with a positive growth to harvest ratio.
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Moisture Test: Moisture test of lumber in accordance with ASTM-4442 guidelines to ensure
that wear layer is within 2% of moisture content of plywood at time of lamination. Flooring is
manufactured a 6-9% moisture content with a 3% allowance for pieces outside that range
Milling Standards
Heidelberg Wood Flooring manufactures its domestically produced, first quality engineered plank to
exceed HVPA EP 2009 Standards as well as NWFA/NOFMA Unfinished Standards 2009.
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Heidelberg Wood Flooring | NWFA/NOFMA
Face Width: ± 0.005” | ± 0.010”
*Match Position: ≤ 0.004” | ≤ 0.008”
Thickness: ± .005” | ± 0.015”
*For the most accurate match position, we measure from the bottom, flat surface to bottom of the
tongue and bottom of the groove.
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Board Length Guidelines
Heidelberg Wood Flooring produces random length boards and the range of lengths will be included
on your order. Increased minimum length orders (i.e 3’-10’ or 5’-12’) will have an allowance of up to
5% of the total square footage of your order of boards that may be shorter than the minimum
specified length. These boards are referred to as cut-backs and are typically used to start a row or to
fill a small gap at the end of a row during installation.
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Grade Guidelines
Heidelberg Wood Flooring’s grade guidelines are in accordance with and exceed NWFA/NOFMA specifications
set forth in the Official Flooring Grading Rules last updated by NOFMA in 1999. The target is to be 100% on
Grade. Heidelberg Wood Flooring has an allowance of not greater than 1.5% of pieces to be mis-graded or
off-grade pieces (includes only below grade pieces).
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Wood Cutting Styles
The type of wood cut is determined by the angle at which a board is cut from the log. Each cut produces a board of different appearance and quality. The following table is a summary of appearance for floor grading purposes. For photos/videos and more details please visit: http://www.heidelbergflooring.com/hardwood-floor-grades-types-of-woodcuts.
Plain Sawn (AKA Flat Sawn)
The grain lines may appear straight or slightly curved and join at the end to form a “cathedral arch.”
Plain sawn includes the largest variety of grain patterns of any cut.
Live Sawn
Similar to Plain Sawn except the boards will contain 15-25% of Rift/Quartered Characteristics. Most
European Oak is Live Sawn
Quarter Sawn
Grain lines are mostly parallel to the length of the plank. The unique trait of quarter sawn boars is
the obvious medullary ray flecks. Ray flecks cut across the wood’s grain which creates a
shimmering flake figure spread over the wood and more than 1/16” wide.
Rift Sawn
Grain lines are mostly parallel to the length of the plank and medullary ray fleks are less than 1/16”
thick when present in no more than 25% of the floor.
Rift/Quartered
Rift and Quartered flooring is a combination of quarter sawn and rift sawn boards. The wider boards
will yield a larger portion of quarter sawn characteristics. Narrow planks such as 3” and 4” will
contain approx 50-60% quartered with the rest being classified as Rift sawn. 5”-7” is approx 70-75%
quartered and greater than 8” has 80+% quartered characteristics.
American White Oak, Northern/Appalachian
Heidelberg Wood Flooring’s White Oak is considered Northern White Oak where the climate allows for slower growth of trees, yielding an optimal beauty of tight, dense grain patterns. This typically includes regions such as Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, but there are also areas in the Appalachian Mountain range in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee that also include the same characteristics.
White Oak Flooring Grades for flooring 2-1/4” – 7” wide
Clear
Mostly heartwood with a minimum number of character marks and discoloration, providing a uniform appearance while allowing for all heartwood natural color variations. May contain the following: 3/8” bright sapwood no extending further than 1/3 of length of piece; small burls and fine pin worm holes;
and equivalent characters such as small tight checks; small thin mineral streak 3” long max in a 6’
piece.
Select
Coloration variations produced by differences of natural heartwood and sapwood. May contain the
following and other similar characteristics: 1 small pin knots in 3’ piece; small tight checks, pin worm
holes; thin brown streaks cannot extend full length of piece.
1 Common
Coloration that contains full range of heartwood and light sapwood. My contain the following and
other similar characteristics: smaller open/broken knots up to ½” diameter; narrow slightly open
checks; torn grain (that must sand out); worm holes up to 1/8”; pin worm holes; sticker stain; heavy
mineral streaks.
Natural/Character
Character marks and contrasting appearance is desired. Open/Broken knots up to 1-1/4” that can
be filled; narrow checks; torn grain (that must sand out); End splits allowed but not extending
through piece or wider than 1/16”; one small edge defect per 3’ not wider than 1/16”; mineral
streaks.. The following is NOT allowed: shattered or rotten ends, shake, advanced rot and similar
characteristics.
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Special Grades
Rift Only NY Perfection Grade *White Oak Only
This designates a Rift only Floor that goes above the written specs of Clear Grade and Rift Only.
The appearance of the wood cut is 100% rift with no allowance for visual ray flecks. The following
is NOT allowed: bright sapwood, small burls, pin worm holes.
French Cut Plainsawn/Livesawn
The French cut is in reference to the appearance of the grain patterns where the wood is sorted to
be as symmetrical as possible with the cathedrals of the live sawn cut are in the center of the plank
with straight grain on the outside edges. Only effective on plank 8” or wider
Clear, No Sap
Clear grade rules apply with the exception that there is absolutely no light sapwood on the boards.
Shrunk Face *White Oak Only
This is an appearance available in Natural/Character grade where our unique drying technique
results in a sculpted texture on the face of the wood as a result of the density variation within the
wood itself.
Wide Plank Grading
The grading rules listed for both White Oak and Walnut are based on NOFMA/NWFA standards of grading that
are for 2-1/4”-3-1/4” strip flooring. Heidelberg Wood Flooring extends those guidelines for our products up to
7” wide plank flooring. For wide plank flooring 8” and wider, those guidelines are used as a foundation for our
visual grading, however, additional allowances are made on Clear, Select, and 1 Common Grades to maintain
the best average lengths the lumber can yield. For example, Select Grades may have knots slightly larger
than a pin knot every 3’ and/or mineral streaks may be heavier.
American Black Walnut
Heidelberg Wood Flooring’s Walnut is sourced in the Midwest Region from states including Missouri, Iowa,
Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The Walnut is air dried, steamed and kiln dried. Un-steamed walnut is
available for special order. The reference to light sapwood percentages in each grade refers to the overall
percentage of the entire assembled floor and not just individual pieces.
*Rift and Quartered Walnut does not contain the obvious medullary ray flecks as described in the wood cuts on
previous page. It’s a more subtle shimmer found across width of board.
Walnut Flooring Grades
Clear
Dark Rich coloration that is mostly true heartwood, with darkened sapwood allowed that doesn’t
create a prominent contrast. Rare occasions of lighter sap on edges, <2%. May contain the
following and other similar characters: 1 small tight knot up to ¼” every 3’; small tight checks; small
burls and fine unstained pinworm holes; thin brown streaks 3” in 2’.
Select
Dark Rich coloration that is mostly true heartwood, with darkened sapwood. Lighter toned sapwood
allowance is <10%. May contain the following and other similar characteristics: small knots up to
3/8” with no loose pieces; small tight checks, pin worm holes; thin brown streaks; and unlimited burl.
1 Common
Coloration that contains full range of heartwood, darkened sapwood, and light sapwood. Light
sapwood will not exceed 15%. My contain the following and other similar characteristics: smaller
open/broken knots up to ½”; narrow slightly open checks; torn grain (that must sand out); worm
holes up to 1/8”; pin worm holes; occasional sound pith; mineral streaks; and unlimited burl.
Natural/Character
Coloration that contains full range of heartwood, darkened sapwood, and light sapwood. Light
sapwood will not exceed 30%. Sapwood may me stained, blotchy or speckled. Open/Broken knots
up to 1-1/4” that can be filled; narrow checks; torn grain (that must sand out); End splits allowed but
not extending through piece or wider that 1/16”; one small edge defect per 3’ not wider than 1/16”;
sound pith; mineral streaks; and unlimited burl.
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