Many floors offer a choice of species, stains and grades – what’s the difference?
The species refers to the type of hardwood that the floor is made from, such as oak or maple. Note that in a solid wood floor, the floor will be made from solid pieces of the species in question. In engineered floors, often only the surface or wear layer will be made from the specified hardwood species; the base may be a different kind of wood. Stains are artificial colouring added to the wood to change colour. Some stains are quite subtle, others can be very dramatic. Typically, a flooring labelled “natural” will be unstained, though sometime “natural” styles are selectively stained in order to create a consistent colouring. Grading refers only to the visual character of the wood used in the floor, not to the quality of the flooring itself. In terms of manufacturing quality, all grades are identical. Generally, higher grades feature clearer, more evenly coloured pieces, while lower grades feature wood with more visible grain patterns, colour variations, knots and other naturally-occur
