Choosing flooring: hardwood materials, the history of the parquet

For interior decoration, namely equality, where aesthetics are important, warmth, comfort and supportive environment, most people prefer wood rather than some other materials. In this appearance, color, wood grain for human fertility are more important than its objective physical performance. In addition, the modern market offers a huge number of varieties of flooring: piece and a massive board, parquet and laminate flooring. In general, if you go to any major company selling flooring, the eyes just run away. Advertising, descend on us from the pages of newspapers and magazines, a TV screen and on the radio, doing his own thing - definitely helps to get confused. That flooring is good, but this one is even better, and the head of an unsophisticated buyer is spinning. We decided to help you - tell us about hardwood materials. History History of parquet wood floors with approximately 3000 years. And no wonder, because the wood flooring has many advantages: it is warm, elastic, easy to process, relatively inexpensive (a forest in those days was much higher) and, as we now say, "environmentally friendly". Since ancient times was known for half of the split along the length of the logs, plank directly on the ground. In Russia, the wood floors have become part of interior decoration is relatively recent. In the XV century for flooring mainly used sliced ??thick boards made of soft wood such as spruce, pine, fir. Starting from the XVI century steel plank flooring of oak staves, stacked figure who wore (and still is) known as "herringbone". These first decorative flooring, occurs only in very wealthy homes, and were the progenitors of the parquet. The word comes from the French parquet Parquet. From France came the same fashion to the panels and mosaic parquet, widely used for decoration of palace interiors, starting, perhaps, from the time of Peter I. There even has its own style styling - the Russian Baroque. Widely used primarily by local (and therefore cheaper) types of wood such as birch, walnut, pine, larch, maple, oak, beech, hornbeam, ash, elm, pear, apple, alder, juniper, elm and dogwood. As an exotic, expensive imported breeds, such as black (ebony) tree, purple, rosewood, sandalwood, yellow or lemon tree, mahogany, olive oil - yellow satin, iron, sycamore, white and red cypress, arborvitae, boxwood, mulberry and others. Such a variety of colors of wood made it possible to gain the most elegant patterns. Until now, hardwood floors palaces of St. Petersburg and its suburbs are considered the highest artistic achievement in this area. Parquet factory was extended in the second half of the XIX century. For example, in St. Petersburg had three factories produced parquet. In Moscow - eight. Gradually the number of factories grew and expanded its geography. In 1914, the parquet floor in Russia is produced by 85 enterprises. It is this time and should be considered the beginning of flooring in residential construction. The main materials for production of parquet flooring is traditionally used hardwood, characterized by high hardness and wear resistance, in contrast to the soft conifers. In turn, this wood can be divided into local and exotic (suppliers Africa, South America, Southeast Asia). The former include oak, ash, beech, maple, hornbeam, and others, to the second - mahogany, merbau, teak, wenge. Now began to appear on the market and a very rare breed in the Russian market: sukupira, calico, Lapacho, dusiya, muteniya. Each breed are inherent in their natural color, characteristics of the microstructure, the degree of resilience. We will try to briefly list the names used for the manufacture of parquet wood (of Russian and foreign names), a potential buyer could advance to the abundance that he can see by visiting any of the big companies that sell flooring. Let's start with the local and the most common types of wood. Beech (German - Rolbuche, Eng. - Beech, Italian. - Faggio). Widely distributed in Europe, traditionally used for the manufacture of flooring. Wood with light reddish-yellow or grayish tint. Solid and durable, is not inferior to oak. Cherry (German - Kirschbaum, Eng. - Cherry, Italian. - Ciliegio.) Grows across Europe, in Asia Minor, the U.S. and some areas of Central America. Wood pinkish-brown, sometimes grayish-pink. Very decorative. Hornbeam (German - Weissbuche, English - Hornbeam, Italian. - Carpino). Widespread in Europe, Asia Minor. The wood is light, grayish-white lustrous. Pear (German - Birnbaum, Eng. - Pear, Italian. - Pero). Widespread in Europe. The wood has a pinkish hue. Oak (Ger. - Eiche, Eng. - Oak, Italian. - Quercia Rovere). Widespread in Europe, Asia and America, is a traditional breed for production of parquet floors and doschanyh. Has about 200 varieties. Wood has shades from light brown to yellowish-brown with a beautiful texture. Strong, durable and resistant to external influences. Very much appreciated fumed (lain many years in the water) oak dark gray color. Chestnut (Ger. - Edeikastane, Eng. - Sweet chestnut, Italian. - Castango). At present it is cultivated throughout Europe. Wood - light brown. The texture of the chestnut is almost the same as that of oak. Maple (German - Ahorn, Eng. - Maple, Italian. - Acero). It grows throughout Europe, America and the Far East. Wood has an almost white, sometimes with a slightly yellowish tinge. It is considered an exquisite material for interior decoration - create a contrasting background for dark furniture. Alder (German - Erie, Eng. - Alder, Italian. - Onlano). It grows in Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. Wood is light with a reddish-orange tint. Walnut (German - Nussbaum, Eng. - Walnut, Italian. - Noce). It grows everywhere. Wood - a brown-gray with darker patches. Very decorative, have long been widely used for interior finishing and furniture manufacturing. Resistant to deformation. Teak (English,. And Italian. - Teak). It grows in India, Indonesia, Burma and the surrounding region, as well as in East Africa. Hardwood of golden-brown, the texture is well marked. Has a high content of oily substances and therefore practically never decays, can be stored under favorable conditions for hundreds of years. Ash (German - Esche, Eng. - Ash, Italian. - Frassino). Grows in Central Europe. The wood is light, slightly yellowish, with a pronounced texture. Hardness greater than oak, but it is very elastic. Now about the more exotic varieties: Afrormorziya (English, German., Italian. - Afrormorsia). Brown-golden wood with dark streaks from equatorial Africa. Used as a substitute for teak. It is used as decorative elements mosaic floors. Bamboo (German - Bambus, Eng. - Bamboo). Technically not a tree. Parquet strips of bamboo glued together at the factory of the individual bands. Resistant to mechanical and climatic influences. The natural color of bamboo - a golden-straw. Wenge (English, German. And Italian. - Wenge). It grows in the tropical jungles of West Africa. Mature wood is very decorative. Colour - from golden brown to very dark brown. Duss (German and Italian. - Doussie, Eng. - Alzelia). Tree in the tropics (West Africa). Decorative wood is reddish-brown color. It is highly resistant to external influences. Kambala (Iroko) (German - Kambala, Eng. And Italian. - Iroko). Tree in the tropics (West Africa). The wood is yellowish-brown. Resistant to changes in climate, to various pests of wood. Kempas - the tree of Southeast Asia. Vivid color: from the golden-reddish to dark orange. Kumar (English, German., Italian. - Cymaru). Grows in South America (Amazon). Wood is a golden-brown with dark longitudinal stripes. Lapacho (Ipe) (German, Italian. - Ipe, Eng. - Guaycan). Tree of Central and South America. The wood of olive-gray. Mahogany (true mahogany) (German - Echtes Mahagon, Eng. - American Mahagony, Italian. - Mogano). Wood is reddish-brown. Merbau - a tree of Southeast Asia. Wood color - from light to dark brown. Wood is very strong and resistant to moisture, a little crack, so used to build decks of ships and yachts. Muteniya (English, German. And Italian. - Mutenye). Tree tropical West Africa. The wood is very decorative and has color from light brown to olive-brown. Olive Tree (German - Olivenholz, Eng. - Olive tree, ital. - Olivo). Tree of southern Europe and close to her band Asia. Wood yellowish-white, sometimes with a reddish tinge. Paducah (Paducah Africa) (German - Afrikanisch Padouk, Eng. - African Padouk, Italian. - Padouk africano). Tree of Zaire, Nigeria, Angola. Wood coral-red. Very resistant to mechanical stress (pressure) and external influences. Sukupira (English, German., Italian. - Sucupira). Tree of South America. Wood is reddish-brown tone interspersed with light and yellowish veins. Not damaged by pests. Eucalyptus (Yarra) (English, German. - Eucalyptus, Italian. - Eucalitto). Grows mainly in Australia. Different bright red color (from strawberry to dark red). The wood is resistant against all kinds of pests. Yagob (Kurbaril) (German, Italian. - Courbaril, Eng. - West Indian locust). Tree of Central and South America. Wood has very beautiful decorative colors from orange-brown to purple and dark brown. Color and interior wooden floor - a decent foundation for the interior design of your home. Beautiful floor significantly improves the general view of the apartment. Before you select a sample, look again at his room. What kind of impression you want to make? How do you beat your room? Think about it. Do not rush! Experience! Thanks to a certain color, you can visually resize your room. Light wood adds light and visible space. At the same time, dark wood can make the room more intimate. Your choice will depend on your taste and what kind of atmosphere you want to create. After all, the tree provides a unique opportunity to work with color. Color interior and furniture markedly wins against the backdrop of clear fibers and visible cross-grained hardwood floor. In order not to create disharmony with the floor and see what will be a further effect, you can first paint your favorite color of a small portion of the wall. Then put the next sheet of drawing paper, colored (at least roughly) in the selected color flooring. Well, the owners of home computers have plenty opportunity to experiment, using this miracle of technology. Benefit design programs sold as a set. A few words about what to consider when choosing flooring. Appearance. It must match your chosen decor. Color and texture of modern flooring offer new opportunities to create unique design solutions. Quality. On the quality of your choice of material depends not only appearance, but also life. Money. Determine the costs for the entire life cycle. The amount spent on the floor, is itself a floor covering, and consumables, and costs for packing. It is not always apparent cheap flooring gives the desired savings. Longevity. Immediately after the completion of the renovation of your new floors in an apartment or office look great. And how will they look like a year or two? The correct material must ensure that your floors an excellent view over the entire service life. Ecology. Of environmental friendliness of your favorite materials will continue to depend on your health and your children. Parquet High performance earned him a well-deserved popularity. With it you can lay on the floor, almost any image. It represents a homogeneous strips of fine wood length from 150 to 925 mm (50 mm) and width from 30 to 60 mm (in increments of 5 mm). Imported parquet (Germany, Italy, Belgium) and parquet floors, custom import lines, has a length strictly fold width, for example, or 420h60 490h70 mm, which allows you to stack his so-called "basket". The thickness of the strips varies from 16 to 22 mm (usually Russian flooring has a thickness of 15 and 22 mm, Germany - 14 mm parquet Asian production - 18 mm). Straps are two sides of the rib crest, and the other two sides - the groove. Release their pairing: the right and left ridges. The large thickness allows repeatedly to handle the floors as the wear and tear, giving it its original condition. Parquet board parquet board - a kind of natural floor coverings. It is made in sheets up to 2,7 meters, a width of up to 22 centimeters and a thickness of 22 mm. Sheet floorboard is a three-layer structure which consists of stabilizing the lower layer, the core material and the top layer of hardwood, covered with 5 layers of high strength wear-resistant lacquer. The upper layer uses oak, beech, ash, maple, cherry, mahogany and other valuable species. In the manufacture of wood flooring is the careful selection of wood on the grounds that characterize the degree of homogeneity, colors and other properties of the material used. So, for example, oak wood flooring grade SELECT includes the most uniform and monotonous selection of wood with a predominantly radial cut. Rustic - gnarly and much more variegated cultivar. Grade "natures" (or "standard") occupies an intermediate position between them. Most floors are solid maple, beech, ash and oak. Board thickness of 15 mm is laid floating floor, the thicker floor can be fastened with nails. Parquet board serves as a reliable and long. As you wear it can be repeatedly sanded. Leading suppliers of wood flooring claim that 20 mm floor can serve up to 200 years.