The solid wood flooring is actually cheap, but the best

In the past, even we ourselves felt that the more "solid wood" components in the wood floor, and the more complete the wood used, the better. But people in the industry told us that this is not the case. Sometimes they are bought back for a lot of money, but in terms of practicality, they are not comparable to slightly cheaper products.

In the summer, I went to Zhejiang with our colleagues in product development

Nanxun and Jiaxing in Huzhou, Zhejiang, are the two largest wood flooring processing and distribution centers in East China. It was the first time to see the hot suburban industrial zone in the shipping area, which was very shocking. The dense container trucks on the national and provincial highways showed the thriving economic vitality, and the tall billboards on the roadside were all solid wood floors.

Most of the wooden floors in these containers are exported overseas.

Nanxun on the street, indicating the source: live range of children taken from

Nanxun's wood flooring is mainly pure solid wood flooring. Thanks to the direct canal to Shanghai, imported wood can be easily transported from the port of Shanghai to the processing plant in Nanxun. The manufacturer buys the cut wooden boards and puts them in the park naturally and stably, so that the moisture content of the wood itself is naturally maintained at a stable value. When the weather is good, it also needs to be exposed for a week.

Manufacturers of pure solid wood are said to "look down" on laminate flooring and have low profits, but pure solid wood cannot adapt to the northern climate, so the products cannot be sold in the Yangtze River all year round. Geothermal has been popular in East China in recent years. Since 2015, the entire industry has also developed geothermal pure solid wood flooring, hoping to open up the market in North China at the same time. The biggest difference between geothermal pure solid wood flooring and ordinary pure solid wood flooring is the moisture content of the floor itself. Generally, the moisture content of the floor used in the north is 6-12%, and the moisture content of the southern floor is 8-15%. The moisture content of the geothermal floor will be better controlled. Of course, the type of wood will also be selected.

In comparison, the several wood flooring manufacturers in Jiaxing we visited are all large-scale, and their products are mainly export-oriented and very standardized. Even laymen can see the difference. Their styles are all European and American models, so there are not many pure solid wood floors.

These manufacturers are mostly ODM models, and they also have domestic brands and independent research and development capabilities. Foreign customers can directly choose from their products.

In addition to our common three-layer solid wood, multi-layer solid wood and laminate flooring, there is also a rare domestic style: sticking veneer on the surface of the laminate flooring , so that you can get a lower price, but also The texture and effect of solid wood flooring.

The purpose of our past inspection was to customize our own wooden floor. I visited several factories, and all recommended us to choose multilayer solid wood flooring.

It is needless to say that pure solid wood flooring is expensive, but compared to three-layer solid wood flooring, multilayer solid wood flooring is more practical. Three-layer solid wood flooring seems to them to be something that simply caters to the market.

This is the first time I heard this, because we used to think that three-layer solid wood is better. The manufacturer explained that the core competitiveness and advantages of multilayer solid wood flooring are actually a perfect balance of beauty, price and performance.

The section of the upper multi-layer solid wood floor (middle and right) has a very unique "melaleuca pancake" texture, which is very different from the pure solid wood floor (left). Source: Zhu Faner self-photo

Natural beauty

The Natural Beauty

Wood flooring, the natural focus is on wood. Good wood has a comfortable touch and elegant texture, but it is expensive.

Therefore, on this basis, it is necessary to find ways to reduce the amount of "expensive wood" and replace it with cheaper "fast-growing wood". This is the pasting process.

Cut the wood into thin pieces of veneer, and then stick it on the artificial board, which is enough to be true. Compared with artificial veneer paper, the texture and touch of veneer are unique . Well-made artificial boards are actually trying to imitate the texture of wood.

As for the foot feel of stepping on the floor, it is just the contrast between the floor and the floor tiles. As long as the wood veneer is used between the floor and the floor, the difference is not big, and the surface "expensive wood" is touched.

In the past, pure solid wood floors were laid with a layer of wooden dragon skeletons underneath. Nowadays, wooden floors are laid directly on the cement floor with a layer of moisture-proof film, so the foot feel will be slightly different from before. This foot feeling is actually brought by the overhead layer, and has nothing to do with the material of the floor itself . Even the cork floor will not be like stepping on cotton, in any case, it will not be softer than the carpet.

Further reading

A cork floor is like stepping on cotton?

Uh... you may be thinking too much

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Best price

Lower Price

The price of wood flooring accounts for the bulk of labor costs and wood costs. Recently, environmental protection has been strictly investigated, so the cost of this part is also rising, and it has also affected the price of wood. When we were in Nanxun, it happened to coincide with the inspection by the Central Inspection Team. Many factories were shut down, and new equipment such as fire sprinkler systems and water curtains were installed.

In contrast, large export factories have complete environmental protection equipment, and all workshops are equipped with dust collection and fire-fighting equipment. In their words, "I am not afraid of inspections at all. The more inspections, the happier they are. Those who are afraid of inspections are small factories."

The location of raw materials has increasingly higher requirements for environmental protection, restricting logging and exporting. Floor raw wood, mainly white oak and black walnut, is increasing in price. In this case, in fact, these are responsible for the surface texture and beauty of the floor (we call surface wood), which accounts for a very high proportion of the cost . Imported wood achieves the best quality and is more competitive in the market.

Needless to say, pure solid wood flooring, the middle layer of three-layer solid wood flooring uses cheap fast-growing wood, only the surface layer will use "good wood", and the price is lower than pure solid wood. But fast-growing wood is relatively soft, so the surface needs to be thicker. Usually a 14mm thick three-layer solid wood composite floor, the surface wood will be 3mm thick, and it will be pitted when it is thin. This is the most stable result obtained by the industry for a long time. The numerical value.

A case where the minimum while satisfying the requirements, a multilayer solid wood flooring (left) and three solid wood floor (right) compared to the thickness of the surface layer, FIG source: live range of children from camera

The multi-layer solid wood floor has a very stable and smooth structure because the bottom is a pressed laminate. The thinnest veneer is only 0.6mm. The hardcover room uses this kind of floor, which is convenient to reduce the cost; and the best multi-layer For solid wood flooring, 1.2mm veneer is enough. No matter how thick it is, there will be no improvement in the texture. All the brushed and hand-grained surfaces can also be realized.

Therefore, with the little difference in thickness of the surface wood, the price of multi-layer solid wood flooring can be 1/4 cheaper than that of three-layer solid wood flooring, but the experience is the same . The manufacturer recommends multi-layer solid wood flooring. I've heard it.

In the practice of sticking veneer on the laminate floor, the skin also needs a certain thickness, and the price is between the multilayer solid wood composite and the reinforced composite, and it is generally considered that there is no need to sell in the country.

Avoid the Shortcomings

Changes in air humidity and temperature may cause the wood to crack. In the north, the climate is dry and the temperature difference is larger than that in the south. Pure solid wood flooring was not used much before, and it was very easy to crack.

The three-layer composite solid wood flooring is better than pure solid wood flooring. The stability is improved by three layers of interlaced wood , and there are large pieces of log that can be seen by the naked eye. It fits the market's psychology well and is usually considered more suitable for use in the north. Solid wood floors.

However, the manufacturer pointed out that the thickest layer in the middle of the three-layer composite solid wood floor is made of fast-growing pine or cedar. Although it is cheap, it loves to absorb water. A slight change in air humidity will cause a creaking noise. The floor is also The same will be deformed. This is one.

Second, as mentioned earlier, because the middle layer is relatively soft, the surface wood needs to be 3mm thick. The thicker the surface wood will crack itself, which increases the chance of floor damage.

The multilayer solid wood flooring is based on laminate, and each layer of veneer is very thin. After high temperature and high pressure pressing, the characteristics of the material have been improved, and it is no longer easy to crack, so it has better stability and is more suitable for floor heating. .

The manufacturer even gave us a guarantee that "multi-layer solid wood composite flooring will not produce after-sales" . Whether it is from the perspective of our warranty or the situation of our own use, it is natural to hope that it will be done once and for all, without frequent maintenance or tossing.

Environmental safety

Trust Nothing But Certifications

Environmental protection is an unavoidable topic for wood flooring. Because of environmental protection, the market generally believes that the more solid wood, the better. Pure solid wood is used in the south, and three-layer solid wood is used if pure solid wood is not used in the north.

The most popular saying is that multi-layer solid wood floors use more glue than three-layer floors. This is true, but it does not mean that multi-layer solid wood floors will exceed the standard of formaldehyde. But if the glue used is not good, the multi-layer solid wood floor will indeed emit more formaldehyde. Therefore, from the perspective of environmental protection, we recommend that you buy three-layer solid wood composite flooring when you are not sure about the brand background.

For manufacturers of average scale, the base layer of flooring will purchase from upstream. Large export manufacturers are more inclined to master the entire industrial chain by themselves . They buy logs and process them into base-layer laminates by themselves. The same substrate is used for domestic sales and export, but the veneer on the surface is different. The products are all in the United States. Carb-2 certification, there will be no grassroots level lower than E0 in the factory, and the environmental protection is very guaranteed.

The manufacturer said that, as a major exporter and taxpayer, the Zhejiang Provincial Quality Supervision Bureau will conduct random inspections at the factory five times a year.

To talk about my own personal experience, paint and glue are prone to pollution in wooden floors, but in fact, we visited several manufacturers. The entire production line is highly automated and has no peculiar smell, plus dust collection equipment. , There are few sawdust, and the whole plant area is very clean.

Whether standing by the workbench where workers are painting glue on site, or by the automatic painting machine and the open paint bucket, I can’t smell the legendary "decoration smell" . This is the place where I learned the most from this trip. Up.

We visited a large circle of factories this time, and in fact, we are customizing wooden floors that meet our needs for the appearance of the face value revolution 2.0 that will be launched in the next year.

In addition to the floor, including hardware, ceramic tiles, etc., we have found many large export factories to make customizations and produce them in full accordance with export standards. These materials are not available for purchase except for the decoration of the house. If you need renovation in Beijing and Shanghai, remember to continue to pay attention to us.