Floors with a wear layer of solid hardwood or coniferous wood, in the form of parquet or plank flooring, are particularly popular in living spaces due to their visual and haptic properties (foot warmth). However, they are also suitable for applications in the industrial sector and in public buildings. The ecological aspect of a renewable raw material also speaks in favour of a floor made of solid wood. In addition to traditional construction methods, such as solid wood parquet with tongue and groove ("strip parquet"), there are modern new developments such as the upright slat ("industrial parquet") or the multi-layer parquet ("prefabricated parquet").
Image: Solid wood parquet, tongue-and-groove - bauwion
Image: Mosaic parquet - bauwion
Image: Solid softwood floorboards - bauwion
The appearance of the parquet is characterised in particular by
oak, beech, ash, maple and merbau woods are particularly often used for parquet. [...]
Sorting / appearance class: When determining a wooden floor, the grading (A or B for solid softwood floorboards) or the appearance class (⚪, Δ or □ for all other wooden floors) must be agreed, which has a significant impact on the appearance of the wooden floor. In this context, it is advisable to discuss with the client in detail, documented in writing, exactly what the differences between the individual appearance classes are for the respective floor and wood, especially if the appearance class ⚪ is not to be carried out.
Surface treatment: Solid wood floors laid in their raw state require subsequent surface treatment, there are two different options:
Underfloor heating in combination with a wooden floor: In principle, the combination of underfloor heating with a wooden floor is quite possible. However, not all types of wood and installation are suitable, so the respective product must be expressly approved by the manufacturer for installation on underfloor heating. Basically, thin glued wooden floors made of particularly hard wood, e.g. oak and some tropical woods, are particularly suitable. [...]
Fire protection: Regardless of whether a wooden floor is installed in a treated or untreated condition, its fire behaviour must be classified according to DIN EN 13501-1, i.e. assigned to one of the fire behaviour classes contained therein. For many wooden floors, the reaction to fire class is already defined in DIN EN 14342 Table 1, depending on the minimum value of the average bulk density, the minimum total thickness and other end application conditions, e.g. gluing to the substrate or a design with/without an air gap on the underside. The wooden floors classified here achieve fire resistance classes between Efl (normally flammable) and Cfl - s1 (flame retardant). Accordingly, not every wooden floor is suitable for areas where there are requirements for flame retardancy of the floor covering, e.g. in necessary stairwells.
For products not listed in DIN EN 14342 Table 1, product testing in accordance with the test standards specified in DIN EN 13501-1 is required in order to assign the product to a fire behavior class.
For each product, the reaction to fire class must be declared in conjunction with the minimum value of the average bulk density, the minimum total thickness and the applicable end use conditions, if any.
Biological durability: The biological durability of wooden flooring products must be ensured either by natural durability or by appropriate treatment. For this purpose, the product must be assigned to a use class according to DIN EN 335. If this results in the need for treatment with wood preservatives, information on the wood preservative used in accordance with DIN EN 335 must also be provided for the product in accordance with the use class in accordance with DIN EN 599-2 and the minimum penetration depth in relation to the penetration depth class specified in DIN EN 335.
Source: bauwion
