Wooden Floor Covering
Wood coatings are materials that combine long life and wear resistance with comfort and warmth. Durable, hard and dense fiber types of both hard and soft woods are used as coating material. The most common hardwoods are oak, maple, birch, walnut and cherry wood. Among softwoods, most fir and pine are used. Wood veneers are generally classified according to their appearance, but different standards are also used in classifications. Top quality veneers are typically veneers made of wood with minimal or no defects such as knots, nicks, cracks and fiber cuts.
Wood is an organic-based material with a fibrous, homogeneous and anisotope texture obtained from a living organism. According to the hardness and resinous nature of the wood; It is classified as hard trees such as oak, ash, beech, hornbeam, chestnut, walnut and soft trees such as poplar, alder and linden. Wood consists of 60% cellulose, 28% lingin and 12% other materials. The moisture content of a wood to be used as a floor covering must be below 20%. Wooden materials have very superior qualities and positive properties compared to other materials in terms of creating a warm environment, being a natural material, being easy to process, decorative, heat and sound insulation. However, wood also has negative features such as being damaged by microorganisms, being affected by atmospheric conditions and being a fire hazard. In order to eliminate these negative features and to make the wood long-lasting, top surface treatments are applied and some protective materials are used for this purpose. These types of preservatives are used against the effects of microorganisms; Chemical compounds with water solvents and chemical compounds with organic solvents used against fire effect; Ammonium salts, which cut off the contact with air on the wood surface and form a fireproof cover, are compounds that stop burning by charring the body of the wood and removing carbon dioxide.
Humidity causes the wood to fade, swell, pitting and bend. Solid wood is used to prevent such problems from occurring. On the other hand, there are defects such as knots and cracks on solid wood. In addition, it is difficult to find any desired size.
Generally, the thickness of the wood to be used for flooring can be 2.5-3 cm, 4 cm in areas subject to excessive wear, and the width varies between 16-25 cm. As the width increases, the amount of humping of the wood will increase over time, and if possible, the width is recommended to be in the range of 6.5-11 cm, although it varies according to the place of use.
CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOD
It is deformed against moisture and its durability decreases.
It is spoiled by the effect of microorganisms.
It is heat and sound retaining.
It is not affected by chemicals and acids much.
It is not resistant to atmospheric and chemical effects.
Strength values differ according to fiber directions.
It has a very different stress-strain curve than other materials due to its fibrous texture.
Its physical and mechanical properties allow it to be used both as a cover and as a finishing material, to always remain stable in terms of low heat, conductivity and humidity, to have acoustic properties provided that it is consciously selected and used correctly, it is not charged electrostatically, it does not contain harmful compounds, Wood is an important material in the building, with its positive aspects such as not emitting toxic gases, being comfortable and easy to form, and generally creating a “warm material” effect in humans as a natural material.
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE
It is relatively difficult to maintain. After covering the wood coatings, regular maintenance is required at certain intervals. If they are not maintained, they will be deformed and the cost of the operations performed to restore them increases. It is cleaned by vacuuming, wet and dry mopping. It is polished 2-3 times a week. If the wiping and polishing processes are done well, they keep their new appearance for a long time.
USAGE AREAS
It can be used in almost every area except wet places.