MODULAR COURSES

Wood flooring is any product manufactured from timber that is designed for use as flooring,
either structural or aesthetic. Wood is a common choice as a flooring material and can come in
various styles, colors, cuts, and species. Bamboo flooring is often considered a form of wood
flooring, although it is made from a grass (bamboo) rather than a timber.

Wood can be manufactured with a variety of different installation systems:

1)Tongue-and-groove: One side and one end of the plank have a groove, the other side and end
have a tongue (protruding wood along an edge's center). The tongue and groove fit snugly
together, thus joining or aligning the planks, and are not visible once joined. Tongue-and-groove
flooring can be installed by glue-down (both engineered and solid), floating (mostly engineered
only), or nail-down (not recommended for most engineered).

2)"Click" or Woodloc systems: there are a number of patented "click" systems that now exist.
These click systems are either "unilin" or "fiboloc" A "click" floor is similar to tongue-and-
groove, but instead of fitting directly into the groove, the board must be angled or "tapped" in to
make the curved or barbed tongue fit into the modified groove.

3)Floor connection system: There are a wide range of connection systems, as most of them are
mill-specific manufacturing techniques. The general principle is to have grooves on all four sides
of the plank with a separate, unconnected, piece that is inserted into the grooves of two planks to
join them. The piece used for the connection can be made from wood, rubber, or plastic. This
installation system allows for different materials (i.e. wood and metal) to be installed together if
they have the same connection system.

4)Wood flooring can also be installed utilizing the glue-down method. This is an especially
popular method for solid parquet flooring installations on concrete sub-floors. Additionally,
engineered wood flooring may use the glue-down method as well. A layer of mastic is placed
onto the sub-floor using a trowel similar to those used in laying ceramic tile. The wood pieces
are then laid on top of the glue and hammered into place using a rubber mallet and a protected
2x4 to create a level floor.

5)Floating installation: A floating installation is where the flooring is laid down in a glueless
manner on top of a layer of underlay. The individual planks are locked together, and are not
glued or nailed down to the subfloor.