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Rotary peeled vs. Sawn Faced veneers


Most veneers used for engineered hardwood flooring are either rotary peeled or sawn faced. In this article I will cover these two types of veneers and attempt to explain the differences. There are other types of veneers available for hardwood flooring; however these two are the most common.

Rotary peeled veneers are peeled from the log starting from the outside working toward the center (Similar to peeling an onion). The logs are first boiled, then peeled and pressed flat to make the veneers. The rotary peel method is the least expensive and is more prone to face checking and other problems. Face checking is when the finish starts to crack from stress within the veneer. The look of rotary peeled floors tends to resemble the look of plywood. Most of the woods flooring manufacturers in the United States use the rotary peel method.

Sawn face veneers are sawn across the log just as a solid hardwood is. It has the same visual appearance, is more dimensionally stable and less prone to face checking or other inherent problems associated with rotary peeled veneers. The Sawn face engineered hardwood is more expensive than the rotary peeled floor, however it is worth the money.

The method of cutting the hardwood veneer could be the single most important aspect of any engineered hardwood floor and should be considered. If you have any further questions you can leave a comment or send me an email at cooperjm68@yahoo.com
Thanks
The Floor Man

Comments

  1. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.A fantastic presentation. Very open and informative.You have beautifully presented your thought in this blog post.

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