Quarter sawn has the growth rings of the tree approximately perpendicular to the board's surface. First, the log is cut into quarters. Then, the quarter is flipped ninety degress back and forth to saw off a plane of wood. This process does not produce any more waste than plain sawing, but it does require some extra time to flip the quarters back and forth. The benefits to this cut of wood are straighter grain that is up to 50% more stable than plain sawn flooring, and a superior looking product featuring less variation, longer lengths, and medullary rays. The boards are also less susceptible to cupping.Unfortunately, at some point along the way the entire home was carpeted! So, we purchased an entirely carpeted home knowing that everything would need to be removed and restored. Little did we know that the floors underneath were in less than perfect shape. In fact, I would liken the floors to a crack house. See photos below.
Also, for posterity sake the oak stairway was also carpeted, and the little son-of-a-gun who did it must have had a thing with staples. He (or she) felt it was necessary to put over 50 staples per riser to hold that carpet in place. To us, that meant pulling out by hand over 1,000 staples in the treads and risers alone. Gotta love it!
After lots of sanding, we present to you over 2,0000 s.f. of gloriously restored, quarter-sawn oak floors with an "Early American" stain and satin polyurethane finish. If you look closely you can see the ray, banding and "tiger eye" patterns.
