As a result of our deep passion for wood as a natural, regenerative material, WOODlife takes pride in the fact that we manufacture
Rift & Quarter sawn oak floors (and stairs, cladding for walls, ceiling and decking).
For some architects and
designers with a predilection for CLEAN WOOD DESIGN IN HIGH END INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PROJECTS,
Rift & Quarter sawn oak flooring is THE material of their choice. For those who are not familiar with the concept of Rift & Quarter sawn oak as of yet, please see the explanation below.
RIFT & QUARTER SAWN EXPLAINED
All rift & quarter sawn (R&Q) boards share one common characteristic: the growth rings manifest themselves on the face of the board as vertical (straight) grain.
Medullary rays are an important part of a tree’s biology, supplying water and
nutrients as the tree grows. These large bands of radial cells, or medullary rays,
emanate outward from the centre of the log, similar to the spokes of a wheel. While
all trees have medullary rays, they are most pronounced in the oaks and to lesser
degrees in the other hardwoods. The quarter sawing process reveals the beautiful
and uniquely distinctive appearance of these rays. In quarter sawn oak, a visual
distinction is made between “quartered” and “rift” boards: Quartered boards exhibit
the most medullary rays. Rift boards exhibit less to no medullary rays. Medullary ray
is also referred to as ‘mirror flake’.
The medullary rays literally jump off the face of the board when finished. It is this sparkle that makes quarter sawn flooring the preferred choice for architectural and design projects of distinction. Bleached Rift & Quarter sawn oak flooring is highly valued in minimalistic interiors.
DIMENSIONS
Cutting logs into rift & quarter sawn boards requires special skill. As you can see in the sketches above, the widths available in R&Q oak are limited.
We offer our R&Q premium oak multiplank in widths of (100), 140, 180 or 220 mm. These can be supplied in a fixed width, but also in a mixed or random width. Besides a plank look, we also offer a R&Q grade option on all of our other patterns, such as: herringbone, chevron, and more.
The image on the right features a fixed width of 180 mm with shadow bevels of 2 mm wide, in order to emphasize the longitudinal direction of the grain.
