Solid Wood Products 2575 



and 3AC with yields of 68.5 percent and 62.7 percent, respectively. With 

 respect to flooring grade distribution, most flooring from IC lumber was in the 

 Clear and Select flooring grades, while most flooring from 3AC lumber was 

 graded 2C and IC. Flooring yield from 2C lumber was more evenly distributed 

 among the four flooring grades. Percent yield of flooring varied considerably 

 with board width. Wide lumber had an average yield of 75.3 percent, while 

 narrow lumber averaged 62.6 percent. Lumber length had little effect on floor- 

 ing yield, but its grade noticeably affected length distribution; 79 percent of the 

 flooring from IC lumber was longer than 45 inches as compared to 51 percent 

 from 3AC lumber. 



Miller (1971) studied manufacturing and distribution patterns in the oak strip 

 flooring industry in 1969 (fig. 22-6); his conclusions were based on manufactur- 

 ers' reports on shipments of 363.2 million board feet, about 85 percent of the 

 volume shipped. Most of the production was in the southern and Appalachian 

 hardwood forest areas of the United States. The South Atlantic, East South 

 Central, and West South Central Regions produced 88 percent of the oak strip 

 flooring sold in 1969; the Middle Atlantic, East North Central, and West North 

 Central Regions produced the remainder. 



Total consumption of oak flooring also varied considerably from region to 

 region throughout the United States. Most of the consumption was in the New 

 England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, and South Atlantic Regions. The 

 highest consumption was in the South Atlantic Region, which accounted for 

 about 23 percent of the total United States consumption. It was followed closely 

 by the Middle Atlantic Region, which consumed 22 percent of the total. In 

 contrast, the West South Central, Pacific, and Mountain Regions accounted for 

 only a little more than 6 percent of the total consumption. Generally speaking, 

 the dividing line in the concentration of oak strip flooring markets is the Missis- 

 sippi River — about 90 percent of the markets are found to the East, and about 10 

 percent to the West. 



Wholesalers were the main distributors of flooring throughout the United 

 States, handling about 33 percent of all oak strip flooring shipped in 1969. 

 Nonstocking wholesalers ranked second as distributors of flooring, and retailers 

 ranked third. Builders ranked last as distributors, indicating that few of them buy 

 directly from the manufacturer. Even though wholesalers dominated the distri- 

 bution patterns in most regions, in the three largest producing regions — South 

 Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central — most volume of ship- 

 ments was received by retailers (Miller 1971). 



5/16-inch-thick face-nailed strip flooring. — Thin, 2-inch- wide, face-nailed 

 hardwood strip flooring (fig. 22-5C) is much used on the West Coast. The 5/16- 

 inch-thick, square-edge strips have planed top and bottom surfaces, but edges 

 are left as they come from straight-line ripsaws. They are random-length, and do 

 not have tongues and grooves on the ends. 



Youngquist (1952) described installation procedures. The thin strips are usu- 

 ally laid over a substantial subfloor with a layer of building paper between 

 subfloor and finished floor. The strip flooring is cut and fitted for each room 



