While you’re browsing our flooring collections, you’ll find that our solid wood flooring mentions its flooring grade. When wood flooring is made, it’s graded by the manufacturer depending on its appearance.

What characteristics define flooring grades?

When the manufacturer looks at wood flooring, they’ll assess:

  • 1. Number of knots

    The more knots, the lower the final grade will be.

  • 2. Size of knots

    Larger knots contribute to a lower flooring grade.

  • 3. Colour variations

    A more uniform wood colour across multiple planks results in a higher flooring grade.

The highest grade of wood is likely to have small, if any knots, giving it a very uniform appearance and colour. The more knotted and varied the wood, the lower the grade.

Real Wood Flooring Grades

There are four grades of wood to choose from, with each grade giving a different look. These Grades are known as:

  1. AB Grade (Prime Grade)
  2. ABC Grade (Select Grade)
  3. ABCD Grade (Natural Grade)
  4. CD Grade (Rustic Grade)

  • AB Grade (Prime Grade)

    Prime Grade Timber (AB high grade) is the highest grade available in wood flooring, and therefore generally the most expensive grade of flooring. A floor laid using prime-grade wood will have a more uniform, yet natural look.

    This wood is cut from the centre of the timber log, providing a more uniform appearance with a limited number of knots. If there are any knots, they’ll likely be very small and quite faint in colour. Prime grade flooring has the most consistent colour across multiple planks. Sap content is usually less than 5% of the plank.


    Why Choose Prime Grade Flooring?

    If you’re looking for wood flooring that’s very uniform in appearance but still gives you that natural wood effect, prime grade is the wood flooring grade for you.

  • ABC Grade (Select Grade)

    Select Grade Timber is the next step down from prime grade and can often be referred to as ABC or Classic grade. It contains a few more variations than prime grade, select grade wood flooring is still largely uniform in appearance with moderate colour variation, which gives it a more natural appearance. It’s the cleanest grade of flooring as it’s free from sapwood. A floor laid using ABC-grade wood will be slightly less uniform than prime, but still smooth and consistent between planks. Sap content will be up to 10% of the plank's total surface area. Knots will be up to 20mm in diameter.


    Why Choose Select Grade Flooring?

    Select grade flooring works great in contemporary homes to create a clean, minimalist style appearance.

  • Natural Grade (ABCD)

    Our mill run timber, ABCD grade flooring, has plenty of knots and colour variation to show off. Natural grade flooring sometimes has holes when the wood is cut, so you’ll often find that the manufacturer has used a coloured wood filler to give a smoother appearance to the wood.

    In order to be considered an ABC select grade, the knots may be no more than 20mm in size. This wood grade also contains a higher amount of sap and more overall colour variation between planks. Knot size can be up to a maximum of 30mm in diameter.

    Why Choose Natural Grade Flooring?

    A floor laid using natural grade wood will be less uniform than the aforementioned grades, but will have a smooth overall look with some consistency in colour.

  • Rustic Grade (CD)

    The final grade of wood flooring, rustic grade flooring (otherwise known as CD grade), is the most natural-looking of the flooring grades. It has the largest range of colour variation and will have plenty of knots and natural grooves - again filled in with natural wood filler for a smooth yet rustic appearance. Expect a higher quantity of sap and knot sizes generally up to 35mm in diameter.

    Why Choose Rustic Grade Flooring?

    If you're looking for a very true-to-life look for your wood flooring, with colour variations and plenty of grooves. Then this grade of flooring is for you.

Laminate Flooring Grades

If you’ve been browsing our laminate flooring collection, you may have noticed that laminate comes with an AC rating. AC means abrasion class rating, meaning that the laminate has been graded to a certain standard via the Abrasion Rating System (ARS).

The ARS system means that your laminate has been through a series of stress-tests that monitor resistance against impact, burns, stains and swelling.

Laminate flooring is assigned one of the following ratings:

1. AC1 - appropriate for residential areas with light traffic (eg. bedrooms)

2. AC2 - may withstand moderate traffic in a residential area (eg. living & dining rooms)

3. AC3 - can withstand heavy residential traffic and light workplace traffic (eg. hallways)

4. AC4 - designed to be used in commercial areas with moderate traffic (eg. small shops & offices)

5. AC5 - a rough finish that can withstand high traffic commercial areas (eg. office buildings & shopping centres)

What Laminate Flooring Grades are stocked by Leader Online?

At Leader Online, all of our laminate is available in AC3 to AC5, perfect for everyday life.

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