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                                             The reasons for wanting rift and quartered                                              flooring lies in its dimensional stability over                                              flat or plain. (Note the expansion directions in                                              the diagram top left.) Expanding wood floors can                                              buckle, cup, raise off the subfloor, even push                                              out walls. Early builders knew this and used                                              quartered material to solve the problem.

                                            When a log is processed into boards, the way                                             the annual rings run through it determines its                                             designation. When looking at the end grain of                                             a board (shown at bottom left), a quartersawn                                             board has annual rings aligned mostly at right                                             angles to the surface or face of the board. A                                             riftsawn board has rings more aligned to 45°                                             and a flat sawn board maintains rings aligned                                             more to the surface or between 0-15°.

                                             Today, sawmills cutting logs into boards will                                              produce 80 percent plain to 20 percent                                              quartered. Many flooring mills can no longer                                              afford the expense of separating the lumber.                                              Allegheny Mountain on the other hand can                                              give you the 100% rift and quartered flooring                                              you’ve been looking for. In fact, you can order                                              100% all riftsawn or 100% all quartersawn if you                                              like. Allegheny Mountain Hardwood flooring                                              takes pride in offering you the perfect wood for                                              the perfect floor.